If It Bleeds vs The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Future life, American Short stories, American Horror tales, Short Stories, Thriller, 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…
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
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"A master storyteller at his best--the O. Henry Prize winner Stephen King delivers a generous collection of stories, several of them brand-new, featuring revelatory autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Bazaar of Bad Dreams has the widest readership — 69808 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| If It Bleeds | The Bazaar of Bad Dreams | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (69808) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (368) | 3.7 (188) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (2020) | 4.5 (852) |
Reception
| If It Bleeds | The Bazaar of Bad Dreams | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2020 | 69808 |
| Editions | 21 | 22 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 10875 | 3503 |
| Pages | 448 | 495 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: If It Bleeds or The Bazaar of Bad Dreams?
If It Bleeds has the higher combined reader rating across sources (If It Bleeds 4.0/5, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: If It Bleeds or The Bazaar of Bad Dreams?
If It Bleeds is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: If It Bleeds (448 pages, ≈ 8 h 18 m); The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (495 pages, ≈ 9 h 10 m).
Which is harder to read: If It Bleeds or The Bazaar of Bad Dreams?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — If It Bleeds: Moderate; The Bazaar of Bad Dreams: Moderate.