The Night Circus vs Water for Elephants: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Circus Performers, Circus, Fiction
The Night Circus
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The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking…
Water for Elephants
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As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Night Circus highest: The Night Circus 4.5 · Water for Elephants 4.1.
- Water for Elephants has the widest readership — 1724103 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Night Circus | Water for Elephants | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.1 (1724103) |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 3.9 (749) |
| Google Books | 3.0 (1) | 4.0 (70) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (6808) | 4.5 (129) |
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Reception
| The Night Circus | Water for Elephants | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 6808 | 1724103 |
| Editions | 37 | 36 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 5 |
| Wikipedia attention | 9233 | 4448 |
| Pages | 489 | 418 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Night Circus or Water for Elephants?
The Night Circus has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Night Circus 4.5/5, Water for Elephants 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Night Circus or Water for Elephants?
Water for Elephants is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Water for Elephants (418 pages, ≈ 7 h 44 m); The Night Circus (489 pages, ≈ 9 h 03 m).
Which is harder to read: The Night Circus or Water for Elephants?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Night Circus: Moderate; Water for Elephants: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
The Night Circus: no film adaptation on record; Water for Elephants: 1 film adaptation.