Most popular books in May 2020

The international top 20 books includes: Bible, 1984, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Sword Art Online, The Lord of the Rings, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, KonoSuba, The Divine Comedy, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, SCP Foundation, Brave New World, Animal Farm, The Little Prince, Les Misérables, Hachinantte Sore wa Inai Deshō!, A Certain Magical Index, The Witcher, James Bond and Quran.

Briefly about the method

Wikipedia currently has over 53 million articles in over 300 languages. Despite the impressive number of articles, not all topics can be written in this free encyclopedia. At the same time, the community of each language version has the ability to decide which topic can be described in the encyclopedia, and which is not (for example, article must be notable). In addition, each language version can describe the same topic in its own way – it all depends on the number and experience of interested authors (Wikipedia users who edit articles).

Almost every Wikipedia article has an alignment to certain categories. Additionally, based on the content, you can specify the subject of the article – for example, using semantic relations on Wikidata or DBpedia. More details on the automatic classification process can be found in various scholarly papers (e.g. for articles or sources).

This article selected the most-developed language versions of Wikipedia with more than 1 million articles, including English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Polish and other. After the classification of articles, only those that are dedicated to individual books. As a result for English Wikipedia 56697 articles about books were found, for French – 24269 books, for Italian – 15924 books, for German – 13228 books, for Spanish – 11789 books, for Russian – 8169 books, for Portuguese – 7206 books, for Polish – 6936 books, for Arabic – 6781 books, for Japanese – 6102 books and for Chinese – 5123 books.

As mentioned earlier, every Wikipedia article can have different language versions, so we can find out different names of the same object (book). Using open data on Wikipedia article views we can find out how many times a given article has been viewed on specific days. After collecting data for viewing all Wikipedia articles on books in the appropriate language versions May 2020 ranking of the most readable was made. First, the positions of books in the ranking are shown, which were obtained by adding up the page views from different language versions for a given book. Later, the most popular books are shown for only one language version of Wikipedia.

Recently we observed that visitors number for some articles was “overclocked” in some periods of time. Therefore, we decide to provide additional modification of the pageview statistics for such cases and change this number (usually by reduction). Fairness of statistics for each article in selected language version in selected months can be assessed using such indicators as: number of the edits and authors, page protection, the rate of citation increasing of the article, popularity statistics of related keywords (phrases) in Google Trends and others.

1st place – Bible

Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity, in May 2020 the book was on the 1st place in English, on the 2nd place in Spanish, on the 3rd place in Portuguese, on the 9th place in Arabic, Polish, on the 10th place in Italian, on the 11th place in German, on the 18th place in French, on the 20th place in Russian, on the 90th place in Chinese and on the 151st place in Japanese Wikipedia.

2nd place – 1984

1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell, in May 2020 the book was on the 2nd place in English, French, on the 4th place in German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, on the 6th place in Italian, on the 20th place in Chinese, on the 22nd place in Polish, on the 26th place in Japanese and on the 31st place in Arabic Wikipedia.

3rd place – My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 1st place in Japanese, Chinese, on the 7th place in English, on the 65th place in Spanish, on the 157th place in Portuguese, on the 336th place in French, on the 400th place in Polish, on the 569th place in German and on the 1234th place in Russian Wikipedia.

4th place – Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 2nd place in Chinese, on the 5th place in Japanese, on the 11th place in Portuguese, on the 13th place in French, on the 21st place in Spanish, on the 22nd place in English, on the 47th place in German, on the 65th place in Italian, on the 71st place in Russian, on the 84th place in Polish and on the 117th place in Arabic Wikipedia.

5th place – The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, in May 2020 the book was on the 3rd place in English, on the 6th place in German, on the 9th place in Spanish, on the 15th place in Portuguese, on the 16th place in Italian, on the 19th place in Russian, on the 20th place in Polish, on the 23rd place in French, on the 54th place in Chinese, on the 82nd place in Arabic and on the 153rd place in Japanese Wikipedia.

