The top-selling 100 books, 1998-2010

Nielsen Bookscan, the world’s largest book tracking service, recently supplied a leading newspaper with total transaction data, collected directly from the tills and dispatch systems of all major book retailers. This data covers over 90% of all retail book purchases in the UK.

This data has enabled the creation of a listing of the 100 top-selling books since the data collection began in 1998 and it makes for very interesting reading.

The word “phenomenal” has often been used when describing JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series and the figures certainly back up its use. The Gloucestershire-born author has no less than 7 books within the top 10 and only Dan Brown and fellow fantasy writer Stephenie Meyer prevent her total dominance.

So, without any further ado, here is the list of the top-selling 100 book in the UK, 1998-2010. The number of copies sold can be found to the right of each entry.

1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, 4,522,025
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling, 3,844,316
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling, 3,184,492
4. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, 3,096,850
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, 3,043,226
6. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince:Children’s Edition by JK Rowling, 2,947,565
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, 2,842,059
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling, 2,776,314
9. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, 2,105,862
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling, 2,057,397
11. Deception Point by Dan Brown, 2,018,264
12. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, 1,975,659
13. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, 1,942,042
14. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, 1,911,943
15. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, 1,868,969
16. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, 1,846,171
17. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, 1,697,425
18. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, 1,551,953
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, 1,496,081
20. The World According to Clarkson by Jeremy Clarkson, 1,447,188
21. Atonement by Ian McEwan, 1,396,366
22. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, 1,370,347
23. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, 1,334,635
24. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, 1,315,685
25. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling, 1,297,411
26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, 1,283,638
27. The Girl Who Played With Fire: Millennium Trilogy by Stieg, 1,265,474
28. A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer, 1,116,042
29. The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, 1,106,219
30. You are What You Eat:The Plan That Will Change Your Life by Gillian McKeith, 1,103,619
31. Man and Boy by Tony Parsons, 1,100,447
32. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, 1,078,571
33. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, 1,065,008
34. The Island by Victoria Hislop, 1,056,432
35. Life of Pi by Yann Martel, 1,050,090
36. Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution: The No-hunger, Luxurious Weight Loss by Robert C Atkins, 1,046,531
37. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling, 1,039,823
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres, 1,025,66439
39. Delia’s How to Cook by Delia Smith, 1,014,854
40. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, 1,007,208
41. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss, 995,455
42. Northern Lights: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, 976,435
43. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, 950,686
44. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest: Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, 942,103
45. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding, 923,429
46. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, 904,498
47. The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho, 903,395
48. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, 898,388
49. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne 885,450
50. Stupid White Men… and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation by Michael Moore (877,777)
51. Jamie’s 30-minute Meals by Jamie Oliver, 874,546
52. The Broker by John Grisham, 869,077
53. Bridget Jones’s Diary: A Novel by Helen Fielding, 858,390
54. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, 855,920
55. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, 855,523
56. The Sound of Laughter by Peter Kay, 853,499
57. Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver, 833,060
58. Small Island by Andrea Levy, 831,039
59. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, 820,877
60. Billy Connolly by Pamela Stephenson, 801,133
61. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, 793,338
62. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, 788,619
63. Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson, 780,665
64. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, 766,706
65. Delia’s How to Cook: Book 2 by Delia Smith, 765,246
66. The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, 762,717
67. Jamie’s Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours by Jamie Oliver, 759,900
68. Guinness World Records 2009, 747,715
69. Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions, 746,917
70. Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life by Jamie Oliver, 741,643
71. White Teeth by Zadie Smith, 731,416
72. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, 725,210
73. At My Mother’s Knee… :and Other Low Joints by Paul O’Grady, 723,164
74. No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay, 722,103
75. The Times Su Doku: The Utterly Addictive Number-placing Puzzle, 719,307
76. Chocolat by Joanne Harris, 713,299
77. The Return of the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver, 707,570
78. Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir of a Childhood by Frank McCourt, 694,831
79. Schott’s Original Miscellany by Ben Schott, 694,063
80. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama, 690,765
81. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn  Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, 688,808
82. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 682,102
83. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by JK Rowling, 680,886
84. The Summons by John Grisham, 677,378
85. The Lost Symbol, 672,950
86. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, 668,497
87. I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna, 665,923
88. Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver, 659,722
89. Brick Lane by Monica Ali, 659,023
90. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, 658,713
91. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella, 658,598
92. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, 658,524
93. I Know You Got Soul by Jeremy Clarkson, 658,274
94. Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography by Sharon Osbourne,  656,431
95. Guinness World Records 2010, 656,326
96. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, 653,615
97. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella, 652,78898
98. Down Under by Bill Bryson, 646,515
99. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon, 645,453
100. Dear Fatty by Dawn French, 643,636