Philosophy Books – Best Sellers You Should Read in 2016

Philosophy Books – Best Sellers You Should Read in 2016

If you are wondering where to get started, these “best selling” philosophy books are well worth reading.  From the personal philosophy of one of the worlds greatest entrepreneurs, Elon Musk, to Zen philosophy, we guarantee if you take the time to read you will benefit by learning something about the world or yourself. (Reviews below the list)

1. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future – Ashlee Vance
2. Gratitude – Oliver Sacks
3. Zen: Zen for Beginners: A step-by-step Guide to achieving a stress-free life & finding happiness with Zen Buddhism – Reiju Gensho
4. The Road to Character – David Brooks
5. Happiness and Success: The Zen Transformation: How to Find Success and Happiness – Jason Delilah and George Cross

WhyToRead reviews Top 5 Best Selling Philosophy Books you should read in 2016

1. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future – Ashlee Vance

philosophy booksphilosophy books

Perhaps not a typical ‘philosophy books’ offering. Yet what is more fascinating than a success story is the glimpse into the thought process of a visionary. Vance’s book on Elon Musk is more than a biography. It offers plenty of insight into the inventor himself – his grand visions, work ethic, professional network, and how he overcomes setbacks, not just at work but also in his personal life. The book paints an excellent portrait of one of the most intriguing people of our time and clearly details his vision for the future of humanity.

2. Gratitude – Oliver Sacks

philosophy booksphilosophy books

Neurologist Oliver Sacks passed away in August 2015, leaving behind the last piece of his literary legacy in the form of a short collection of essays. Written in the last two years of his life, these profound personal essays explore the subject of aging and dying. An excellent book for light philosophical reading, Sacks’ perspective will stir a sense of gratitude for all things in your own life.

3. Zen: Zen for Beginners: A step-by-step Guide to achieving a stress-free life & finding happiness with Zen Buddhism – Reiju Gensho

philosophy booksphilosophy books

In our increasingly fast-paced world, incorporating a little Zen into your daily life will work wonders in finding inner peace amidst daily chaos. Zen for Beginners is a short and practical guide for living the Zen lifestyle. The chapters are clear and concise. Each one will guide you to make positive changes based on Buddhist principles that will improve your life. A classic philosophy text.

4. The Road to Character – David Brooks

philosophy booksphilosophy books

How can one build a strong inner character? Brooks explores the subject of character building by looking to some of the most inspiring thinkers and leaders throughout history as example. There is also an extensive look at the changes in general societal values. How things have changed after WWII and the impact technological advances have on the way people think. Overall, The Road to Character is an interesting examination of many complex factors that contributes to building a strong individual character.

5. Happiness and Success: The Zen Transformation: How to Find Success and Happiness – Jason Delilah and George Cross

philosophy booksphilosophy books

There are plenty of success self-help guides out there, but very few of them give much attention to the elusive aspect that people often assume comes with being successful – happiness. This book will introduce you to the fundamental concepts to attain the necessary balance of happiness and success. You will learn practical approaches to cultivate more self-awareness, patience and inner calm, which are important factors to being happy. In turn these will help you achieve even more success. A unique philosophy book on happiness.

For more philosophy books, see our other lists such as modern philosophy.

Best Sellers from Christmas 2015

Best Sellers from Christmas 2015

Here’s some more best sellers from Christmas 2015. Like the Top 5 Christmas Best Sellers this list features a majority of mystery/thrillers; but also a true story, and a romance to round out your entertainment.

But clearly, we all like nothing better than curling up with a good book and a good mystery or thriller is best of all.  Curl up and ignore the cold vortex with these popular picks.

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

(part 2)

6. Cross Justice (Alex Cross) – James Patterson

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

As the 23rd entry of the Alex Cross crime novel series, Cross Justice is everything fans of the genre and series would expect; packed with action, drama, and crafty villains. The story follows the famous crime fighter trying to clear the name of his cousin, who was charged with a slew of crimes as part of a conspiracy. Long-time fans will also get a closer look into Cross’s background and upbringing, which will add more depth and dimension to the hero.

7. See Me – Nicholas Sparks

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

He was a guy with anger management issue just getting his life together, while she was ambitious, hard working and the perfect daughter. Despite being total opposites, they met and fell in love. See Me is a classic tale of boy-meets-girl and opposites attract, with a touch of mystery and thriller. What makes it so easy to get hooked on this book is the memorable characters that you cant help but care about and want their romance to have a happy ending.

