21 Book Oddities By The Numbers

  

Which author’s book has been translated into the most languages and dialects?

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, has been translated 383 times since its publication in 1943. It’s a classic children’s tale.  

Which school has the largest university library?

Harvard Library, with 18 million registered items, wins.  

What are the world’s biggest libraries?

No.1 Library of Congress

No.2 British Library

No.3 New York Public library

No.4 Library and Archives Canada  

Who owns the most books?

With over 1.5 million books in his private collection, Indiana’s John Q. Benham wins this distinction.  

What’s the oldest active library in the United States?

Since 1743, The Darly Free Library, in Darly, Pennsylvania, has been in continuous operation.  

Which author was first to make a billion dollars?

J.K Rowling. She also has the record for most books sold in a 24-hour period: 8.3 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows flew off the shelves in 2007.  

Which author has sold the most copies of their books?

Agatha Christie, whose 78 novels sold more than two billion copies in 44 languages, is the record holder.   

What’s the biggest book in size?

The Guinness Book of World Records says there’s a book that’s 16 feet by 26 feet and weighs over 3,000 pounds. The book is called This the Prophet of Mohamed.  

When was the first bookmobile launched?

In 1857, George Moore, in England, sold books from a horse-drawn wagon.  

Which city’s libraries has loaned out the most books in a year?

Tokyo loaned out 111.9 million books in a single year.  

Where is the oldest, continuous bookshop?

Founded in 1732, Bertrand Chiado, is a Portuguese bookshop that holds this distinction.   

What’s the longest novel ever written? 

The 13-volume-long masterpiece by Marcel Proust of 1912, Remembrance of Things Past, is 4,215 pages long and comprises 1.267 million words!  

Which author was first to garner one-million e-book sales?

James Patterson achieved this honor in July 2010.  

Which American president read at least one book a day?

Theodor Roosevelt.  

Is there a word for one who lets reading materials pile up in one’s home and never reads them?

The Japanese call it tsundoku.  

How many books are there in the world?

There are 130,000,000 unique volumes in the world, as of 2020.  

Which book holds the longest sentence?

Les Misrables, by Victor Hugo, includes an 823-word sentence.  

What’s it called when you love the smell of books?

Bibliosmia. Sniff away!  

How did the term “bookworm” come to be?

Insects who lived in and ate the bindings of books, were cause the term’s coinage.  

What’s the world’s largest brick and mortar bookstore?

Powell’s Bookstore, in Oregon, is the winner. The mega bookstore has 68,000 square feet of retail floor space dedicated to books.  

Can reading extend your life span?

Readers tend to live longer, according to a study published in Social Science and Medicine.

 

 

Need Book PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.