How big is the world's smallest book? And which novel has been read the most? For UNESCO's World Book Day on April 23, we take a look at some quirky and impressive literary achievements.
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8 record-breaking books for World Book Day
How big is the world's smallest book? And which novel has been read the most? For UNESCO's World Book Day on April 23, we take a look at some quirky and impressive literary achievements.
Image: dpa
The world's most expensive book
At least a seven-figure sum was expected when Leonardo Da Vinci's "Codex Leicester" went under the hammer at the New York auction house Christie's in 1994. In the end, the book changed hands for a whopping $30.8 million. It was purchased by the wealthiest man in the world, Bill Gates.
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The oldest printed book in the world
Six centuries before the Gutenberg Bible, another printing technique was developed in 868 AD. A Chinese version of the Diamond Sutra is considered the oldest printed book in the world. It contains a dialogue between Buddha and one of his students. Letters and images were imprinted on sheets of wood, colored and then transferred to paper.
Image: Wikipedia/Gemeinfrei
The world's smallest book
Can you see it? Measuring just 0.74 by 0.75 millimeters, the tiny object from Japan holds the world record for smallest book. Called "Shiki no Kusabana" (Flowers of Seasons), the book is comprised of 22 pages and contains tiny illustrations of flowers along with their names in a 0.01-millimeter font. Publisher Toppan Printing employed techniques used in minting money.
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The world's most-read book
The Bible holds multiple records, including this one. It can only be estimated how many copies have been printed worldwide, though the Guinness Book of World Records indicates it is somewhere between 2.5 and 5 billion. Some 20 million Bibles are published each year, according to the World Bible Society. The book has been translated into more than 2,500 languages.
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The world's most-read novel
Don Quijote's struggle against the windmills has enthused readers for over 400 years - and inspired a number of artists like composer Richard Strauss and painter Pablo Picasso. "The history of the valorous and wittie Knight-Errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes has been printed 500 million times. All the Harry Potter novels together total 400 million copies.
Image: picture-alliance/Lou Avers
The world's longest buyable book
That's what you'd call heavy reading. The complete collection of Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie are 32 centimeters thick and weigh eight kilograms (17.6 pounds). Over 4,032 pages, the elderly detective investigates 32 cases of murder, theft and other crimes. HarperCollins released 500 copies of the limited special edition.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Curry
The most enigmatic book in the world
Researchers have been biting their finger nails over this one. The Voynich manuscript was written in an unknown language and script. It contains curious illustrations, including those of unidentifiable plants and of nude women bathing in tubs connected by an elaborate network of pipes. The book has been dated from the 15th century and was at one point in the possession of Emperor Rudolf II.
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The world's most prolific author
Better known as the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard is the author with the most published titles to his name - 1,084 -, according to the Guinness World Records. He also holds the record for the most audio books. The US science fiction author began writing dime novels, but moved on to non-fiction works for his controversial Scientology organization.
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Nowadays, books are increasingly read on screens rather than paper. But for centuries, they have not only served as a means of communication, but have also been status symbols, works of art and collector items.
To promote the written word, UNESCO initiated World Book Day in 1995. Its date, April 23, goes back to a Spanish tradition. On the name day of Saint George, roses and books are given as presents in Catalonia.
April 23 is also the day William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, two of the most significant writers in the world, passed away.
To celebrate World Book Day, click though the gallery above for some astonishing record-breaking books.