8. The Narrow Road to the Deep North – Richard Flanagan

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

Based on the actual 1943 Thai-Burma death railway construction by prisoners of war under the command of the Japanese army, The Narrow Road to the Deep North gives a poignant account of real horrors through the eyes of fictional characters. Although it is a work of historical fiction, the dehumanizing atrocities are grimly and realistically depicted. It is one of those entertaining and imaginative novels that are also eye-opening and haunting.

9. The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 – James Patterson & Otto Penzler

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

We bet you will rediscover a love for short fiction with this anthology compiled by crime fiction author James Patterson (yes the same one at No6 above) and editor, Otto Penzler. This 2015 collection features 20 stories that cover the various extremes of criminal behavior imaginable, penned by masters of the genre. That is 20 fast-paced, surprisingly twisted mystery tales for some daily light reading.

10. Point Blank (Sisterhood) – Fern Michaels

Best Sellers 2015 Christmas

The sisterhood is a group of female vigilantes who always stand together. In Point Blank, the daughter of a Sisterhood member goesmissing from her school in China, and the other members and the men in their lives band together to find her. Michaels’s Sisterhood series always delivers on exciting action and adventure-filled plot, with strong female characters – even if they are a little reality-defying and over the top. Nonetheless, the book is entertaining escapism reading; just suspend reality for a moment and enjoy the thrill ride.

Christmas 2015 Best Sellers

Christmas 2015 Best Sellers

The 2015 Best Sellers from Amazon over Christmas were a mixed bag of books. At WhyToRead we wonder how many were for gifts, and how many were self-gifts. We certainly indulged in some self-gifting of books from our to-read list (to appear on a list in due course).

So, if you didnt get these or havent read these 2015 Best Sellers, then hopefully you have some Christmas money left over to indulge. Curl up by a warm fire and see what popular choice has chosen for you to read.  (Hint, 4 are mystery/thrillers).

Top 5 Christmas 2015 Best Sellers

1. The Girl With No Past: A gripping psychological thriller – Kathryn Croft

2015 Best Seller

Leah Mills was a fugitive on the run from something in her past, until she met Julian and they both built a normal life together. Years later, Leah’s past return to haunt her; someone who knew her secret was threatening to destroy everything she had. Base in London, The Girl with No Past is a psychological thriller that promises enough plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. Croft masterfully tells the story by unraveling the events of 14 years earlier, yet keeping the readers in the dark on what actually happened…until the end.

2. The Good Neighbor – AJ Banner

2015 Best Seller

Sarah settled into a peaceful neighborhood with her beloved new husband. Everything seemed perfect, until tragedy led her to discover a shocking secret that forced her to question everything she knew about the world around her – neighbors, friends and ever her marriage. The Good Neighbour builds on the premise of ‘all is not as it seems’, and true enough, you may just find yourself lost in the mystery and read this book into the night. Besides the multi-layered suspense-filled plot, Banner also constructed solid believable characters with redeeming qualities that readers can relate to and sympathize with.

3.The Silent Girls – Eric Rickstad

2015 Best Seller

A series of mysterious disappearances of teenage girls in a rural Vermont town brought private investigator, Frank Rath face-to-face with a case that brought back demons from his days as a homicide detective. Rickstad’s tale is an intense and complex psychological thriller, with some horror and intriguing twists thrown in for good measure. Dark in premise, vividly descriptive and filled with fascinating characters, The Silent Girls will have readers enjoying the suspenseful build-up while also craving the resolve.

4. The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah

2015 Best Seller

Set in occupied France, during World War II, The Nightingale is a story of how sisters Isabelle and Viann braved unimaginable circumstance in a tumultuous period in history. For readers who enjoy wartime stories, this novel offers a fresh perspective of what women do in dangerous times, not just as survivors, but also as rescuers when the men are away. Beautifully descriptive, with well-rounded and strong female characters that readers can root for, this is a page-turner begging to be adapted into a movie.

