Fahrenheit 451 vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Drama, Fiction

Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury · 1953 ★★★★☆ 4.0 185 pages · ≈ 3 h 26 m · Moderate

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, the novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are…

1 film adaptation

Political Fiction Satire Novela Long Now Manual for Civilization

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The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1920 ★★★★☆ 3.9 431 pages · ≈ 7 h 59 m · Moderate

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”

Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…

1 film adaptation

Mistresses American Manuscripts Traffic accidents First loves

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Fahrenheit 451 is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for The Great Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
The Great Gatsby runs the darker storyline; Fahrenheit 451 stays the lighter read.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Fahrenheit 451 ≈ 3h vs 7h for The Great Gatsby In the mood for something dark? The Great Gatsby a darker storyline than Fahrenheit 451 Want something lighter? Fahrenheit 451 an easier tone than The Great Gatsby

Scores by source

	Fahrenheit 451	The Great Gatsby
Goodreads	4.0 (2974389)	3.9 (6120259)
Hardcover	3.9 (4809)	4.5 (2)
Google Books	3.0 (1)	5.0 (1)
Apple Books	4.0 (1796)	4.5 (806)
LiveLib	—	4.0 (5)

Reception

	Fahrenheit 451	The Great Gatsby
Ratings	2974389	6120259
Editions	262	1179
Citations	—	24
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	1941444	2127185
Reading it now	57539	85180
Written reviews	105127	138625
Wikipedia attention	94815	94574
Pages	185	431

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Fahrenheit 451 or The Great Gatsby?

Fahrenheit 451 has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Fahrenheit 451 4.0/5, The Great Gatsby 3.9/5).

Which is shorter to read: Fahrenheit 451 or The Great Gatsby?

Fahrenheit 451 is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Fahrenheit 451 (185 pages, ≈ 3 h 26 m); The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).

Which is harder to read: Fahrenheit 451 or The Great Gatsby?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Fahrenheit 451: Moderate; The Great Gatsby: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

Fahrenheit 451: 5 film adaptations; The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations.