Random House Popular Books
Random House Biography & Facts
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. It has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the Germany-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History 20th century Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random", which suggested the name Random House.In 1934, they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel Ulysses in the Anglophone world. Ulysses transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it acquired Smith and Haas, and Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 1956. The acquisition of Smith and Haas added authors, including William Faulkner, Isak Dinesen, André Malraux, Robert Graves, and Jean de Brunhoff, who wrote the Babar children's books. Random House also hired editors Harry Maule, Robert Linscott, and Saxe Commins, and they brought authors such as Sinclair Lewis and Robert Penn Warren with them. Random House entered reference publishing in 1947 with the American College Dictionary, which was followed in 1966 by its first unabridged dictionary. In October 1959, Random House went public at $11.25 a share. This was a factor in decisions by other publishing companies, including Simon & Schuster, to later go public. American publishers Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and Beginner Books were acquired by Random House in 1960, followed by Pantheon Books in 1961; works continue to be published under these imprints with editorial independence, such as Everyman's Library, a series of classical literature reprints. In 1965, RCA bought Random House as part of a diversification strategy. Random House acquired the paperback book publisher Ballantine Books in 1973. RCA sold Random House to Advance Publications in 1980. Random House began publishing audiobooks in 1985.In 1988, Random House acquired Crown Publishing Group. Also in 1988, McGraw-Hill acquired Random House's Schools and Colleges division. In 1998, Bertelsmann AG bought Random House and merged it with Bantam Doubleday Dell and it soon went global. In 1999, Random House acquired the children's audiobook publisher Listening Library.In 1999, Random House sold its distribution division. 21st century In 2001, Phyllis E. Grann joined Random House as vice chairman. Grann was the CEO for Putnam and had grown that house from $10 million in revenue in 1976, to more than $200 million by 1993 and without increasing their title output. A publishing insider commented that then CEO Peter Olson was, "I think maybe instead of buying a company he bought a person."In 2003, Random House reentered the distribution business. Coinciding with the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the publishing industry was hit hard with weak retail sales. In May 2008, Random House CEO Peter Olson stepped down and Bertelsmann replaced Olson with Markus Dohle.In October of that year, Doubleday, a division of Random House, announced that they would lay off 16 people, representing approximately 10% of its workforce.In early December 2008, which became known as Black Wednesday in publishing circles, many publishers including Random House took steps by restructuring their divisions and laying off employees.The reorganization consolidated and created three divisions, including Random House Publishing Group, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and Crown Publishing Group.Susan Kamil was named editorial director for Dial Press and editor-in-chief of Random House imprints reporting to Gina Centrello, the president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group. There were layoffs at Doubleday, now part of Knopf Publishing Group, and Dial Press, Bantam Dell. Spiegel & Grau was moved from Doubleday over to Random House. Random House also has an entertainment production arm for film and television, Random House Studio; one release in 2011 was One Day. The company also creates story content for media including video games, social networks on the web, and mobile platforms. Random House is one of the largest English language publishers, and part of a group of publishers once known as the "Big 6" and now known as the "Big Five". In October 2012, Bertelsmann entered into talks with rival conglomerate Pearson plc, over the possibility of combining their respective publishing companies, Random House and Penguin Group. On July 1, 2013, the merger was completed , and the new company emerged as Penguin Random House. When founded, Bertelsmann owned 53% of the joint venture while Pearson owned 47%.Pearson sold 22% of its shares to Bertelsmann in July 2017, and since April 2020, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann, making Random House division again wholly owned by German parent. At the time of the acquisition the combined companies controlled 25% of the book business with more than 10,000 employees and 250 independent publishing imprints and with about $3.9 billion in annual revenues. The move to consolidate was to provide leverage against Amazon.com and battle the shrinking state of bookstores.In October 2018, Penguin Random House merged two of its most known publishing lines, Random House and the Crown Publishing Group. According to Madeline McIntosh, chief executive of Penguin Random House U.S., the two lines "will retain their distinct editorial identities." McIntosh explained some of the motivation behind the merger in a memo to employees, writing, "Book discovery and buying patterns continue to shift, resulting in growth opportunities in the nonfiction categories in which Crown in particular already has a strong foothold: food, lifestyle, health, wellness, business, and Christian." "We must invest even more aggressively in title-level and scaled marketing programs, capabilities and partnerships", she added.McIntosh explained of the merger, saying, "We will need to do two things simultaneously. First, we must expand and strengthen the expert publishing teams who are specialized in and dedicated to each category. Second, we must invest even more aggressively in title-level and scaled marketing programs, capabilities, and partnerships. This will ensure that we not only maximize the sales for each individual book but also keep pace with consumer trends."In 2019, Penguin Random House acquired British children's book publisher Little Tiger Group, including Tiger Tales Press, a U.S. subsidiary, and added it to Random House Children's Books. Organization Headquarters The publisher's main office in the United States is located in Penguin Random House Tower, which was constructed in 2009 at 1745 Broadway in Manhattan. The 684-foot (210 m) building spans the .... Discover the Random House popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Random House books.
Best Seller Random House Books of 2024
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Outlander
Diana Gabaldon#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A STARZ ORIGINAL SERIES Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s...
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Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia OwensNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREThe #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beau...
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Origin
Dan Brown#1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER "Dr. Langdon is once again wrapped up in a globalscale event that could have massive ramifications on the world’s religions. As he does in all hi...
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A Dance with Dragons
George R.R. Martin#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK FIVE In the aftermath of a colossal battle, Daenerys Targaryen rules with her three dragons as queen of a c...
