If It Bleeds vs South Sea Tales: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: American Short stories, Short Stories, Fiction
If It Bleeds
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A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to the No. 1 bestseller THE OUTSIDER. News people have a saying: 'If it bleeds, it leads'. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle…
South Sea Tales
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Despite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily in the light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to just outside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, a…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- South Sea Tales is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 8 for If It Bleeds.
- South Sea Tales has the widest readership — 2682 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| If It Bleeds | South Sea Tales | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.8 (2682) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (368) | 2.0 (3) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (2020) | 4.5 (104) |
Reception
| If It Bleeds | South Sea Tales | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2020 | 2682 |
| Editions | 21 | 70 |
| Citations | — | 5 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 2086 |
| Reading it now | — | 344 |
| Written reviews | — | 206 |
| Wikipedia attention | 10875 | 212 |
| Pages | 448 | 157 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: If It Bleeds or South Sea Tales?
If It Bleeds has the higher combined reader rating across sources (If It Bleeds 4.0/5, South Sea Tales 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: If It Bleeds or South Sea Tales?
South Sea Tales is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: South Sea Tales (157 pages, ≈ 2 h 54 m); If It Bleeds (448 pages, ≈ 8 h 18 m).
Which is harder to read: If It Bleeds or South Sea Tales?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — If It Bleeds: Moderate; South Sea Tales: Challenging.