5. The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins

2015 Best Seller

Rachel was a divorced alcoholic who indulged in constructing a fairy tale love life for a couple she observed from a train window. Little did she expect that she would be entangled in a murder investigation due to what she saw on her daily commute. The Girl on the Train is a dark and depressing thriller, told from the viewpoints of three women, each with something to hide. The characters are self-serving, deceitful and unsympathetic, but one can’t help being engrossed in their dirty little secrets. Nevertheless, there are enough intrigues to make a reader want to devour the book in one sitting and get to the bottom of the mystery.

Kindle Books: 10 Best Selling Kindle eBooks of 2014

Kindle Books: 10 Best Selling Kindle eBooks of 2014

2014 was a great year of literature, with some big name releases and great movie adaptations. These are the best selling Kindle books of 2014, from Amazon.com. As a fan of books, you’ll recognize many of the names on this list

Kindle Books: 10 Best Selling Kindle eBooks of 2014

1. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

(As featured in 10 Most Heartbreaking Must Read Books Ever Written)

The Fault in Our Stars is the story of two 16-year-olds who meet at a cancer support group. Hazel Lancaster, the narrator, is afflicted with terminal thyroid cancer which has ravaged her lungs enough to necessitate the use of an oxygen tank wherever she goes. It is during a support meeting that she meets Augustus Waters, whose leg was claimed by a bone tumor and who soon becomes the object of her affection.

2. Gone Girl: A Novel – Gillian Flynn

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

(As featured in 7 Books With The Best Plot Twists And Surprise Endings Ever Written)

Amy and Nick are married for five years, but there is not much harmony left. All of a sudden, Amy is missing. And from there, a more and more surprising and devious plot develops, cleverly and elegantly put together by a very talented writer.

3. Divergent – Veronica Roth

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

In Divergent we are introduced to Beatrice Prior, who lives in a future dystopian Chicago. Their society is divided up into a series of five different factions that nurture a particular virtue in its members. There are the Candor (the honest), the Abnegation (the selfless), the Amity (the peaceful), the Dauntless (the brave), and the Erudite (the intelligent). At sixteen years old, on a chosen day, all citizens must choose which faction that they will devote the rest of their lives to.

4. The Goldfinch: A Novel – Donna Tartt

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

(As featured in 5 of the Most Popular Pulitzer Prize Winning Books of All Time)

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

5. The Husband’s Secret – Liane Moriarty

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

“For my wife, Cecilia Fitzpatrick
To be opened only in the event of my death”

She found the envelope amongst a stack of old tax records and imagined it contained a sentimental message, given it was dated just a few days after the birth of their first child, fifteen years ago. Cecilia has no idea that the letter will blow her world apart.

6. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – Laura Hillenbrand

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

(As featured in 8 Non-Fiction Books That Will Blow Your Mind)

The story is that of Louie Zamperini – a track and field star of the 1930’s, who participated in the Berlin Olympics, was part of the US air force in WWII, was shot down over the ocean, was adrift in the Pacific for over a month, was held as a POW by the Japanese forces and finally made it back to his life and has had the courage to live it to its fullest.

7. If I Stay – Gayle Forman

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

If I Stay is a bittersweet memory of a family and their loved ones. It’s told through the eyes of Mia, who watches herself being treated in the hospital as her loved ones surround her. And she has to make the toughest choice of all..

8. Orphan Train: A Novel – Christina Baker Klin

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

On the coast of Maine lives a wealthy ninety-one year old woman named Vivian Daly. In her attic are trunks that reveal the secrets of her turbulent past.

It is the year 2011, and nearby in the same town of Spruce Harbor, lives a seventeen-year-old girl named Molly Ayer who has bounced from foster home to foster home, and is now in a situation involving petty theft that will require some kind of community service. When these two meet, there could surely be no similarities between them.

9. Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

Big Little Lies focuses on the conflicts, secrets, and betrayals that poison relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbors. The novel is set in Australia and centers around a tragedy that occurred during a trivia night in the local elementary school.

10. All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel – Anthony Doerr

Kindle Books
Kindle Books

Set in World War II France and Germany, All the Light We Cannot See is a long and rich book. It’s largely populated by a range of imperfect characters, some who try to transcend that imperfection, others who cannot see it.

Best Selling Books: 8 Best Selling Romance Novels Everyone Must Read

Best Selling Books: 8 Best Selling Romance Novels Everyone Must Read

Best Selling BooksBest Selling Books

Romance novels are some of the best selling books in the literature and fiction genre, and not just around valentines day. A romance book can take you to a romantic world, a world of love and warmth. They can make you laugh, they can make you cry, and as a fan of literature, a romance novel can be a book which has it all. The books below are the best selling books in the romance genre.

