12 Literary Fun Facts That Will Surprise You

To celebrate International Book Day 2024, at A Page In The Sun we took on the task of collecting 12 fascinating facts about books and authors that you may not know. Leave a comment on our Facebook to let us know which one of them surprised you the most. 

1. The longest book in the world 

“In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust, a work composed of seven parts published between 1913 and 1927. They all make up 3,031 pages. 

2. Book with the most film adaptations 

According to the Guinness Book of Books, more than 200 films have been made based on the Bible. 

3. First book written on a typewriter 

Mark Twain was the first author to submit a novel written on a typewriter, “The Mississippi Life” in 1983.  

4. Most rejected book 

Dick Wimmer was 28 when he wrote “Irish Wine”, taking him more than 25 years and was rejected 162 times before it was finally published. 

5. Youngest published writer 

Saeed Rashed AlMheiri was only 4 years old when he published his children's book “Saeed the Elephant and the Bear” by the Kalimat publishing house in 2022. 

6. Book with the most invented words 

The book with the most invented words was written by Mexican author Javier Enríquez Serralde entitled "Lexinario" and contains more than 5 thousand invented words. 

7. Most expensive book sold at an auction 

An almost complete Hebrew Bible that could date back to the 9th century, known as the Codex Sassoon. It was sold in May 2023 at an auction for $38.1 million. 

8. Most commonly stolen book 

The Guinness Book of Records is the most stolen book, with an average of 14 copies stolen per library each year. 

9. Best-selling writer in history 

William Shakespeare has sold more than 4 billion copies of his works. 

10. First book printed in English 

"Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye" was the first book printed in English, published by William Caxton in 1473. 

11. A Masterpiece of Latin American literature 

“Pedro Páramo” by Juan Rulfo is considered a masterpiece of Latin American literature. 

12. Author with the most translations 

William Shakespeare's works have been translated into more than 80 languages. 

Come visit our cafe-bookstore! Read your favorite book while enjoying your favorite beverage. You can also visit our art gallery while you are here, we can’t wait to meet you and we know you’ll will love it!