Keith&Co.

Someone offered me the standard argument, the bible must have something going for it, because it sells more copies than any other book.

I wonder if there's a breakdown for that?

I mean, i was just in a hotel for a business trip. My room, and i assume every room, had a bible in it. In a 500-room hotel, that's not exactly proof that it's 500-copies more popular than any given paperback. An institution has chosen to purchase a bazillion copies and sling them into every drawer.

I also got a copy as packing material for a CD i bought on eBay. If that guy does this with 1000 CD's he sells over a year, that's one person of popularity, but 1000 sales for the popularity argument.

We also got a family edition copy when we bought our encyclopedia. I'm not sure where that is. That was a buy-24 volumes, get this other thing free. Didn't buy that copy for the reading of it, just part of a package deal.

Also had a small pocket copy of the New Testament slipped under my door in the barracks one time (I hated that barracks...palmetto bugs and the Word were both too big for the roach motels, but small enough to fit through the cracks).

I wonder if there's any way to extract actual popularity out of the popularity argument? I don't think there's any organization that makes sure the best manga are available to soldiers overseas or sailors at sea. The people smuggling porn into china probably have rather realistic marketing figures that drive the effort. I don't know if the bible smuggled into Tibet are enlightening people by the content or ending up as kindling.

I'd just be curious to know what the non-guilt, non-proseltyzing, actual personal interest sales of the Bible might be. As compared to the latest summer paperbacks or even Twilight sales...

bacht

There's still a market for English majors. Much Western literature before 1900 uses Biblical imagery and quotations.

spamandham

...and the biggest grossing movie of all time is Titanic. The most popular song of all time is "Like a Rolling Stone"....

semiopen

I probably have over 10 copies of the pentateuch, and those are five volumes each. Oddly it's not that easy to get good copies of the prophets, ie. Hebrew and English with commentary. Artscroll has a nice set of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings - 3 more volumes.

If a secular person has this many volumes, how many would a truly religious person have.

AdamWho

Minus all the religious and mandatory political texts "A tale of two cities" Charles Dickens is the best selling book of all times.

Shadowy Man

That doesn't mean it is the most-read book of all time. In fact, considering the number of copies that are out there it is amazing that most people don't actually know much of what's said in it.

Keith&Co.

Yeah, i realize it's an empty claim. A meaningless attempt to draw correlation between consumption and accuracy. Very much an argument from popularity.

I was just wishing there was a way to come back with more realistic numbers, i guess.

Ah, well.

Joan of Bark

I've always felt that the "best-selling book of all time" argument is silly and specious. As you've pointed out, a huge number have been giveaways by groups like the Gideons. I'm also sure that many, if not most, of the copies purchased are never read. I suspect people buy them to put on their bookshelves in order to impress visitors and appear pious.

Another sub-title for the Bible could be: the most environmentally destructive book of all time.