So, I read a silly little book the other day. It was a historical romance parody. It was super funny and goofy. I gave it 3 stars and left a very positive review.
My book club members seemed shocked that I rated a book I enjoyed so “low.” It’s worth mentioning two of the three didn’t bother to read the book, and the third didn’t rate it. I think 3 is average. And it’s an average book. Enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable. The girls called me “savage” and I’m surprised because I was really not intending to be savage lol
Their reaction has left me confused and so I pose this question… How do you rate books? Do you rate them in regard to your opinion of them? How they made you feel? How well they were constructed? Do you rate them in comparison to other books of their genre? Is there a rating etiquette I should be aware of?
Would love to hear fellow readers’ thoughts on this!
by bananaleaftea
34 Comments
5 stars is something I loved, 4 if I enjoyed, 3 for “meh” , 2 is not good and 1 is terrible.
A 3 star rating for “super funny and goofy” with no criticism seems unfair.
I’ve seen people compare them to school grades. 5/5 is an A, 4/5 a B, 3/5 a C, 2/5 a D, and 1/5 is an F.
Depends upon person to person (and also book to book).
For me, below is overall scheme:
0: Unable to finish 20-30%
1: Crossed 60% but didn’t want to finish
2: Finished, but felt like I wasted by time
3: Decent one, borderline enjoyment, but would’ve picked something else (typical ‘I’ve read better’ type)
4: Really enjoyed it and had great time reading it
5: Totally liked it, wouldn’t mind reading again
So yes, most of the books I rate are in the range of 2 – 4.
I have a very complex system in my head that always seems to come out to 2 stars if I don’t like it, 4 stars if I do ^^ I do try to rate a book against what it is trying to be or what I think it could be, if that makes sense. Meaning, Real Tigers by Mick Herron isn’t War and Peace or The Old Man and the Boat. It’s a spy thriller satire. And it’s perfect at being that. So it gets a high rating.
In general, I think rating etiquette is ridiculous and I think people who are way too invested in ratings – both autors and readers – should get a grip. And being second-hand incensed about a rating someone else gave about a book you aren’t planning on reading is strange.
I only adhere to like or dislike. I think numbers and star systems are silly. I think it is too abstract, too disconnected.
I do not. Never cared enough to rate books anywhere.
It’s a real hard one because I agree, three stars is not a bad review. I would prefer to differentiate between a book I felt was an incredibly beautiful work of art and a fun bit of entertainment. If it was just sharing between book club members I would continue to do that.
However I also know that the Amazon/Goodreads algorithm perceives three stars as a bad review and its not good for authors. I wish because it has such a huge impact on the publishing industry that the choices were not such a blunt instrument but this is what we have.
I am on another platform called Litsy which has a different review process. Pick, So-So, Pan, Bail. Those are your four choices and what I like about it is that I feel like it covers my whole emotional reaction to a book. So I have started using that as my blueprint for Amazon/Goodreads.
Pick – I enjoyed myself – 4/5 stars
So-So – I liked some bits and didn’t like other bits – 3 stars
Pan – hated it. – 1/2 stars
Bail – I don’t usually review DNF’s unless I feel the book derails in a specific way and I want to warn others. (1-3 stars)
1 star – fucking hated it. Waste of time.
2 star – didn’t make me want to kill anyone but still a decidedly unenjoyable experience.
3 star – decent, could have been better. Probably won’t read it again. If I have a physical copy, I’ll donate it.
4 star – enjoyed it quite a bit, will probably read again at some point, or recommend to someone else. If I bought a physical copy, I’ll keep it instead of donating.
5 star – loved it. Would definitely recommend and read again. Probably still think about it even weeks later. If I got it from a library, I’ll buy a physical copy.
3 is actually above average, so it should be classed as “good” at least.
I like goodreads explanation of the scale honestly:
* 1 star – Did not like it
* 2 stars – It was OK
* 3 stars – Liked it
* 4 stars – Really liked it
* 5 stars – It was amazing
This uses the full scale more effectively. most people who view 3 as “meh” basically have no use for two tiers below that as both mean “its not worth reading”. With 2 stars being average, that gives you a wider scale to describe books you found enjoyable
People tend to think (and review) in extremes. In a lot of people’s minds, there is no *mere* “OK” – there’s only “amazing” and “abysmal”. This has almost certainly been amplified by the “culture” of the Internet and how people are pretty much expected to eschew all views which aren’t polar.
