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Exclusive Books: Top 10 Bestsellers of 2006

100-Best-Sellers-Revisited-03

Remember this? Fanatics celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007. Fanatics celebrated every fanatical year of their first decade by going back in time, through the Top 10 books from each and every year.

We picked our favourites from the bestselling titles from 1998 to 2007  (We’ve extended this to include the last five years). In these lists Fanatics also included the VIBs (Very Important Books), the cult classics of books as chosen by the Exclusive Books store managers.

What you see below is a combination of books that hit the top sales charts in 2006, and books that captured the imaginations of many, and remain close to our hearts.

Click here to view the full list of top 10’s for 15 years (1998 – 2012)

10. Q&A by Vikas Swarup

Eighteen-year-old Ram Mohammad Thomas is in prison after answering twelve questions correctly on a TV quiz show to scoop one billion rupees. The producers have arrested him, convinced that he has cheated his way to victory. In his warm-hearted tale lies all the comedy, tragedy, joy and pathos of modern India.

9. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn & Hal Iggulden


The Dangerous Book for Boys gives you facts and figures at your fingertips. Swot up on the solar system, learn about the famous battles and tread inspiring stories of incredible courage and bravery. There’s a whole world out there: with this book, anyone can get out and explore it.

8. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Cult bestseller, new buzz word…’Freakonomics’ is at the heart of everything we see and do and the subjects that bedevil us daily: fromparenting to crime, sport to politics, fat to cheating, fear to traffic jams. Freakonomics  ask provocative and profound questions about human motivation and contemporary living.

7. Mandela: The Authorised Portrait by Mike Nicol & Tim Couzens

This magnificent book will be published throughout the world on 2 October 2006. It will contain the first publication of original material by Mandela, including prison writings which were discovered earlier this year, and will be illustrated with more than 250 photographs and other images sourced from the Nelson Mandela Foundation. An extensive 40,000 word narrative will tell the story of his life, supplemented by interviews with over 60 of the world’s most significant political figures, business and campaigning figures, fellow South Africans, sporting, literary and musical celebrities. 

6. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey


James Frey wakes up on a plane, with no memory of the preceding two weeks. His face is cut and his body is covered with bruises. He has no wallet and no idea of his destination. He has abused alcohol and drugs for a decade and he is only 23 years old. A Million Little Pieces is an account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed.

5. Screw It, Let’s Do It by Richard Branson


Screw It, Let’s Do It reveals the lessons that have helped global entrepreneur Richard Branson through  his business and personal life. Lessons include: believing it can be done; that, if others disagree with you, try and try again until you achieve your goal; and that you must love what you do.

4. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Presenting different arguments for religion, this book demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. It aims to show how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children. The God Delusion is a brilliantly argued, fascination polemic.

3. When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

Peter Godwin’s powerful, moving memoir describes dark times and dark aspects of human behaviour spanning two continents and half a century. It is a searing portrayal of a son’s effort to rescue his family, and a family’s struggle to belong in a hostile land.

2. An Unpopular War by J.H Thompson

In the seventies, eighties and nineties, conscription had a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of young South African men, particularly those who had to serve in the Angolan war. This title is a collection of reflections and memories of that time, capturing the spirit, the boredom and the fear.

1. Spud by John van de Ruit


What more can be said about Spud, South Africa’s most popular book? Spud‘s unversal appeal lies in the treatment of adolescence. Humour abounds, tinged with occasional sadness.

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