AbeBooks Lists Its Top Sellers, Most Expensive Books for 2007
- by Michael Stillman
Is writing self-help books one of the 7 habits of highly effective people?
By Michael Stillman
AbeBooks has issued its lists of the bestselling books, most expensive books, and various other "top 10 and 25" lists, such as top authors, signed books, and used books. As the largest of the book listing sites, booksellers will undoubtedly want to know what sells best on Abe. Here is your answer.
The top 25 bestsellers list is filled with recent, highly popular books. This is a very different list from the BookFinder top 10, where the searching (but not selling) site favorites are the very hard to find. Abe's most popular books are not hard to find at all. People just like to buy them on Abe (most likely for the price).
Abe's most expensive sales are an unusual lot. These are not the very expensive books found in the AE Top 500 at auction. Number 1 on Abe would not even come close to cracking the AE Top 500. Abe doesn't sell the most expensive books, just the most. Nevertheless, there are some nice sales here, number 1 reaching almost $25,000. And, while Abebooks has expanded from its site in the English language to sites in German, French and Spanish, they ought to offer one in Latin to accommodate the most expensive ones they sell.
Now, we will look first at the top 10 bestsellers, including the number of copies of each currently offered on the AbeBooks site.
10. The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. 264 copies offered, priced from $2.30 to $594.
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling. 835 copies priced $4.49-$7,125.
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling. 1,332 copies from $1.00-$498,759.
7. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. 270 copies from $10.99-$490.
6. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. 269 copies from $5.71-$7,950.
5. The Purpose Driven Life, from Rick Warren. 1,441 copies from $1.00-$180.
4. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. 180 copies from $7.00-$138.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling. 1,053 copies from $1.00-$8,300.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, by J.K. Rowling. 461 copies from $10.00-$5,292.
1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. 1,825 copies from $1.00-$350.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
