At the weekend I was out for a walk, heading towards the local country park, when I noticed a big metal skip (dumpster) that was overflowing with what looked like unwanted office furniture and fittings. I decided to have a look, to see if there was anything worth recycling.
It always feels good to find something for free.
The skip was mostly rubbish/garbage/junk, take your pick, but I did come across a small box of books, mostly business and self-help. I had to browse, as they were all in reasonably good condition. Most did have that aged look of pages that were once white, now turned yellow(ish), but they were clean.
That reminds me, this yellowing seems to happen to many things that decay over time. It all takes me back to when I was a lot younger living in a bedsit. My small bookshelf was full of old books bought for a few pennies. The colour of their pages was only matched by the magnolia paint of the walls and the white plastic cistern in the bathroom that had turned yellow.
But back to the book finds.
Quite a few proudly had ‘The International Bestseller’ written above the name of the author. And I knew the author of one, Anthony Robbins. The book’s title, Unlimited Power, was published back in 1989, almost thirty-seven years ago. Robbins was the type of author who would regularly appear on television shows like Oprah Winfrey’s back then. A self-help guru who was very big in the USA and still active today.
The next book with slightly yellowish pages is another international bestseller. A hardback book from 2016, IKIGAI — The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. I wondered what IKIGAI actually meant. I didn’t have to wait long, as the book started with a prologue, 'Ikigai: A mysterious word'. I now know what it means but won’t spoil it for anyone who wants to look it up.
On to the next slightly faded, yellowing-paged book from 2012, a New York Times Bestseller, with a very bold title.
USE YOUR BRAIN TO CHANGE YOUR AGE
Actually, a very, very bold title.
Followed by a slightly less bold, but still bold, subtitle.
SECRETS TO LOOK, FEEL AND THINK YOUNGER EVERY DAY
The author’s name is Dr Daniel G. Amen.
All I can say is that at my age, it may have something to offer — amen to that.
Next book, with just a little discolouration in the pages of this one, we have from 2002, The One Minute Millionaire, by Mark Victor Hansen. Not only is this book a bestseller, it also proudly tells us on the cover that he is the author of the international bestselling Chicken Soup series of books, with over 60 million copies sold.
To put that into context, the total population of Italy is currently just under sixty million, and Mr Hansen had sold that many books by 2002. So, I had to know, how many books has he sold since then and all time?
Rather than look myself, I asked ChatGPT for an instant answer.
Widely reported total is about 500 million books sold (mostly the Chicken Soup for the Soul series). Sources reporting this figure include Wikipedia and multiple author/publisher profiles and interviews.
So, there you have it. He’s sold around 440 million more books in the last 25 years.
And 500 million is about the size of the population of the USA and Russia combined.
Hard to imagine selling that many books.
No wonder self-help is popular.
Now for a book with almost white pages.
Another №1 bestseller, from 2003, Robin Sharma’s The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari — A fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny. With over one million copies sold by 2003, Wikipedia tells me that by 2013 it had sold three million copies.
I could live with sales of three million. I doubt whether I have enough time to get to 500 million.
The last book actually has very white pages and little to no discolouration at all, even though this edition is about ten years old, from 2016.
The author is Mike Cernovich, and the title is Gorilla Mindset.
With a long subtitle:
How to control your thoughts and emotions, improve your health and fitness, make more money and live life on your terms.
Clearly aiming to cover all bases on Amazon’s keywords there.
And Amazon tells me that Gorilla Mindset was the most successful non-fiction book launch of 2015, immediately hitting bestseller lists.
Six books, six bestsellers, and six books that sold millions, even hundreds of millions, for years after they were published.
Strange place to find them, though — in a rubbish skip!
As a writer, we can always take heart from the fact that once a book is out there, you never know what might happen.
Oh, and if the niche is right, like self-help, the sky has no limit.
Which has given me an idea…
I’m sure I will read one or two in due course.
Photo by Shiromani Kant on Unsplash
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