Macbeth vs To Kill a Mockingbird: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Macbeth
“Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.”
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The play concerns a trusted general who secretly lusts for power. Encouraged by the prophecies of three witches and urged on by his ambitious wife Macbeth commits regicide. Left fearful and superstitious by this…
To Kill a Mockingbird
“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”
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One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture,…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate To Kill a Mockingbird highest: To Kill a Mockingbird 4.3 · Macbeth 3.5.
- Macbeth is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for To Kill a Mockingbird.
- To Kill a Mockingbird has the widest readership — 139288 ratings behind its score.
- Macbeth runs the darker storyline; To Kill a Mockingbird stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Macbeth | To Kill a Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (18773) | 4.3 (139288) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (1169) | 4.2 (4763) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 3.5 (5) |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (555) | 4.5 (5506) |
Reception
| Macbeth | To Kill a Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 18773 | 139288 |
| Editions | 1867 | 213 |
| Citations | 66 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 8761 | 2964331 |
| Reading it now | 325 | — |
| Written reviews | 190 | 139288 |
| Wikipedia attention | 485 | 82737 |
| Pages | 84 | 309 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Macbeth or To Kill a Mockingbird?
To Kill a Mockingbird has the higher combined reader rating across sources (To Kill a Mockingbird 4.3/5, Macbeth 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: Macbeth or To Kill a Mockingbird?
Macbeth is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Macbeth (84 pages, ≈ 1 h 33 m); To Kill a Mockingbird (309 pages, ≈ 5 h 43 m).
Which is harder to read: Macbeth or To Kill a Mockingbird?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Macbeth: Challenging; To Kill a Mockingbird: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Macbeth: no film adaptation on record; To Kill a Mockingbird: 5 film adaptations.