The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1965
# The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 1965

This is a list of adult fiction books that topped The New York Times Fiction Best Seller list in 1965.

Only three titles topped the list in 1965. The most popular was The Source by James Michener, which dominated the second half of the year, even through a three-week newspaper strike. The other two titles were Herzog, by Saul Bellow, which completed a run at the top for more than half a year, begun in October 1964 (29 weeks), and Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman (8 weeks, and another 32 at No. 2, in all spending 65 weeks in the top 10 bestsellers). Coincidentally, both of the latter titles, Herzog and Staircase, are epistolary novels, featuring the extensive use of letters.

| Date | Book | Author |
| - | - | - |
| January 3 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| January 10 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| January 17 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| January 24 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| January 31 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| February 7 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| February 14 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| February 21 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| February 28 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| March 7 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| March 14 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| March 21 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| March 28 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| April 4 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| April 11 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| April 18 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| April 25 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| May 2 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| May 9 | Herzog | Saul Bellow |
| May 16 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| May 23 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| May 30 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| June 6 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| June 13 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| June 20 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| June 27 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| July 4 | Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman |
| July 11 | The Source | James Michener |
| July 18 | The Source | James Michener |
| July 25 | The Source | James Michener |
| August 1 | The Source | James Michener |
| August 8 | The Source | James Michener |
| August 15 | The Source | James Michener |
| August 22 | The Source | James Michener |
| August 29 | The Source | James Michener |
| September 5 | The Source | James Michener |
| September 12 | The Source | James Michener |
| September 19 | Not published due to newspaper strike | Not published due to newspaper strike |
| September 26 | Not published due to newspaper strike | Not published due to newspaper strike |
| October 3 | Not published due to newspaper strike | Not published due to newspaper strike |
| October 10 | The Source | James Michener |
| October 17 | The Source | James Michener |
| October 24 | The Source | James Michener |
| October 31 | The Source | James Michener |
| November 7 | The Source | James Michener |
| November 14 | The Source | James Michener |
| November 21 | The Source | James Michener |
| November 28 | The Source | James Michener |
| December 5 | The Source | James Michener |
| December 12 | The Source | James Michener |
| December 19 | The Source | James Michener |
| December 26 | The Source | James Michener |

* ↑ Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 1965
* ↑ John Bear, The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992, pp. 93-95
