The Land of Little Rain vs The Maine Woods: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Nature, Pictorial works, Description and travel, Travel, Nonfiction
The Land of Little Rain
“EAST away from the Sierras, south from Panamint and Amargosa, east and south many an acounted mile, is the Country of Lost Borders.”
Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934) moved with her family from Illinois to the desert on the edge of the San Joaquin Valley in 1888. In the next fifteen years she moved from one desert community to another, working on her…
vs
The Maine Woods
The Maine Woods is a characteristically Thoreauvian book: a personal account of exploration, of exterior and interior discovery in a natural setting, conveyed in taut, workmanlike prose. Thoreau's evocative renderings…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Land of Little Rain has the widest readership — 2123 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Land of Little Rain | The Maine Woods | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (2123) | 3.9 (1590) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (5) | 4.0 (3) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (5) | 4.5 (14) |
Reception
| The Land of Little Rain | The Maine Woods | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2123 | 1590 |
| Editions | 127 | 112 |
| Citations | — | 40 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 4185 | 3311 |
| Reading it now | 456 | 286 |
| Written reviews | 248 | 142 |
| Wikipedia attention | 335 | 2 |
| Pages | 66 | 127 |