Can Such Things Be? vs Waifs and Strays: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: American Short stories, Short Stories
Can Such Things Be?
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Ambrose Bierce’s second major short story collection, Can Such Things Be? collected nearly all of Bierce’s supernatural horror stories. Bierce himself was a skeptic of the supernatural, having once written a satirical…
Waifs and Strays
“A TRESTLE burned down on the International Railroad.”
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Urban teens take center stage in a pair of edgy short story collections. Waifs and Strays presents 15 previously published works by Canadian fantasy writer Charles de Lint, including "May This Be Your Last Sorrow" from…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Can Such Things Be? highest: Can Such Things Be? 3.9 · Waifs and Strays 3.6.
- Waifs and Strays is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for Can Such Things Be?.
- Waifs and Strays has the widest readership — 42 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Can Such Things Be? | Waifs and Strays | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.5 (42) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (7) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (5) | — |
Reception
| Can Such Things Be? | Waifs and Strays | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 7 | 42 |
| Editions | 46 | 56 |
| Citations | — | 10 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 39 |
| Written reviews | — | 4 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 46 |
| Pages | 200 | 78 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Can Such Things Be? or Waifs and Strays?
Can Such Things Be? has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Can Such Things Be? 3.9/5, Waifs and Strays 3.6/5).
Which is shorter to read: Can Such Things Be? or Waifs and Strays?
Waifs and Strays is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Waifs and Strays (78 pages, ≈ 1 h 27 m); Can Such Things Be? (200 pages, ≈ 3 h 42 m).
Which is harder to read: Can Such Things Be? or Waifs and Strays?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Can Such Things Be?: Challenging; Waifs and Strays: Challenging.