How to Be Alone vs One Man's Meat: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Essais américains, American essays, Essays
How to Be Alone
Collection of some of Franzen's essays, including the one known as "the Harper's essay". Some are edited or tweaked from their original printings. A mixture of topics but well-written and enjoyable; Franzen is as…
vs
One Man's Meat
First published in 1942, this collection of essays on Maine life has been in print almost without interruption. The author began this collection as a series of pieces for Harper's Magazine when he left New York City and…
The verdict
- Readers rate One Man's Meat highest: One Man's Meat 4.3 · How to Be Alone 3.6.
- How to Be Alone has the widest readership — 12772 ratings behind its score.
- How to Be Alone reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 25 times.
How to choose
Scores by source
| How to Be Alone | One Man's Meat | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (12772) | 4.3 (2214) |
| Hardcover | 3.2 (25) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (6) | — |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (10) |
Reception
| How to Be Alone | One Man's Meat | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 12772 | 2214 |
| Editions | 16 | 16 |
| Citations | 25 | 18 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 492 | 44 |
| Pages | 306 | 350 |