8 Best Selling Romance Novels Everyone Must Read

1. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

Best Selling Books Romance

The Fault in Our Stars is the story of two 16-year-olds who meet at a cancer support group. Hazel Lancaster, the narrator, is has terminal thyroid cancer which has ravaged her lungs enough to necessitate the use of an oxygen tank. It is during a support meeting that she is introduced to Augustus Waters, whose leg was claimed by a malignant bone tumor and who soon becomes the object of her love. Let the romance ensue.

2. Hopeless – Colleen Hoover

Best Selling Books Romance

This story is about a hopeless boy, Dean Holder with his dark hair, blue eyes and dimples. He has a history among his peers for moodiness and aggression.
Linden “Sky” Davis is our heroine, who at 17 years old is not your typical high school girl. Their story will have you gripped to the book until the end.

3. Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks

Best Selling Books Romance

Beautiful, young Katie arrives in a small southern town, Southport, North Carolina. She rents a small cabin and works in a local restaurant, then meets the local widowed grocer, Alex and his two young children. Apparently, she is keeping a low profile and is very secretive, but that doesn’t last long.

4. Water For Elephants – Sara Gruen

Best Selling Books Romance

The main character is a sharp 93-year-old man, and his frustration at being trapped in an old man’s body is palpable. The story of his incredible life and adventures with the Benzini Brothers circus unfolds in a way that is emotionally wrenching, and yet flashes of good humor pervade throughout.

5. Me Before You: A Novel – Jojo Moyes

Best Selling Books Romance

Louisa’s life is lackluster and she’s completely content with ‘playing it safe’. Not that she’s ever allowed herself to contemplate how different things could possibly be if she took more risks. But when she loses her job at the tea shop she accepts a temporary 6 month position as a caregiver to a quadriplegic Will Traynor, her life takes a new twist.

6. The Rosie Project: A Novel – Graeme Simsion

Best Selling Books Romance

Professor Don Tillman is unmarried, and he things he needs a wife. While Don’s physical attributes and career should make him an attractive husband, his lack of social skills has resulted in a track record of bad dating experiences. His pursuit of a wife is both hilarious and gripping.

7. The Longest Ride – Nicholas Sparks

Best Selling Books Romance

Ira Levinson is over 90 but still driving when he crashes off the road into snow and ice. Badly injured and waiting for rescue he reflects on his life with his beloved wife Ruth who died a few years earlier. In delirium Ruth returns to encourage him and talks about their life together.

8. Beautiful Disaster: A Novel – Jamie McGuire

Best Selling Books Romance

Beautiful Disaster is a heartwarming and heartbreaking, beautifully written, wonderfully told, passionate and often witty love story, that doesn’t just explore the warm, sweet side of love, but also the complicated and messy side.

For more best selling books, check our Best Selling Books page.

5 Best Books of 2013 Which You Haven’t Heard Of

5 Best Books of 2013 Which You Haven’t Heard Of

5 Best Books of 2013 Which You Haven’t Heard Of

1. Thank You for Your Service – David Finkel

5 Best Books of 2013

This book follows soldiers and family members first chronicled in Finkel’s The Good Soldiers, which told the story of an Iraq deployment in 2007-8. The years since have given Finkel the time and space to tell a post-war story with honest perspective.

2. Pilgrim’s Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier – Tom Kizzia

5 Best Books of 2013

Into the Wild meets Helter Skelter in this riveting true story of a modern-day homesteading family in the deepest reaches of the Alaskan wilderness – and of the chilling secrets of its maniacal, spellbinding patriarch.

3. Tenth of December: Stories – George Saunders

5 Best Books of 2013

‘Tenth of December’ a short story collection by George Saunders.

4. The Son – Philipp Meyer

5 Best Books of 2013

Richly imagined from the fecund history of the Lone Star State arrives The Son, an absorbing family saga that echoes through time and crosses cultures to chronicle the life and legacy of fictional patriarch Colonel Eli McCullough, the first male child born in the new Republic of Texas on March 2, 1836.

