Something I've been thinking about lately is rating of books. I started rating books when I first joined Goodreads, and because of Goodreads I use a five-star rating system. But even though a lot of people use it, we sometimes have different meanings behind our rating. Some hand out 5 stars easily, some only to a handful. Some use 3 stars for average, some for "I really liked it".
So, I thought I would share my thoughts around rating and how I rate.
So, I thought I would share my thoughts around rating and how I rate.
1 STAR
I can't think if I've ever given a book one star, but to me, this rating means I really didn't like anything about anything in a book, which is extremely rare. It can also mean that the story evoked absolutely no feelings in me, which almost never happens. Usually, if it's that bad, I just won't finish it.
2 STARS
This means that I didn't like it, but didn't hate it. This is a rating I give to books I probably would not recommend unless for a very specific audience and wished I hadn't spent my time on. This is for books that were simply okay.
3 STARS
A book that I liked and enjoyed. This is the rating for books that I don't dislike, but that didn't make a huge impact on me. It's also a typical rating for books that are clichés - not necessarily badly written, but quite average when it comes to bringing something new to the table.
4 STARS
4 stars is for books that I thought were really good. This is for books I enjoyed, but there was something missing that didn't make it amazing. It doesn't have to be a big thing that bothered me, sometimes it's just a feeling.
On a separate, but not unrelated note, 4 is also my lucky number.
5 STARS
The glorious 5 stars are reserved for books I loved. However, not all 5 stars necessarily become my favourites. Usually it's a feeling I'm left with that determines if it gets a 5. It also means it will be a book I will highly recommend to others. It's for books I will remember for a long time.
There are a couple of other things I feel also need addressing, because people view these things differently.
Genre:
When I rate a book, I take the genre into consideration. I can get a little annoyed sometimes when people have read a fluffy, contemporary romance novel and give it hell because it wasn't Shakespeare. Although I sometimes expect things to be different, you gotta work with what you have and take it for what it is. Sometimes things aren't bad, they're just not for me.
Cover:
Sometimes covers make a book better (or worse), and on occasion it tips the scale.
0.5s:
There are a lot of people who use .5 ratings such as 2.5 and 3.5. I try to shy away from it. If I ever use one, it means I really can't make up my mind.
Expectations:
This is a big one and probably what feels very different to everyone. Sometimes, the hype around the book can ruin it because you have really high expectations, and sometimes it's the opposite. It's hard to stay unfazed, so sometimes it affects the rating I make.