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How do *I* rate books?
* – not good, might not have even been able to finish it.
** – was OK but fell short in either the quality of the writing or in the story itself.
*** – was OK; could have been better but I enjoyed it nontheless.
**** – very good, one I would happily recommend, and I will keep an eye out for more of this author’s work.
***** – outstanding and is among my favourites.
I seldom rate books outside the confines of my own mind, because I know the system is unfairly skewed and my own ratings are likely to be judged inappropriately (as yours was). In my own head, it would look like a bell-curve: almost no books are worthy of either one or five stars; a small but appreciable number of books are worthy of either two or four stars; almost all books are worthy of three stars.
I had this same discussion with a friend once, though we were talking about tv shows and our ratings were out of ten. Almost all his ratings were somewhere in the 3-6 area, whereas mine were in the 6-9 area. It turned out that if he found a story good, funny, enjoyable, but not memorable, he’d rate it a 5 or 6. For me, the same would merit a 7 rating at least, most of the time I would rate a series I felt like that about an 8. I also thought his ratings were kind of savage. Now I think he was using the system more accurately than I was lol.
When it comes to all media, I rate series based 1. On how well-written I found it 2. On how much I enjoyed it 3. On how significant I felt the work was. In that order of hierarchy.
Books I love, find well-written, and say something that IMO is really meaningful and will stand the test of time get a 5/5. Books that I find really well-written but lacking something in the enjoyment department 4/5. Books I genuinely enjoyed but didn’t find that well-written or significant 3/5. 2/5 and 1/5 are just for books I don’t like. 1/5 is for honestly offensive books that pissed me off for some reason or another.
I read it on is it rereadable because I tend to reread my books over and over again if it’s not rereadable it goes on the lower shelves in my library if it’s rereadable it’s on the top shelf
5: Amazing book. Can’t stop thinking about it. Loved it.
4: Good book. I really enjoyed it, but it was missing something that kept it from being a 5.
3: OK book. I finished it. Thought it was alright, but not something I’m likely to really recommend to others.
2: Did not like. May or may not have finished.
1: Hated every bit of it. Did not finish. Likely threw the book away so that no one else could stumble upon it.
1: wish I could unread this
2: not that bad but I didn’t like it
3: average, I will probably forget about this in a few weeks
4: liked it
5: loved it
Edit: formatting
Most people can’t comprehend that an entire scale is meant to be used. They’ll instead try to segment it between 3 and 5, giving 3.5 4.5, etc. rather than using the entire scale the way it’s meant to be used.
Essentially, 1 and 2 stars are books I did not enjoy, 3-5 are. Then competence comes into play within those bounds. If a book I did not enjoy was competent, and I deem that it might just be my tastes getting in the way, or I was in the wrong mood, I may bump it up to 3.
All books I DNF are 1. I don’t need to finish something to rate it. If it’s so bad I can’t go on, it’s really that bad, and deserves that rating.
Anything 5 stars needs to be enjoyable, well executed and constructed, and probably says or does something important.
There’s nothing brutal about a 3. A 3 is perfectly average, enjoyable, but probably nothing worth talking about. I have no problem reading a 3 book.
On the other side of the coin.
When I’m choosing books for my next read, unless it’s a classic, I heavily rely on the ratings to see if a book is worth reading. I usually lean towards books that average at least 4 stars are higher because I’m hoping the plot is readable and the characters are thought out in some form.
It’s not perfect system but time is precious.
Now looking at everyone’s 3 star, I’m wondering it’s worth opening up my search criteria.
1 – I actively did not enjoy reading this book, and was not entertained in the slightest.
2 – Reading this was better than watching paint dry, but not by much.
3 – It was average.
4 – I had fun reading this.
5 – I had fun reading this AND the writing/plot was good.
I’m not so concerned with the quality of a book but more so concerned with – was it enjoyable to read? A trashy romance novel could get 4 stars from me if I had fun reading it. Classic literature could get 2 stars if it was a slog. I’m reading for entertainment, not for a job or to be a critic, so that’s what I focus on.