5. A House in the Sky: A Memoir – Sara Corbett

5 Best Books of 2013

Amanda Lindhout is from Alberta, Canada. As a young child living in a turbulent household, she collected and cashed in bottles. And what did she spend her money on? Old National Geographic magazines. Amanda escaped into the pages, dreaming of one day visiting the exotic places pictured.

5 Best Selling Book Series Of All Time

5 Best Selling Book Series Of All Time

Here are some of the most popular book series of all time, including their estimated number of international sales. If you’re looking for some epic sories, some classic books, or even a series of books to get lost in for a while, here are the best selling book series of all time.

1. Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling – 450 Million Sales

book series

Rowling absolutely killed it with this book series. Along with the movie franchise, Harry Potter has become undoubtedly the biggest selling series of all time.

2. Goosebumps – R.L. Stine – 350 Million Sales

book series

Goosebumps is a series of children’s horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine. The stories follow child characters, who find themselves in scary situations.

3. Perry Mason – Erle Stanley Gardner – 300 Million Sales

book series

Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client’s murder trial.

4. Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter – 150 Million Sales

book series

These stories are a timeless classic meant as much for adults as children. The stories reinforce many important life lessons and the book has been a best for 100 years.

5. Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien – 150 Million Sales

book series

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien, later fitted as a trilogy. A timeless classic. Make sure you read the books before watching any of the amaing movies.

10 Best Selling Books of All Time

10 Best Selling Books of All Time

We’ve compiled a list of the 10 best selling books of all time, based on individual book sales. The books are listed according to the highest sales estimate as reported in reliable, independent sources. The best selling books of all time are hard to list, as reliable sales figures are hard to find, especially for The Bible and The Quran, the most printed books of all time.

Here are the 10 Best Selling Books of All Time with their estimated sales figures.

1. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens – Over 200 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens’ greatest and darkest novels. Set in the final quarter of the 18th century, Dickens presents to us the brutality that led to the anarchy of the French Revolution, as seen by Britons and by the Revolutionaries themselves.

2. The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien – Over 150 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien’s 1937 children’s fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II.

3. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – Over 140 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

The Little Prince, first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat, writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupér.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J. K. Rowling – Over 107 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series, written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage, as he makes close friends and a few enemies in his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

5. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie – Over 100 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

The novel concerns a group of ten previously unacquainted people who are lured via various pretexts to Indian Island, a resort home off the coast of Devon–and are promptly accused by their unseen host of having escaped punishment for past crimes. Cut off from the world and fighting rising panic, they scramble to unmask the killer even as their number is reduced in macabre accordance with the “Ten Little Indians” nursey rhyme displayed in rooms throughout the house.

6. The Hobbit – J. R. R. Tolkien – Over 100 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

A great modern classic and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure.

7. She: A History of Adventure – H. Rider Haggard – Over 100 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

She is Ayesha, the mysterious white queen of a Central African Tribe-and the goal of three English gentlemen, who must face shipwreck, fever, and cannibals in their quest to find her hidden realm. First published in 1887, She has enthralled the imaginations of many-from Freud, who prescribed the book to one of his patients, to the generations of readers, who remain fascinated by the book’s revealing and fantastic representations of dangerous women, adventuring men, and unexplored Africa.

8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis – Over 85 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.

9. The Da Vinci Code: A Novel – Dan Brown – Over 80 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

Brown’s latest thriller (after Angels and Demons) is an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and savage vengeance.

10. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill – Over 70 million copies sold

Best Selling Books

Think and Grow Rich is the most important financial book ever written. Napoleon Hill researched more than forty millionaires to find out what made them the men that they were.

Best Selling Books of All Time
http://whytoread.com/tag/best-selling-books/
whytoread.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2017-47
189583
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:ME4IYZ2ADUKHVJA2EE7TNSC6YIKRSAQ6
<urn:uuid:6b66b103-5c97-4ce1-a0fc-9da3af4c8a9d>
2017-11-21T10:10:08Z
192.185.243.36
text/html
sha1:UIYIBOUF4ODZBZ5ABZXBFVIZL5TYIQKH
<urn:uuid:b3c2850b-8254-413a-bf07-e9f33cfb9139>
http://whytoread.com/tag/best-selling-books/
response
<urn:uuid:d213bbf6-53d2-439d-a3db-c03979d17559>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-183-65-89.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-47
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf