My Secret Life vs Rationale of the dirty joke: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Erotic literature, Sex
My Secret Life
“My earliest recollections of things sexual are of what I think must have occurred some time between my age of five and eight years.”
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A rare look at the hidden side of Victorian lifeFrom his precocious childhood to the end of what he calls his "amatory career," an adventurous Victorian known only as "Walter" records a breathtaking carnal epic through…
Rationale of the dirty joke
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Why do people tell dirty jokes? And what is it about a joke's dirtiness that makes it funny? G. Legman was perhaps the foremost scholar of the dirty joke, and as legions of humor writers and comedians know, his…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- My Secret Life is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 15 for Rationale of the dirty joke.
- Rationale of the dirty joke has the widest readership — 59 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| My Secret Life | Rationale of the dirty joke | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.1 (1) | 3.8 (59) |
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Reception
| My Secret Life | Rationale of the dirty joke | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5 | 59 |
| Editions | 64 | 18 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 10 | 228 |
| Reading it now | — | 12 |
| Written reviews | 1 | 11 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2408 | — |
| Pages | 224 | 811 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: My Secret Life or Rationale of the dirty joke?
My Secret Life has the higher combined reader rating across sources (My Secret Life 3.9/5, Rationale of the dirty joke 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: My Secret Life or Rationale of the dirty joke?
My Secret Life is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: My Secret Life (224 pages, ≈ 4 h 09 m); Rationale of the dirty joke (811 pages, ≈ 15 h 01 m).
Which is harder to read: My Secret Life or Rationale of the dirty joke?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — My Secret Life: Challenging; Rationale of the dirty joke: Challenging.