6th place – Don Quixote

Don Quixote – novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, in May 2020 the book was on the 1st place in Spanish, on the 6th place in Portuguese, on the 14th place in German, on the 15th place in French, on the 23rd place in Italian, on the 26th place in English, on the 31st place in Polish, on the 36th place in Arabic, on the 40th place in Russian, on the 50th place in Chinese and on the 89th place in Japanese Wikipedia.

7th place – Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare, in May 2020 the book was on the 5th place in Polish, on the 7th place in Spanish, Russian, on the 8th place in French, on the 9th place in German, Portuguese, on the 14th place in Italian, on the 23rd place in English, on the 35th place in Arabic, on the 73rd place in Chinese and on the 91st place in Japanese Wikipedia.

8th place – KonoSuba

KonoSuba – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 4th place in Japanese, on the 6th place in Chinese, on the 27th place in English, on the 41st place in Spanish, on the 60th place in Portuguese, on the 63rd place in Russian, on the 109th place in French, on the 323rd place in German and on the 339th place in Italian Wikipedia.

9th place – The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri, in May 2020 the book was on the 5th place in Spanish, on the 7th place in Italian, Portuguese, on the 8th place in Russian, on the 11th place in Polish, on the 13th place in German, on the 46th place in Arabic, on the 53rd place in English, on the 68th place in French, on the 85th place in Chinese and on the 103rd place in Japanese Wikipedia.

10th place – Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 8th place in Japanese, Chinese, on the 28th place in English, on the 49th place in Portuguese, on the 67th place in French, on the 68th place in Spanish, on the 130th place in Russian, on the 136th place in Arabic, on the 196th place in Italian, on the 202nd place in German and on the 242nd place in Polish Wikipedia.

11th place – SCP Foundation

SCP Foundation – online community web-based collaborative writing project, in May 2020 the book was on the 10th place in Chinese, on the 16th place in Japanese, on the 21st place in Russian, on the 25th place in English, on the 54th place in Portuguese, on the 55th place in Spanish, on the 70th place in Polish, on the 75th place in French, on the 98th place in German and on the 99th place in Italian Wikipedia.

12th place – Brave New World

Brave New World – novel by Aldous Huxley, in May 2020 the book was on the 11th place in English, Spanish, on the 12th place in French, on the 15th place in German, on the 21st place in Portuguese, on the 29th place in Russian, on the 39th place in Polish, on the 60th place in Italian, on the 70th place in Chinese, on the 294th place in Arabic and on the 468th place in Japanese Wikipedia.

13th place – Animal Farm

Animal Farm – novel by George Orwell, in May 2020 the book was on the 3rd place in French, on the 16th place in Spanish, on the 17th place in Italian, on the 21st place in English, on the 36th place in Polish, on the 40th place in Portuguese, on the 45th place in Arabic, on the 46th place in German, on the 49th place in Russian, on the 61st place in Chinese and on the 304th place in Japanese Wikipedia.

14th place – The Little Prince

The Little Prince – 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in May 2020 the book was on the 6th place in Russian, on the 8th place in Spanish, on the 16th place in Polish, on the 19th place in French, on the 25th place in Italian, on the 44th place in Chinese, on the 45th place in German, on the 55th place in Portuguese, on the 65th place in English, on the 77th place in Japanese and on the 112th place in Arabic Wikipedia.

15th place – Les Misérables

Les Misérables – 1862 Victor Hugo novel, in May 2020 the book was on the 1st place in French, on the 12th place in Japanese, Portuguese, on the 15th place in Arabic, on the 32nd place in Spanish, on the 44th place in English, on the 45th place in Chinese, on the 76th place in Italian, on the 102nd place in Russian, on the 145th place in Polish and on the 218th place in German Wikipedia.

16th place – Hachinantte Sore wa Inai Deshō!

Hachinantte Sore wa Inai Deshō! – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 2nd place in Japanese, on the 4th place in Chinese, on the 48th place in English, on the 315th place in Spanish and on the 1497th place in Russian Wikipedia.

