World Book Day 2014: Top Ten Book-Related Guinness World Records

In celebration of World Book Day 2014, Guinness World Records has revealed its top ten book-related record breakers.

Since 1995, World Book Day has been celebrated annually in over 100 countries across the globe, to promote reading, authors and illustrators. Designated by UNESCO, 2014 marks the 17th year of the occasion.

Each year, National Book Tokens Ltd, along with publishers and booksellers, send over 14 million book vouchers to children and young people in the UK. As well a reading events taking place over the country, schools have encouraged children to dress up as their favourite literary characters in celebration of reading and books.

Top ten literary Guinness World Records:

Youngest author

Dorothy Straight, from Washington DC, wrote the commercially published novel How the World Began in 1962 at the age of four. Published by Pantheon Books, Straight remains the youngest author to ever be published. Adauto Kovalski da Silva became the younger male author at the age of five, with the publication of his book Aprender é Fácil in October 2005.

Highest earning adult fiction author

In terms of book sales and earnings, James Patterson is the most successful author of adult fiction in the world. He has sold over 200 million books since 1992 and in the year leading up to June 2010, he earned £46.5m.

JK Rowling holds the record for the highest annual earnings for a children's author. She collected £150m between 2007 and 2008, according to the 2008 Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

Largest book signing

The most books signed by one author in a single session is 4,649 by Sammy Lee. She autographed her novel Autopilot Leadership Model in Shenyang, China in January 2013.

Fastest-selling book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh instalment in JK Rowling's fantasy fiction sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours following its release in the USA in July 2007. This amounts to 345,833 books per hour.

First free-standing bookcase

Built for the noted diarist Samuel Pepys in 1666, it is currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Pepys commissioned the bookcase, asking his joiner to build him a set of free-standing bookcases with protective glass doors. He also instructed his bookbinder to gild the spines of his books.

Largest collection of books owned privately

The record belongs to John Q. Benham of Avoca, Indiana, who has a private collection of over 1.5 million books.

Longest session reading aloud

The longest session was 113 hours 15 minutes achieved by Deepak Sharma Bajagain at the Tudikhel Ground in Nepal. It was held in September 2008, where he recited from 17 different books.

Highest library

The world's highest library is located on the 60th floor of the JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square in Shanghai, China. It is located at 230.9 metres above street level. Membership is available to the public, and the 103 shelves in the library contain both Chinese and English language books.

Best-selling copyright book

Guinness World Records is the best-selling book, excluding non-copyright works such as the Bible and the Koran. First published in October 1955, global sales in some 37 languages have exceeded 124 million as of October 2010.

Most abandoned book

The most abandoned book is Simon Cowell: The Unauthorised Biography by Chas Newkey-Burden. A 2010 survey of books left behind by Travelodge guests revealed Cowell's biography was the least popular.