Don't Miss Lists and Other Reading Resources

Fiction Bestsellers: 1881 - 2005*

Note: Titles are linked only if a copy is owned by the library system.

• 1881 Zola, Emile. Nana.
• 1882 Twain, Mark. The Prince and The Pauper.
• 1883 Halevy, Ludovic. L'Abbe Constantine.
• 1884 Jackson, Helen Hunt. Ramona.
• 1885 Haggard, H. Rider. King Solomon's Mines.
• 1886 Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge.
• 1887 Corelli, Marie. Thelma: A Norwegian Princess.
• 1888 Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward, 2000-1887.
• 1889 Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
• 1890 Barrie, J.M. A Window in Thrums.
• 1891 Doyle, Arthur Conan. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
• 1892 Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D'Urberbilles.
• 1893 Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four in Tales of Sherlock Holmes.
• 1894 du Maurier, George. Trilby.
• 1895 Maclaren, Jan. Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush.
• 1896 Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage.
• 1897 Sienkiewicz, Henry. Quo Vadis.
• 1898 Major, Charles. When Knighthood Was in Flower.
• 1899 Westcott, Edward Noyes. David Harum: A Story of American Life.
• 1900 Johnston, Mary. To Have and To Hold.
• 1901 Churchill, Winston. The Crisis.
• 1902 Wister, Owen. The Virginian: A Horsemen of the Plains.
• 1903 Norris, Frank. The Pit: A Story of Chicago.
• 1904 Wiggin, Kate Douglas. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
• 1905 Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth.
• 1906 Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle.
• 1907 Chambers, Robert W. The Younger Set.
• 1908 Fox, John, Jr. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.
• 1909 Rinehart, Mary Roberts. The Man in Lower Ten in Mary Roberts Rinehart's Mystery. 54-40 or Fight.
• 1911 Farnol, Jeffrey. The Broad Highway.
• 1912 Wright, Harold Bell. Their Yesterdays.
• 1913 Churchill, Winston. The Inside of the Cup.
• 1914 Wright, Harold Bell. The Eyes of the World.
• 1915 Tarkington, Booth. The Turmoil.
• 1916 Tarkington, Booth. Seventeen.
• 1917 Wells, H.G. Mr. Britling Sees It Through.
• 1918 Grey, Zane. The U.P. Trail.
• 1919 Blasco Ibanez V. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
• 1920 Curwood, James Oliver. The River's End: A New Story of God's Country.
• 1921 Lewis, Sinclair. Main Street.
• 1922 Hutchinson, A.S.M. This Freedom.
• 1923 Atherton, Gertrude. Black Oxen.
• 1924 Ferber, Edna. So Big.
• 1925 Kennedy, Margaret. The Constant Nymph.
• 1926 Erskine, John. The Private Life of Helen of Troy.
• 1927 Lewis, Sinclair. Elmer Gantry.
• 1928 Wilder, Thornton. The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
• 1929 Remarque, Erich M. All Quiet on the Western Front.
• 1930 Ferber, Edna. Cimarron.
• 1931 Cather, Willa. Shadows on the Rock.
• 1932 Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth.
• 1933 Allen, Hervey. Anthony Adverse.
• 1934 Hilton, James. Good-bye, Mr. Chips.
• 1935 Douglas, Lloyd C. Green Light.
• 1936 Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With The Wind.
• 1937 Roberts, Kenneth. Northwest Passage.
• 1938 Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan. The Yearling.
• 1939 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath.
• 1940 Llewellyn, Richard. How Green Was My Valley.
• 1941 Cronin, A.J. The Keys of the Kingdom.
• 1942 Werfel, Franz. The Song of Bernadette.
• 1943 Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe.
• 1944 Smith, Lillian Eugenia. Strange Fruit.
• 1945 Winsor, Kathleen. Forever Amber.
• 1946 du Maurier, Daphne. The King's General.
• 1947 Janney, Russell. The Miracle of the Bells.
• 1948 Keyes, Frances Parkinson. Dinner at Antoine's.
• 1949 Waltari, Mika. The Egyptian.
• 1950 Robinson, Henry Morton. The Cardinal.
• 1951 Jones, James. From Here to Eternity.
• 1952 Costain, Thomas B. The Silver Chalice.
• 1953 Selinko, Annemarie. Desiree.
• 1954 Thompson, Morton. Not As a Stranger.
• 1955 Wouk, Herman. Marjorie Morningstar.
• 1956 Brinkley, William. Don't Go Near the Water.
• 1957 Cozznes, James Gould. By Love Possessed.
• 1958 Pasternak, Boris. Doctor Zhivago.
• 1959 Uris, Leon. Exodus.
• 1960 Drury, Allen. Advise and Consent.
• 1961 Stone, Irving. The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo.
• 1962 Porter, Katherine Anne. Ship of Fools.
• 1963 West, Morris L. The Shoes of the Fisherman.
• 1964 Cornwell, D.J.M. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
• 1965 Michener, James. The Source.
• 1966 Susann, Jacqueline. The Valley of the Dolls.
• 1967 Kazan, Elia. The Arrangement.
• 1968 Hailey, Arthur. Airport.
• 1969 Roth, Philip. Portnoy's Complaint.
• 1970 Segal, Erich. Love Story.
• 1971 Hailey, Arthur. Wheels.
• 1972 Wouk, Herman. The Winds of War.
• 1973 Bach, Richard. Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
• 1974 Adams, Richard. Watership Down.
• 1975 Michener, James. Centennial.
• 1976 Uris, Leon. Trinity.
• 1977 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Silmarillion.
• 1978 Michener, James. Chesapeake.
• 1979 Ludlum, Robert. The Matarese Circle.
• 1980 Michener, James. The Covenant.
• 1981 Clavell, James. Noble House: A Novel of Contemporary Hong Kong.
• 1982 Kotzwinkle, William. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Storybook.
• 1983 Michener, James. Poland.
• 1984 King, Stephen. The Talisman.
• 1985 Auel, Jean. The Mammoth Hunters.
• 1986 Clancy, Tom. Red Storm Rising.
• 1987 King, Stephen. The Tommyknockers.
• 1988 Clancy, Tom. The Cardinal of the Kremlin.
• 1989 Clancy, Tom. Clear and Present Danger.
• 1990 Auel, Jean. The Plains of Passage.
• 1991 Ripley, Alexandra. Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind.
• 1992 King, Stephen. Dolores Claiborne.
• 1993 Waller, Robert James. The Bridges of Madison County.
• 1994 Grisham, John. The Chamber.
• 1995 Grisham, John. The Rainmaker.
• 1996 Grisham, John. The Runaway Jury.
• 1997 Grisham, John. The Partner.
• 1998 Grisham, John. The Street Lawyer.
• 1999 Grisham, John. The Testament.
• 2000 Grisham, John. The Brethren.
• 2001 Jenkins, Jerry B. and Tim LaHaye. Desecration.
• 2002 Grisham, John. The Summons.
• 2003 Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code.
• 2004 Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code.
• 2005 Grisham, John. The Broker.
• 2006 Albom, Mitch.  For One More Day.
• 2007 Hosseini, Khaled.  A Thousand Splendid Suns.