New Arabian Nights vs The Mayor of Casterbridge: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Long Now Manual for Civilization, British and irish fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

Cover of New Arabian Nights

New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson · 1882 ★★★★☆ 3.7 276 pages · ≈ 5 h 07 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy · 1800 ★★★★☆ 3.9 Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.7 vs 3.9 — either is a safe pick by score.
The Mayor of Casterbridge is the easier read (Challenging), New Arabian Nights more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side