Over the past century, there have been countless books published that have captured the attention and imagination of readers around the world. From classic literary works to contemporary bestsellers, the most popular books since 1922 are a testament to the evolution of reading habits and preferences over time.

Looking at this list of the most popular books by year, it’s clear that readers have changed significantly over the years. In the early 20th century, books like “The Great Gatsby” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” tackled social issues and explored the complexities of human nature. These books were popular not just for their engaging stories, but also for their literary merit and the way they challenged readers to think critically about the world around them.

As we move into the second half of the century, we see a shift towards more commercial fiction and genre-specific works. Books like “Jaws” and “The Exorcist” catered to readers’ love of suspense and horror, while authors like John Grisham and Dan Brown became household names thanks to their legal thrillers and conspiracy-driven plots. Meanwhile, the rise of science fiction and fantasy in the latter half of the century brought us beloved works like “Dune” and the “Harry Potter” series.

But perhaps the most significant change in readers’ preferences over the years is the increasing demand for diversity and representation in literature. In recent years, books like “The Hate U Give” and “Americanah” have become bestsellers for their powerful explorations of race, identity, and social justice. Similarly, LGBTQ+ authors like James Baldwin and Armistead Maupin have gained popularity for their honest portrayals of queer life and culture.

It’s clear that readers’ tastes have evolved significantly over the past century, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the power of a good book to capture our hearts and minds. Whether we’re reading for entertainment, enlightenment, or empathy, books have the ability to transport us to new worlds and open our minds to new ideas.

As we continue into the 21st century, it will be interesting to see how readers’ preferences continue to evolve and what new literary trends will emerge. But one thing is for certain: no matter what the future holds, the most popular books of the past will always hold a special place in our hearts and our bookshelves.

Here’s a list of the most popular book in the last 98 years.

• 1922: “Ulysses” by James Joyce
• 1923: “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran
• 1924: “So Big” by Edna Ferber
• 1925: “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 1926: “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne
• 1927: “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf
• 1928: “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence
• 1929: “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque
• 1930: “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett
• 1931: “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck
• 1932: “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• 1933: “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell
• 1934: “Tender Is the Night” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 1935: “Green Hills of Africa” by Ernest Hemingway
• 1936: “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell
• 1937: “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
• 1938: “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier
• 1939: “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
• 1940: “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway
• 1941: “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• 1942: “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis
• 1943: “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand
• 1944: “The Robe” by Lloyd C. Douglas
• 1945: “Animal Farm” by George Orwell
• 1946: “All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren
• 1947: “Under the Volcano” by Malcolm Lowry
• 1948: “The Naked and the Dead” by Norman Mailer
• 1949: “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell
• 1950: “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
• 1951: “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
• 1952: “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
• 1953: “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
• 1954: “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
• 1955: “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
• 1956: “The Last Hurrah” by Edwin O’Connor
• 1957: “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac
• 1958: “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
• 1959: “Hiroshima” by John Hersey
• 1960: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
• 1961: “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller
• 1962: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey
• 1963: “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath
• 1964: “Herzog” by Saul Bellow
• 1965: “Dune” by Frank Herbert
• 1966: “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote
• 1967: “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton
• 1968: “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick
• 1969: “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut
• 1970: “Love Story” by Erich Segal
• 1971: “The Exorcist” by William Peter Blatty
• 1972: “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo
• 1973: “Jaws” by Peter Benchley
• 1974: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig
• 1975: “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow
• 1976: “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice
• 1977: “The Shining” by Stephen King
• 1978: “The World According to Garp” by John Irving
• 1979: “Sophie’s Choice” by William Styron
• 1980: “The Bourne Identity” by Robert Ludlum
• 1981: “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie
• 1982: “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
• 1983: “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco
• 1984: “Neuromancer” by William Gibson
• 1985: “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
• 1986: “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
• 1987: “The Bonfire of the Vanities” by Tom Wolfe
• 1988: “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie
• 1989: “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan
• 1990: “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
• 1991: “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt
• 1992: “The Bridges of Madison County” by Robert James Waller
• 1993: “The Shipping News” by E. Annie Proulx
• 1994: “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield
• 1995: “The Rainmaker” by John Grisham
• 1996: “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt
• 1997: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling
• 1998: “The Testament” by John Grisham
• 1999: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J.K. Rowling
• 2000: “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen
• 2001: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling
• 2002: “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold
• 2003: “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown
• 2004: “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom
• 2005: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling
• 2006: “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama
• 2007: “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert
• 2008: “The Shack” by William P. Young
• 2009: “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown
• 2010: “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” by Stieg Larsson
• 2011: “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett
• 2012: “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James
• 2013: “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn
• 2014: “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green
• 2015: “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins
• 2016: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
• 2017: “Origin” by Dan Brown
• 2018: “Becoming” by Michelle Obama
• 2019: “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
• 2020: “Midnight Sun” by Stephenie Meyer