As a person, who operates on the other side of the rating system (as in, I receive ratings for my services), i can say that there’s an absolutely warped understanding of how ranking is supposed to work. Anything less then 5 is a death sentence – a 4 is majorly disappointing, 3 is the absolute worst, a 1-2 means that you probably have already died and they are rating the fact that you’re not there, because it’s poor service.
While I understand and agree with your logic that 3 is average, 4 is fine and 5 is reserved for only the absolutely best experience, I can also understand why someone would be surprised that you used anything less then “excellent” if you “liked” it. I honestly think that the thumbs up/thumbs down system is much more honest and transparent.
Edit: not related specifically to book ratings, but I got triggered, lol
Mine are I like it (Enjoyed it), meh (I didn’t enjoy it) and it sucked (Didn’t finish it).
Fortunately most are in the enjoyed category.
1 star – terrible book, most likely didn’t even finish it.
2 star – wasn’t a very good book, finished it but was glad to be done with it.
3 star – good book, enjoyed it, but it probably didn’t stand out for me.
4 star – great book, will probably read more from this author, will recommend to friends.
5 star – amazing, a special book, definitely doing a deep dive on the author, probably won’t shut up about it. I give very few 5 stars.
1 – I hated this book
2 – I didn’t like this book but didn’t absolutely hate it
3 – I enjoyed this book but didn’t love it
4 – I really liked this book but wouldn’t consider it a favorite
5 – I absolutely loved this book and it is one of my new favorites
1 Star- Finished because I am a masochist
2 Star- Finished but would not recommend
3 Star- Would recommend if someone asked if
they should read this specific book
4 Star- Recommend to anyone who is looking for any new book to read
5 Star- will bring the book up unpromted/ won‘t shut up about it
1- Everyone involved with the publishing of this should be in prison.
2- My life is slightly worse after reading this but I don’t wish active harm on the author.
3- Neutral. Not good not bad, just there.
4- Liked it, overall. May recommend to someone if it’s a specific topic they would like.
5- The best you can get, will recommend to anyone.
* Five stars is reserved for life-changing books. Very few get five stars.
* Four stars is a very solid book that I enjoyed a lot.
* Three stars means it’s decent but perhaps didn’t resonate with me very well.
* Two stars means the book was kind of sloppy.
* One star means it’s downright harmful. Misinformation, misleading content, excusing abuse, promoting harm. Very few books (that I choose to read in the first place) get one star.
Most of my reviews end up being somewhere between three and four stars. Sometimes I’ll skip rating a book if I think it was perhaps a good book, but I was in the wrong headspace for it or something. If I didn’t enjoy it, I don’t want to give it a good rating, but if it still seems like it’s technically a good book, I also don’t want to give it a punitive rating which will hurt the author or turn other readers away. I’ve kind of been stepping away from rating every single book I ever read.
1 Star – Most of the time, I just DNF these books.
2 Star – Did some things right. Have to drag myself to the end. Donate straight after.
3 Star – Good, I enjoyed it for what is was. Probably won’t think about it again unless someone brings it up. Donate it.
4 Star – Enjoyed it a lot. Still probably won’t read it again, though I’d recommend and lend it to someone else.
5 Star – Amazing. Will talk about any chance I get. Goes on the shelf of honor. DON’T TOUCH THAT BOOK! That’s my book…
Recommend, don’t recommend. I’m a simple man.
For personal reviews:
1. Didn’t finish, trash
2. Finished, hated it
3. Acceptable but not enjoyable
4. Good book, had some flaws but ultimately a good time
5. Awesome, read immediately if our taste is similar
For amazon:
1. Don’t read
2. Don’t read
3. Don’t read
4. Don’t read
5. Awesome, buy immediately.
5 star – Loved it and will recommend it to everyone without being asked and will find ways to start conversations to drop it in.
4 star – Loved it for me and my interests but not great enough it should be an experience for everyone.
3 star – I like it. Nothing particularly great, nothing particularly bad. Forgettable but a fairly fun read.
2 star – I’m surprised I got through it but it had one redeemable aspect.
1 star – I hate this book but I hate myself more so I saw it through.
5: Excellent. Really stood out in some way. You cannot stop me from recommending this book. Definite reread.
4: Quite good. Entertaining, interesting, and/or competent, with no major issues. I will sometimes recommend this book to people I’m sure would like it, or if asked for a general recommendation. Possible reread.
