The Great Gatsby vs To Kill a Mockingbird: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Classics, Fiction
The Great Gatsby
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”
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Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…
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 · The Great Gatsby 3.9.
- To Kill a Mockingbird is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 7 for The Great Gatsby.
- The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
- The Great Gatsby runs the darker storyline; To Kill a Mockingbird stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Great Gatsby | To Kill a Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (6120259) | 4.3 (139288) |
| Hardcover | 4.5 (2) | 4.2 (4763) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 3.5 (5) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (806) | 4.5 (5506) |
| LiveLib | 4.0 (5) | — |
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Reception
| The Great Gatsby | To Kill a Mockingbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 6120259 | 139288 |
| Editions | 1179 | 213 |
| Citations | 24 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 2127185 | 2964331 |
| Reading it now | 85180 | — |
| Written reviews | 138625 | 139288 |
| Wikipedia attention | 94574 | 82737 |
| Pages | 431 | 309 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird?
To Kill a Mockingbird has the higher combined reader rating across sources (To Kill a Mockingbird 4.3/5, The Great Gatsby 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird?
To Kill a Mockingbird is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: To Kill a Mockingbird (309 pages, ≈ 5 h 43 m); The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).
Which is harder to read: The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Great Gatsby: Moderate; To Kill a Mockingbird: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations; To Kill a Mockingbird: 5 film adaptations.