17th place – A Certain Magical Index

A Certain Magical Index – Japanese light novel series, in May 2020 the book was on the 10th place in English, Japanese, on the 12th place in Chinese, on the 121st place in French, on the 144th place in Portuguese, on the 230th place in Spanish, on the 414th place in Italian, on the 478th place in Russian, on the 487th place in Polish, on the 757th place in German and on the 1249th place in Arabic Wikipedia.

18th place – The Witcher

The Witcher – series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, in May 2020 the book was on the 2nd place in Russian, on the 14th place in Polish, on the 16th place in English, on the 17th place in German, on the 44th place in French, on the 101st place in Italian, on the 108th place in Spanish, on the 135th place in Portuguese, on the 293rd place in Chinese, on the 447th place in Arabic and on the 475th place in Japanese Wikipedia.

19th place – James Bond

James Bond – series of fictional works about a British spy, in May 2020 the book was on the 3rd place in Russian, on the 6th place in English, on the 19th place in Japanese, on the 63rd place in Arabic, on the 101st place in Chinese, on the 618th place in Portuguese and on the 1940th place in Spanish Wikipedia.

20th place – Quran

Quran – central religious text of Islam, in May 2020 the book was on the 1st place in Arabic, on the 14th place in Portuguese, on the 20th place in German, on the 24th place in Spanish, French, on the 27th place in Italian, on the 30th place in English, on the 52nd place in Russian, on the 82nd place in Polish, on the 161st place in Chinese and on the 183rd place in Japanese Wikipedia.

The most popular books in Arabic Wikipedia

1. Quran – central religious text of Islam
2. Shams al-Ma’arif – شمس المعارف
3. Sahih al-Bukhari – most famous collection of hadith in Sunni Islam
4. One Thousand and One Nights – collection of west of asia stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age
5. Men in the Sun – book by Ghassan Kanafani
6. Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya – World history book based on Islamic themes
7. Mu’allaqat – seven long Arabic poems of pre-Islamic Arabia
8. Muqaddimah – book by Ibn Khaldun
9. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
10. The Old Man and the Sea – novel by Ernest Hemingway
11. Kalila and Demna – collection of fables
12. Sīrah al-Nabawīyah – book by Ibn Hisham
13. Epic of Gilgamesh – epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature
14. Sahih Muslim – book by Moslim ibn al-Hajjaj
15. Les Misérables – 1862 Victor Hugo novel
16. The 100 – 1978 book by Michael H. Hart Evanghelista
17. The Forty Rules of Love – Book by Elif Şafak
18. Muwatta Imam Malik – book by Malik ibn Anas
19. مصحف عثمان
20. Old Testament – part of the Bible written before Jesus

The most popular books in Chinese Wikipedia

1. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! – Japanese light novel series
2. Sword Art Online – Japanese light novel series
3. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – Japanese light novel series
4. Hachinantte Sore wa Inai Deshō! – Japanese light novel series
5. The Minds of Billy Milligan
6. KonoSuba – Japanese light novel series
7. Ghost Blows Out the Light
8. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Japanese light novel series
9. No Game No Life – Japanese light novel series
10. SCP Foundation – online community web-based collaborative writing project
11. Ascendance of a Bookworm – Japanese light novel series
12. A Certain Magical Index – Japanese light novel series
13. My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected – Japanese light novel series
14. Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. – Japanese light novel series
15. The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber – Wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha)
16. Classroom of the Elite – Japanese light novel series
17. The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious – Japanese light novel, manga, and anime series
18. Seishun Buta Yarō – Japanese light novel series
19. The Irregular at Magic High School – Japanese light novel series
20. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell

The most popular books in English Wikipedia

1. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
2. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
3. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
4. The Handmaid’s Tale – dystopian science fiction novel
5. Dune – 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert
6. James Bond – series of fictional works about a British spy
7. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! – Japanese light novel series
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – fantasy novel by J. K. Rowling
9. I Know This Much Is True – book by Wally Lamb
10. A Certain Magical Index – Japanese light novel series
11. Brave New World – novel by Aldous Huxley
12. Frankenstein – 1818 novel by Mary Shelley
13. Lord of the Flies – 1954 novel by William Golding
14. The Great Gatsby – novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
15. Defending Jacob – book by William Landay
16. The Witcher – series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski
17. Little Women – novel by Louisa May Alcott
18. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Prequel to The Hunger Games Trilogy
19. Pride and Prejudice – novel by Jane Austen
20. To Kill a Mockingbird – novel by Harper Lee