3: Some good, some bad. I have complaints but I don’t necessarily regret having read the book. I would be hard pressed to recommend this unless I know the person’s tastes very well. I will not reread unless special circumstances arise to convince me otherwise.
2: More bad than good. I have complaints and I do regret reading this book. I would not recommend this book. I can conceive of no reason to reread this book.
1: Simply terrible. There are almost no redeeming qualities to this book. I will actively tell people to avoid this book. I will search for ways to remove even the first read of this book from my memory.
So far, since my return to reading as an adult, I have had a few 5’s, mostly 4’s, and nothing below a 3, with the exception of some of HP Lovecraft’s earlier short stories (graded individually). Hyperion by Dan Simmons was almost a 2, but was saved by the broader scifi setting which I found quite interesting. But I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in reading the rest of the series to find out more. Some 5’s were LOTR, The Martian, and Legends and Lattes.
I will read books that are rated from three above. I’m suspicious of books that are rated five and nothing else.
If I like a book, but wouldn’t buy it or read it again, it’s probably a three.
If I like a book enough to follow the author and read more of their works, it’s probably going to get a four; I sometimes buy these. I own a lot of books. Most of them I would rate a four, even the ones I buy without reading first, because I like the author.
Fives are for the books that are so good I would buy a copy to keep, a copy to loan, and buy copies for the people I know that read that genre as gifts.
5 stars – loved it, will recommend it to everyone, will probably buy a physical copy
4 stars – liked it, was entertained, will recommend it to some people, will read more of it is a series or will look for other books by the author
3 stars – meh, it was fine, probably won’t recommend, won’t continue a series, may or may not look for more by the author depending on why it was only meh
2 stars – didn’t like it, feel like my time was wasted, won’t recommend, almost certainly won’t look for more by the author
1 star – really disliked it, maybe even hated it (although I probably DNF at this point), won’t recommend it but probably will tell lots of people how much I disliked it and why
Note that I don’t have a lot of 1 or 2 star books in my history because usually I will DNF those books. My history is mostly 4 stars because I am pretty good at picking books I will probably like but some occasionally surprise me by being better than expected (5s) and some not quite as good as expected (3s). I rarely rate on the quality of the writing (as opposed to the story) unless it is especially noticeable. Genre fiction is rarely a literary treasure but can have a damn entertaining plot. Conversely, a book can be beautifully written, a joy to read, while nothing actually happens. Usually in the case where the quality of the plot and the writing diverge dramatically, I will take the time to write a brief review explaining that
5 star – Excellent for its genre/niche and/or sort of life-changing
4 star – My most common rating. It’s very good, nothing awful, but nothing life-changing
3 star – A weirdo. Maybe its technically good, but has some sort of crucial flaw. Maybe it tried really hard, but didn’t totally achieve. “A for effort” Also: very good, but I didn’t “get it”
2 star – Bad, bad, bad (but I finished it!) Also: so bad that it’s good
1 star – Didn’t finish, wouldn’t recommend. Don’t burn it (because book-burning is frowned upon), but if it accidentally landed in a furnace, I would be okay with this
I see it as more of a gut-level subjective thing. It’s mostly a measure of how I feel when I finish the book.
5: Wow, that was great!
4: It was really good, just not a top-tier all time favorite, but that’s fine.
3: I’m glad I read it, but it wasn’t quite as good as I’d hoped.
2: I finished it, but just barely.
1: The public must be warned never to buy this book, because when I opened it up spiders came out and now my house is full of spiders. (This rarely happens.)
1 – Finished it out of spite.
2 – Didn’t like it/it had issues, but they weren’t so awful that I spite read.
3 – It was fine. Didn’t stand out in any way.
4 – Really liked it. If I don’t have it, I’ll probably buy it in the future. Still think about it off and on.
5 – Absolutely best, I will buy this book in multiple formats, will always survive any book purges.
I have a kinda odd system where I take into account a more unbiased opinion of the work and what it is trying to do:
1 star- hate it, no redeeming qualities within the book
2 stars- meh, didn’t like it, liked it enough to finish, not my cup of tea but if someone likes it, I get it
3 stars- good, I liked it, enjoyed, it was fun, nothing to write home about though in terms of quality
4 stars- loved it, just hit everything for me, but has its issues that I can look over
5 stars- loved it, utterly perfect novel, no complaints