Machiavelli wrote :
In the paper back copy of The Godfather i have, there's a redsticker that says "THE ALL TIME BEST SELLING NOVEL IN PUBISHING HISTORY".

The back cover of my English paperback copy reads : "THE RECORD-BREAKING BESTSELLER" !!! [Linked Image]
[Linked Image] [Linked Image]
Nothing but hype fellas ! Marketing strategies don't move in mysterious ways !

As for best-selling novels, I don't have stats but I just want to point out that novels that belong to school/college curricula sell more than others, so I'd say that classical novels sell more than more recent books that get forbidden after a few years. But it may not be the case in America where there is no national school program.

Anyway, I want to add Shakespeare works to the list, although he wrote no novels but plays and sonnets. They sell as good as the Bible and popular English dictionnaries.

"Come heavy or not at all." Uncle Junior to Tony S.
"Nenti dire ca nenti si capi" come disse quello. (Say nthg when U know nthg.)
"Chi non ci vuole stare, se ne vada." (If U don't like it here, go somewhere else.)