The most popular books in French Wikipedia

1. Les Misérables – 1862 Victor Hugo novel
2. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
3. Animal Farm – novel by George Orwell
4. Madame Bovary – 1856 novel by Flaubert
5. Colonel Chabert – book by Honoré de Balzac
6. Around the World in Eighty Days – novel by Jules Verne
7. The Stranger – 1942 novel by Albert Camus
8. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
9. The Plague – French novel by Albert Camus
10. La Princesse de Clèves – 1678 novel usually attributed to Madame de La Fayette
11. The Red and the Black – French novel by Stendhal
12. Brave New World – novel by Aldous Huxley
13. Sword Art Online – Japanese light novel series
14. Candide – 1759 book by Voltaire
15. Don Quixote – novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
16. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – work by Lewis Carroll
17. In Search of Lost Time – novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust
18. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
19. The Little Prince – 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
20. La Fontaine’s Fables – collection of fables assembled by Jean de La Fontaine

The most popular books in German Wikipedia

1. Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany – German constitution
2. Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy – first part of the tragic play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
3. The Age of the Fish – novel by Ödön von Horváth
4. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
5. The Plague – French novel by Albert Camus
6. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. The Sorrows of Young Werther – autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
8. Nibelungenlied – Middle High German epic poem from around 1200
9. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
10. Naked Among Wolves – literary work
11. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
12. The Three Investigators – literary work
13. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
14. Don Quixote – novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
15. Brave New World – novel by Aldous Huxley
16. Perfume – novel by Patrick Süskind
17. The Witcher – series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski
18. Revelation of John – Final book of the New Testament
19. Tschick – novel
20. Quran – central religious text of Islam

The most popular books in Italian Wikipedia

1. The Betrothed – Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni
2. The Decameron – 14th-century medieval allegory by Giovanni Boccaccio
3. Orlando Furioso – epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto
4. If This Is a Man – novel by Primo Levi
5. Cathedral of the Sea – novel by Ildefonso Falcones
6. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
7. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
8. Zeno’s Conscience – book by Italo Svevo
9. Rosso Malpelo – work
10. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
11. The Late Mattia Pascal – 1904 novel by Luigi Pirandello
12. One, No one and One Hundred Thousand – book by Luigi Pirandello
13. The Prince – political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli
14. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
15. The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis – book by Ugo Foscolo
16. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
17. Animal Farm – novel by George Orwell
18. I Malavoglia – book by Giovanni Verga
19. Metamorphoses – narrative poem by Ovid
20. Canticle of the Sun – singing

The most popular books in Japanese Wikipedia

1. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! – Japanese light novel series
2. Hachinantte Sore wa Inai Deshō! – Japanese light novel series
3. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas – 2015 Japanese novel by Yoru Sumino
4. KonoSuba – Japanese light novel series
5. Sword Art Online – Japanese light novel series
6. Ascendance of a Bookworm – Japanese light novel series
7. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – Japanese light novel series
8. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – Japanese light novel series
9. Violet Evergarden – Japanese light novel series
10. A Certain Magical Index – Japanese light novel series
11. The Irregular at Magic High School – Japanese light novel series
12. Les Misérables – 1862 Victor Hugo novel
13. Saga of Tanya the Evil – Japanese light novel series
14. Monogatari – Japanese light novel series
15. My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected – Japanese light novel series
16. SCP Foundation – online community web-based collaborative writing project
17. Points and Lines
18. The Rising of the Shield Hero – Japanese light novel series
19. James Bond – series of fictional works about a British spy
20. 行動心理捜査官・楯岡絵麻

