This is a list of adult fiction books that topped ''The New York Times'' Fiction Best Seller list in 1962. Four books topped the list that year, the longest on top being ''

Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...

'' by

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel '' Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sh ...

, which spent exactly half the year there - from April 29 to November 11, its last week at the top - though it continued in the top 15 best sellers for another 20 weeks. ''

Franny and Zooey ''Franny ''and'' Zooey'' is a book by American author J. D. Salinger which comprises his short story "Franny" and novella ''Zooey'' . The two works were published together as a book in 1961, having originally appeared in ''The New Yorker'' in 19 ...

'' by

J.D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in ''S ...

started the year at the top of the list carrying over from 1961, where it entered the top spot on October 25. In all Salinger's book spent 25 continuous weeks in the top spot. The list was interrupted at the end of the year by the

1962–63 New York City newspaper strike Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condit ...

which lasted 114 days and had a profound impact on the newspaper industry in New York.

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The New York Times'' Fiction Best Sellers of 1962

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. 1962 in the United States