--- title: The Most Read Books of 2017, According to Amazon description: Amazon has announced its most popular fiction and non-fiction books of 2017, and the lists represent a blend of timely stories and classics canonical: https://time.com/5059023/most-read-books-2017-amazon/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-12T14:00:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:41:47.917Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Most Read Books of 2017, According to Amazon og:description: Including 'The Handmaid's Tale' to 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' og:url: https://time.com/5059023/most-read-books-2017-amazon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58f4551b6c35dd6f/6988f4a522fb858b0ce2403a/kindle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5197 og:image:height: 2923 og:image:alt: Digital books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Most Read Books of 2017, According to Amazon twitter:description: Including 'The Handmaid's Tale' to 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58f4551b6c35dd6f/6988f4a522fb858b0ce2403a/kindle.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _The Handmaid's Tale_ Was the Most Read Novel of 2017, According to Amazon > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=818b022b-6d85-43b1-bd36-e87102d6d13e&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Elisabeth Moss and Margaret Atwood on the Urgency of The Handmaid's Tale [Watch (HLS stream): Elisabeth Moss and Margaret Atwood on the Urgency of The Handmaid's Tale](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KQNiWmZW.m3u8) (2:39)  _Published 2017-08-31. The Handmaid's Tale book landed back on bestseller lists and the TV show has been called 'prescient' by critics and fans in 2017._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Dec 12, 2017 2:00 PM UTC The Handmaid's Tale book landed back on bestseller lists and the TV show has been called 'prescient' by critics and fans in 2017. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Dec 12, 2017 2:00 PM UTC Amazon has announced its [most popular fiction and non-fiction books of 2017](http://amazon.com/charts2017), and the lists represent a blend of timely stories and contemporary classics. [Margaret Atwood’s](http://time.com/collection/influencers-2017/4934668/margaret-atwood-and-elisabeth-moss-2/) 1985 novel [_The Handmaid’s Tale_](http://time.com/4826549/emma-watson-handmaids-tale-books/) came out on top among fiction books, having enjoyed newfound popularity thanks to [a new Hulu adaptation](http://time.com/4815007/handmaids-tale-season-finale-review/) and comparisons to contemporary threats to reproductive rights. Another 1980s book with a new adaptation, [Stephen King’s _It_](http://time.com/4941007/stephen-kings-september/), came in second place, and fantasy favorites by George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling populated much of the rest of the list. On the nonfiction side, Mark Manson’s _The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F\*ck_ ranked first with its edict that to be happier, you should try focusing less on happiness. The number two slot went to [J.D. Vance’s _Hillbilly Elegy_](http://time.com/4565491/jd-vance-white-working-class-voters/), which many readers turned to for an explanation of rural America following the 2016 presidential election. Memoirs, history books, and a hearty dose of self-help titles filled out the list. Here are the most read books of 2017, according to Amazon’s Kindle and Audible data: ## **Top 10 Most Read Fiction** 1. [_The Handmaid’s Tale_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/038549081X/?tag=timecom-20), by Margaret Atwood 2. [_It_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501175467/?tag=timecom-20), by Stephen King 3. [_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/059035342X/?tag=timecom-20), by J.K. Rowling 4. [_A Game of Thrones_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553593714/?tag=timecom-20), by George R.R. Martin 5. [_Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0439358078/?tag=timecom-20), by J.K. Rowling 6. [_Beneath a Scarlet Sky_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503943372/?tag=timecom-20), by Mark Sullivan 7. [_Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0439139600/?tag=timecom-20), by J.K. Rowling 8. [_A Gentleman in Moscow_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0670026190/?tag=timecom-20), by Amor Towles 9. [_Origin_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385514239/?tag=timecom-20), by Dan Brown 10. [_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0545139708/?tag=timecom-20), by J.K. Rowling ## **Top 10 Most Read Nonfiction** 1. [_The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F\*ck_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062457713/?tag=timecom-20), by Mark Manson 2. [_Hillbilly Elegy_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062300547/?tag=timecom-20), by J.D. Vance 3. [_Sapiens_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062316095/?tag=timecom-20), by Yuval Harari 4. [_Alexander Hamilton_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143034758/?tag=timecom-20), by Ron Chernow 5. [_Born a Crime_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399588175/?tag=timecom-20), by Trevor Noah 6. [_The 5 Second Rule_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682612384/?tag=timecom-20), by Mel Robbins 7. [_How To Win Friends and Influence People_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671027034/?tag=timecom-20), by Dale Carnegie 8. [_Al Franken, Giant of the Senate_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1455540412/?tag=timecom-20), by Al Franken 9. [_The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451639619/?tag=timecom-20), by Stephen R. Covey 10. [_I Can’t Make This Up_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501155563/?tag=timecom-20), by Kevin Hart ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] I'm curious what you think Ultimately the book is about for you? I think it's about a totalitarian society in America the way it would likely be. [ LAUGH ] Yeah, that's pretty good. Except maybe without the output. [ MUSIC ] A lot of the work that I do Tends to be these sort of strong, complicated women. And I often get asked by interviewers, do you gravitate towards quote, unquote, feminist roles? Which is a question I sort of almost struggle to answer. Feminism, when we use that word, I always like to know What do you mean by it? What are we talking about? Yes. So if the person can describe what they mean by the word, because there are this many different meanings, than we can talk about whether I am one of those or not. I'm gonna use that actually because I find myself sometimes getting slightly tripped up because I am a feminist. Because you don't know what they mean as in so far as- Yeah, and I am ashamed of it. Insofar as I believe in human rights- And women are human. And women are human, but that's not the only thing about it. That's not why I love it, that's not why I did it, so I'm like, well, yes and no, really. You girls will serve the leaders and their barren wives You will bear children for them. You told me everything in the Handmaid's Tale had happened. Somewhere at some time. I made nothing up. Now in our time where our climate is what it is in America and in the world Do you still feel the same about that statement? Or do you feel any different? Even more so. Even more so, yeah. Even more so, absolutely. Yeah. So when I first published that book, at the outset, some people were saying how could you suggest that we would ever do such a thing? That this would ever happen, right. Yeah, so I don't hear that much anymore either. [ MUSIC ] Do you feel like there is one thing that the average women or average person can do to sort of prevent- Well, they might vote, just to begin with. That would help, wouldn't it? Voting helps. [ LAUGH ] Yeah. 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