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The Boys in the Boat
Daniel James BrownNow a Major Motion Picture Directed by George ClooneyThe #1 New York Times–bestselling story about the American Olympic rowing triumph in Nazi Germanyfrom the author of Facing the ...
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Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GMA BOOK CLUB PICK Meet Elizabeth Zott: “a gifted research chemist, absurdly selfassured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post) in 19...
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg LarssonONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER The thrilling first book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ...
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The Fault in Our Stars
John GreenThe beloved, #1 global bestseller by John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and Turtles All the Way Down“John Green is one of the best writers alive.” ...
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The Book Thief
Markus Zusak#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIMEThe extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest o...
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Sycamore Row
John Grisham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER John Grisham returns to the iconic setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill, as Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a controversial trial that ...
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The Martian
Andy WeirNominated as one of America’s bestloved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he...
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Inferno
Dan Brown#1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon awakens in an Italian hospital, disoriented and with no recollection of the past thirtysix hours, includ...
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Wonder
R. J. Palacio#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Millions of people have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary facewho shows us that kindness brings us t...
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Educated
Tara Westover#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept ou...
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Paper Towns
John GreenWinner of the Edgar AwardThe #1 New York Times BestsellerPublishers Weekly and USA Today BestsellerMillions of Copies SoldQuentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magn...
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Winnie the Pooh
A. A. Milne & Ernest H. ShepardHappy 90th birthday, to one of the world's most beloved icons of children's literature, WinniethePooh! The adventures of Pooh and Piglet, Kanga and tiny Roo, Owl, Rabbit, and ...
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Me Before You
Jojo MoyesFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Bef...
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The A Song of Ice and Fire Series
George R.R. MartinFor the first time, all five novels in the epic fantasy series that inspired HBO’s Game of Thrones are together in one eBook bundle. An immersive entertainment experience unlike an...
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A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor TowlesThe megabestseller with more than 2 million readerssoon to be a Showtime/Paramount+ series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander RostovFrom the #1 New York Timesbestselling aut...
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The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene & Joost ElffersAmoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multimillioncopy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing...
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Dune
Frank HerbertDUNE: PART TWO THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE COMING MARCH 1st, 2024Directed by Denis Villeneuve, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on the novel Dune...
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Unbroken
Laura Hillenbrand#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: Unbroken and Unbroken: Path to Redemption.“Extrao...
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Dark Places
Gillian FlynnNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR NOW IN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO LIMITED SERIES From the acclaimed author of Gone Girl, “a riveting tale of tru...
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A Game of Thrones
George R.R. MartinNOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONESTHE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost o...
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A Storm of Swords
George R.R. MartinTHE BOOK BEHIND THE THIRD SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO.Here is the third volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes ...
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If I Stay
Gayle FormanThe critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went, Just One Day, and Just One Year. Soon to be a major motion picture, sta...
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The Scorch Trials
James DashnerRead the second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series that is soon to be a motion picture, hitting theaters September 18, 2015, and is perfect for fans ...
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Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste NgThe #1 New York Times bestseller!“To say I love this book is an understatement. It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and ...
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The Litigators
John Grisham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER After leaving a fasttrack legal career and going on a serious bender, David Zinc is sober, unemployed, and desperate enough to take a job at Finley &a...
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A Clash of Kings
George R.R. MartinTHE BOOK BEHIND THE SECOND SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO. A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK TWO In this thrilling sequel to A Game of Thrones, Geo...
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Before We Were Yours
Lisa WingateTHE BLOCKBUSTER HITOver two million copies sold! A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller“Poignant, engrossing.”People “Lisa Wingate take...
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Defending Jacob
William LandayNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW AN APPLE TV+ LIMITED SERIES STARRING CHRIS EVANS, MICHELLE DOCKERY, AND JAEDEN MARTELL “A legal thriller that’s comparable to classic...
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Becoming
Michelle ObamaAn intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WATCH THE EMMYNOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINA...
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Gray Mountain
John Grisham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER John Grisham has a new hero ... and she’s full of surprises. The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street ...
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The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown#1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been mu...
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The Whistler
John Grisham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A highstakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State, from the author hailed as “the best thriller writer alive” by Ken Follett ...
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The Chaos Agent
Mark GreaneyArtificial intelligence leads to shockingly real danger for the Gray Man in this latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.A car accident in Japan.A drowning in Seou...
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The Help
Kathryn StockettThe #1 New York Times bestselling novel and basis for the Academy Awardwinning filma timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’tnominated as one...
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The Racketeer
John Grisham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “The Racketeer is guilty of only one thing: keeping us engaged until the very last page.”USA Today In the history of the United States, only four act...
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Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thr...
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Looking for Alaska
John GreenThe awardwinning, genredefining debut from John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our StarsWinner of the Michael L. Printz Award ...
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Wild
Cheryl Strayed#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an elevenhundredmile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastropheand built ...
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No Easy Day
Mark Owen & Kevin MaurerThe #1 New York Times bestselling firstperson account of the planning and execution of the Bin Laden raid from a Navy SEAL who confronted the terrorist mastermind and witnessed his...
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Big Little Lies
Liane MoriartyTHE INSPIRATION FOR THE AWARDWINNING HBO® SERIES STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON, NICOLE KIDMAN, SHAILENE WOODLEY, LAURA DERN, ZOË KRAVITZ, AND MERYL STREEPAVAILABLE FOR STREA...
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Sharp Objects
Gillian FlynnNOW AN HBO® LIMITED SERIES STARRING AMY ADAMS, NOMINATED FOR EIGHT EMMY AWARDS, INCLUDING OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIESFROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHO...
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The Power of Habit
Charles DuhiggNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal Fina...