Mistakes in Books: 14 Famous & Funny Typos

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Plus, how to avoid typos when writing your own book

Co-authored by Gerald Posner and Samantha Fulton, BA

Last Updated: June 12, 2026 Fact Checked

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Famous Books with Mistakes

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Avoiding Mistakes & Typos

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If you struggle with typos in your writing, you’re not alone! Authors from Mark Twain to J. K. Rowling have made mistakes in their books that are now infamous. In this article, we’ll be covering 14 famous mistakes in published books. Some of these mistakes can tell you if you have a valuable edition worth some serious moolah, while some of them are just downright funny. Plus, keep reading to learn how to avoid making mistakes in your own book. Let’s get started!

Famous Mistakes in Books

“Thou shalt commit adultery” in the 1631 King James Bible
“I am beautiful, she reminded himself” in George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons
“I tugged on the gown and sleeves I’d discarded like a wonton” in Karen Harper’s The Queen’s Governess
“...like two small chips being tossed about on a rough but friendly sea” in Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy

Section 1 of 2:

14 Famous & Popular Books with Mistakes

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Now known as The Wicked Bible, the 1631 edition of the King James Bible features a hilarious misprint in the 10 commandments. It states, “Thou shalt commit adultery,” missing the crucial word, not. The typo was discovered a year after printing. London publishers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were summoned by King Charles I and fined 300 pounds (which would be $70,000 today) for their mistake.^{[1]
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling There are entire forums dedicated to finding mistakes and continuity errors in the Harry Potter series. However, one of the most famous errors is in the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. On Harry’s school supplies list on page 53, the item “1 wand” is listed twice. If your edition of the book features this typo, you could be sitting on thousands of dollars! There are only 500 copies featuring this mistake, and one of them has sold for $33,000.^{[2]
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On page 57 of the first edition of this iconic novel, it says, “ripped a hole in the bottom of it with the was,” rather than “with the saw.” This is one of the key markers that your copy is a true first edition (and worth a lot of money)!^{[3]
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Research source} This typo was caught early after it was printed, so there are very few copies containing this misprint.
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Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Since Twilight was written so quickly, the first edition is actually full of simple typos. But the most infamous mistake is Meyer using the phrase “dust moats” rather than “dust motes.”^{[4]
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Research source} Rather than writing about stray dust particles, Meyer accidentally brings to mind the type of moat you might see surrounding a medieval castle!
This is another small typo with a hilarious result. On page 854 of Martin’s fantasy novel from the series A Song of Ice and Fire, he accidentally writes, “I am beautiful, she reminded himself.” As with the Harry Potter series, there are entire forums dedicated to spotting typos in Martin’s Game of Thrones series and spinoffs.
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Finnegans Wake by James Joyce Rather than a typo, the mistake in Finnegans Wake was actually an error in dictation. Joyce recited parts of the novel for playwright Samuel Beckett to write down. One time, Beckett mistakenly wrote the phrase, “Come in,” into the novel when Joyce was actually just reacting to someone knocking at the door. However, when Beckett read it back to the author, Joyce noted the mistake but said to “let it stand.”^{[5]
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As is the case with most editorial discussions of Shakespeare, the possibility of a misprint in Cymbeline is debated. While the name of King Cymbeline’s daughter is often printed as Imogen, it is likely that it was supposed to be Innogen. Shakespeare would have referred to British history rather than English history for this play, and the name in his reference materials would have been Innogen.^{[6]
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Moonraker by Ian Fleming Rare first edition printings of this novel feature a typo on page 10 with the word “shoot” printed as “shoo.” This typo is likely only present in 1 in 10 of the printings from the first 9,900-print run. Part of the iconic James Bond series, rare editions with the “shoo” typo are highly valuable and sought-after by book collectors.^{[7]
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In first editions of this classic novel, you can find a comical description on page 228. It reads, “A moment of panic before he saw him walking along the bench downshore with the pistol hanging in his hand, his head down.” Of course, the sentence should say, “along the beach.”^{[8]
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The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck You can find out if you have a first edition of The Good Earth with this minor misprint. In a passage describing small huts, Buck writes that they “clung like flees to a dog’s back.” This was not corrected to “clung like fleas” until the third printing.^{[9]
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You might think that a book like the dictionary would be free of typos, but this 1934 Webster’s dictionary features a rather humorous mistake. The word “dord” is listed as a synonym for density used by physicists and chemists. If it sounds like a fake word, that’s because it is! This error slipped through multiple rounds of editing and went uncorrected until 1947.^{[10]
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The Queen’s Governess by Karen Harper This mistake might make you crave Chinese food. In one passage of her romance novel, Harper accidentally says, “I tugged on the gown and sleeves I’d discarded like a wonton last night.” Of course, a wonton is a delicious dumpling, while a wanton (the intended word) is an old-fashioned word for a lewd woman.^{[11]
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With another food-related typo, Dreiser provides a laughable mistake in his 1925 classic. He writes of two characters who dance “harmoniously abandoning themselves to the rhythm of the music—like two small chips being tossed about on a rough but friendly sea.”^{[12]
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Research source} The word he was going for was “ships,” but we’re sure two small chips could also be tossed harmoniously about at sea.
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The Pasta Bible by Lee Blaylock This unfortunate typo is sure to make you wince. In a recipe for tagliatelle, this Australian cookbook calls for “salt and freshly ground black people.” Yikes! Obviously, it was supposed to be “freshly ground black pepper.” The book was recalled after an understandable amount of uproar.^{[13]
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Section 2 of 2:

How to Avoid Mistakes & Typos in Your Book

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Carefully proofread during and after writing. When you’re writing, make sure you watch for typos as you go. Pay attention to things like simple grammatical errors such as “it’s” (contraction for “it is”) vs “its” (possessive noun) or minor misspellings. Then, when you finish writing for the day or you reach the end of a chapter or passage, reread what you’ve written and check for any mistakes you may have missed while you were writing.
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Change the format when you proofread. Changing the font, font size, or font color can help you catch errors you missed during previous revisions. This is because rereading it in the same format leads you to rely on memory rather than actually reading it. You can also try printing what you’ve written if you’ve been working on a screen. Or, you can start with your final paragraph and move from bottom to top.^{[14]
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Technology can be super helpful for catching mistakes and typos. Be sure to take advantage of spellcheck and grammar check features on your computer when you’re writing. You can also use proofreading sites like Grammarly and Hemingway to check your work.
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Refer to a checklist. Checklists are a good way to review your work when you finish writing. You can find grammar and accuracy checklists online, or you can make your own! If you know there are certain things you struggle with (such as verb tenses or spelling), make a checklist of things you need to double check when you’re done writing.
- Need some extra help? Check out our guide on how to improve your grammar!
A second set of eyes is always helpful for catching small mistakes. If you’ve been reading and rereading on your own, ask someone else to take a look! They’ll probably catch things that you’ve skipped over from staring at your writing for so long. Make sure you ask someone with a good eye for grammar and spelling.
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Take a brain break and come back to recheck your work. Giving your brain a break can help you come back with a fresh set of eyes. Close your laptop or notebook and go do something else. You might watch a video or read something unrelated to what you’re working on. Then, come back and reread what you wrote.