The Agony and the Ecstasy vs Time and Again: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Artists, History, Fiction
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Mr. Stone gives his signature style and thought to this story of Michelangelo. He points out often in this book that Michelangelo, before beginning a work, asks what it is he is trying to capture in the moment of his…
1 film adaptation
vs
Time and Again
“IN SHIRT-SLEEVES, the way I generally worked, I sat sketching a bar of soap taped to an upper corner of my drawing board.”
[Comment by Audrey Niffenegger, on The Guardian's website][1]: Time and Again is an original; there is nothing quite like it. It is the story of Si Morley, a commercial artist who is drawing a piece of soap one…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Time and Again is the quickest read — about 7 hours vs 12 for The Agony and the Ecstasy.
- The Agony and the Ecstasy has the widest readership — 99309 ratings behind its score.
- The Agony and the Ecstasy reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 37 times.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Agony and the Ecstasy | Time and Again | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (99309) | 3.9 (26159) |
| Hardcover | 4.3 (33) | 3.7 (113) |
| Google Books | — | 4.5 (4) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (160) |
Reception
| The Agony and the Ecstasy | Time and Again | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 99309 | 26159 |
| Editions | 83 | 12 |
| Citations | 37 | 8 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 95820 | 39378 |
| Reading it now | 2163 | 2067 |
| Written reviews | 2723 | 3113 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2358 | 2367 |
| Pages | 664 | 399 |