Jill, from rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com, and I would like to get a conversation started about what criteria bloggers (critics, casual reviewers, et al) use to rate books. Although some of us (me) use a 4.0 rating system and others (the rest of the civilized world) use a 5.0 system, the criteria should be the same. This all started because Jill and I read the same book, enjoyed it a lot, but gave very different ratings based on genre. We would love to hear what y'all have to say. Whether you respond to Jill's blog or mine doesn't matter. We will be sharing the responses on both. Let's see if we can generate a discussion that might help us all better identify what we are looking for in a book (whether it be print, ebook, or audiobook). Please weigh in. We are anxious and excited to share the comments.
I don't rate books on my blog but do on GoodReads. I don't really have a set criteria - I base it on how I felt about the writing, characters, etc. Is the book memorable? I have to admit I have gone back and looked at some GR ratings and wondered what I was thinking at the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting idea about going back and looking at ratings. I never do that. But I guess my #1 criterion is whether or not I emotionally connect to the characters, even if it's a negative emotion. I remember absolutely hating a character in Dennis Lehane's The Given Day. I think an author's writing has to be pretty good to create that kind of connection.
DeleteI agree - hating a character can be just as good as loving one. Strong writing will make you feel connected that way.
DeleteI try to rate (on LibraryThing or GoodReads, but mostly LT) based on how good a book is within its genre, to avoid giving a book a poor rating just because I don't like that genre. Also, four stars and above means I would recommend this book to other readers unreservedly, while three stars (or three and a half) would mean it's not such a sure bet for everyone, but still a good read for fans of the genre.
ReplyDeleteI only give five stars if I love a book, though, so if I don't like the genre, I'm probably not going to love the book. I don't know how fair that is, then!
Genre is definitely one of the interesting elements of the rating system. What prompted this is that Jill really liked Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben and gave it a 3.5/5. I really liked it and gave it a 4/4. Her rating was based on the idea that a mystery can't receive the same rating as literary fiction. I believe that a good book is a good book regardless of the genre. There obviously is no right or wrong answer.
DeleteI rate books on Goodreads based on how I liked the book personally.
ReplyDeleteI use a 5-star system because I use goodreads. I don't have a set criteria but one of the indications that a book is heading for five stars is that I can't put it down, or won't turn off the audio. I'll start switching between headphones and external speakers to keep it going. And I'll even connect it to my bluetooth earphone for the car so I can keep listening. It doesn't matter what the genre is, if I love it then it gets five stars.
ReplyDeleteMy star ratings are how I feel about the book, but I try to be fair in my review when it's a well-written book that I just don't like even if I do end up giving it only two or three stars.
I totally agree with you, Leslie. Even though I didn't really care much for The Girl on the Train, I still realized that it was well-written. I gave it a 2.5/4 for that. Emotionally, I had no connection whatsoever and didn't really care what happened to any of them. P.S. I use a 4-star system because that's what I was using at the time I joined Goodreads.
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