According to a recent study conducted by Facebook, JK Rowling's Harry Potter is the most influential book(s) in people's lives, even surpassing The Holy Bible.

A viral meme has been circulating Facebook for nearly a year asking users to list 10 books that have stayed with them or affected them in a positive way. The post specified the books didn't have to be great works of literature, just any books in general.

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Facebook then gathered over 130,000 status updates within the last two weeks of August by matching key words of "10 books," and then analyzed each status update through a program in an effort to determine which books are most influential in people's lives.

The results surprised many as 21 percent of the 130,000 statuses mentioned Harry Potter, ranking it number one among the top 500 books that were listed. Just seven percent of statuses mentioned The Holy Bible, ranking it number six on the list.

According to reports, the study wasn't limited to young adults and teens, rather the average age of those participating was 37-years-old.

However, children are also more open to influence and new ideas, hence books read during early years tend to imprint themselves strongly in our memories.

It's also worth noting that about 63 percent of users in the study were located in the US, and women outnumbered men three to one.

Here's a list of the top-ten books that are most influential to people according to the Facebook study:

1. Harry Potter
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. The Hobbit
5. Pride and Prejudice
6. The Holy Bible
7. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
8. The Hunger Games
9. The Catcher in the Rye
10. The Chronicles of Narnia

TagsHarry Potter, Top influential books, The Holy Bible, Study, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, Hunger Games, facebook study, book study