The Best of Me vs The Notebook: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: North Carolina, Romance fiction, Romance & Relationships, Romance, Fiction
The Best of Me
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In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of…
The Notebook
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A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. An achingly tender story about the enduring power of love. A man…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Notebook has the widest readership — 1870610 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| The Best of Me | The Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.2 (1870610) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 3.6 (525) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (64) | 4.5 (4) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (5066) | 4.5 (1722) |
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Reception
| The Best of Me | The Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5066 | 1870610 |
| Editions | 24 | 53 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 715794 |
| Reading it now | — | 13650 |
| Written reviews | — | 30202 |
| Wikipedia attention | 20277 | 6509 |
| Pages | 320 | 256 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Best of Me or The Notebook?
The Notebook has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Notebook 4.2/5, The Best of Me 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Best of Me or The Notebook?
The Notebook is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Notebook (256 pages, ≈ 4 h 44 m); The Best of Me (320 pages, ≈ 5 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: The Best of Me or The Notebook?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Best of Me: Moderate; The Notebook: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
The Best of Me: no film adaptation on record; The Notebook: 3 film adaptations.