At present there is no official database which collates accurate information about what are the current most popular books outside individual bookshop chains. This is due in part to the many mediums used to sell or lend books to the public and the difficulties with gathering information from so many varied sources. Bookshops, ebooks, public libraries, second hand stores and people lending to friends – not all of these are quantifiable. However, there are several books over the past twelve months that have certainly been ahead of the game.
Life of Pi
Although originally published over a decade ago the novel Life of Pi has enjoyed a recent resurgence of popularity due to the release of a film version directed by Ang Lee. It tells the tale of an Indian boy, Pi, who is stranded at sea for nine months in a lifeboat with only the company of a zebra, a hyena, an orang-utan and a vicious, 400lb Bengal tiger. The story tells of Pi’s courage and faith in God as he struggles to survive the elements, find food and fresh water and avoid becoming dinner for a hungry beast.
The Hobbit
A film release certainly makes customers more likely to go out and re-read old favourites as the popularity this past year of The Hobbit has shown. Tolkien’s prequel to the classic Lord of the Rings trilogy has recently been made into a series of films, the first of which was released in December 2012. In anticipation readers have been flocking to buy the printed version to get themselves up to date with the story of how Bilbo Baggins originally came across the One Ring.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
The seventh instalment in Jeff Kinney’s series of humorous children’s books has topped best-seller lists in all major book stores across the UK since its release. Lead character Greg Hefley talks about the embarrassment of trying to get a date for the school dance and some of his memories of his formative years, including some he claims to recall from being in the womb. Full of witty anecdotes, amusing cartoons and humiliating outcomes, children and adults alike will laugh out loud reading this.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
The entire Hunger Games trilogy has to be mentioned as all three books plus the box-set have all topped best-seller lists at various points in the past year. The futuristic dystopian society of Panem is divided into twelve districts. Each year a male and female representative from each district, aged between 12 and 18, are chosen to play the Hunger Games, essentially a fight to the death from which there can be only one survivor. The story focuses on 16yr old Katniss Everdeen who volunteers when her twelve year old sister is chosen.
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy
The phenomenal popularity of the colloquially dubbed ‘mummy porn’ trilogy has known no boundaries. All three books and the box set have continually outsold almost every other book for the better part of the year. The erotic story of Anastasia’s sexual slavery to Christian Grey seems to have had many women (and even some men) hooked from page one.
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Article written on behalf of Hotelcontractbeds.co.uk – next you’re away from home, staying in a hotel and want to relax before bed, you could try a great book.