The most popular books in Polish Wikipedia

1. Pan Tadeusz – epic poem by Adam Mickiewicz
2. The Doll – novel by Bolesław Prus
3. Bogurodzica – musical composition
4. Laments
5. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
6. In Desert and Wilderness – book by Henryk Sienkiewicz
7. The Peasants – novel by Polish author Władysław Reymont
8. Latarnik (nowela)
9. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
10. Kamienie na szaniec – book
11. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
12. Quo Vadis – Polish novel
13. Felix, Net i Nika oraz Gang Niewidzialnych Ludzi
14. The Witcher – series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski
15. Dziady – literary work
16. The Little Prince – 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
17. Gesta principum Polonorum – medieval gesta concerned with Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, his ancestors, and the Polish principality during and before his reign; probably completed in 1112–1118; extant in 3 manuscripts; its anonymous author is traditionally named Gallus (“Irish”)
18. The Old Man and the Sea – novel by Ernest Hemingway
19. Crime and Punishment – 1866 Russian-language novel by Dostoyevsky
20. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

The most popular books in Portuguese Wikipedia

1. Os Maias – book by Eça de Queirós
2. Baltasar and Blimunda – novel by José Saramago
3. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
4. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
5. Anne of Green Gables – 1908 Canadian children’s novel,first in a series
6. Don Quixote – novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
7. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
8. Revelation of John – Final book of the New Testament
9. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
10. The Communist Manifesto – 1848 publication written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
11. Sword Art Online – Japanese light novel series
12. Les Misérables – 1862 Victor Hugo novel
13. Inferno – first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy
14. Quran – central religious text of Islam
15. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
16. Dom Casmurro – 1899 novel by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
17. Frankenstein – 1818 novel by Mary Shelley
18. One Hundred Years of Solitude – novel by Gabriel García Márquez
19. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – work by Lewis Carroll
20. The Prince – political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli

The most popular books in Russian Wikipedia

1. The Master and Margarita – novel by Mikhail Bulgakov
2. The Witcher – series of fantasy novels and short stories by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski
3. James Bond – series of fictional works about a British spy
4. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
5. War and Peace – 1869 novel by Russian author Leo Tolstoy
6. The Little Prince – 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
7. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
8. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
9. Heart of a Dog – book by Mikhail Bulgakov
10. Crime and Punishment – 1866 Russian-language novel by Dostoyevsky
11. The 100 – 1978 book by Michael H. Hart Evanghelista
12. Fahrenheit 451 – novel by Ray Bradbury
13. Matryona’s Place – story by the Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
14. Dead Souls – literary work by Nikolay Gogol
15. And Quiet Flows the Don – novel by Michail Sholokhov
16. The Russian Primary Chronicle – literary work
17. Robinson Crusoe – novel by Daniel Defoe
18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – work by Lewis Carroll
19. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
20. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity

The most popular books in Spanish Wikipedia

1. Don Quixote – novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
2. Bible – collection of sacred books in Judaism and Christianity
3. One Hundred Years of Solitude – novel by Gabriel García Márquez
4. 1984 – dystopian novel written by George Orwell
5. The Divine Comedy – epic poem by Dante Alighieri
6. Lazarillo – Spanish novella
7. Romeo and Juliet – tragedy by William Shakespeare
8. The Little Prince – 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
9. The Lord of the Rings – 1954–1955 fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
10. On the Origin of Species – 1859 book by Charles Darwin
11. Brave New World – novel by Aldous Huxley
12. New Testament – second division of the Christian biblical canon
13. Old Testament – part of the Bible written before Jesus
14. Peruvian Traditions – literary work by Ricardo Palma
15. Diary of Anne Frank – the various published editions of Anne Frank’s diaries. For the manuscripts, use Q29571913
16. Animal Farm – novel by George Orwell
17. Frankenstein – 1818 novel by Mary Shelley
18. The Communist Manifesto – 1848 publication written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
19. Inferno – first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy
20. Revelation of John – Final book of the New Testament

The most popular books in other months are available on https://wikirank.net/top/book