Comments on: This is a post where I ramble about review rating systems and say MEH a lot https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/ Of books, writing, and life in general Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:51:20 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: Leah https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1747 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:08:39 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1747 In reply to Emlyn Chand.

I also like to reserve 5-stars for books that really blew me away. And I also struggle when rating books by awesome NP peeps! LOL :P

]]> By: Emlyn Chand https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1744 Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:26:56 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1744 Interesting conundrum, Leah! I’ve gotten flack for using the full-rating system. Yes, I do 1-star books, and apparently, since I’m an author, this is just not acceptable, but I don’t rate everything 5 stars, that makes the really special books stand out less. My approach to the rating system is as follows (and this is pretty much just for GoodReads, since I don’t generally post to Amazon or my blog):

5-stars = I was impressed; this book far exceeded expectations and I’ll be recommending it to my compadres
4-stars= I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t quite great. I may recommend it to friends on a case-by-case basis
3-stars = Something didn’t click, but I can see the author’s intent.
2-stars = Okay, I don’t really use this one.
1-star = couldn’t finish, and you better believe my review will tell you why

Another issue I struggle with is rating books by my friends, especially friends who have been so supportive of MY books. I like to maintain integrity as a reviewer, so I can’t give 5-stars out like party favors, but at the same time, I know it can really hurt people who just love your work. It’s very, very tricky. Gaaaaah. I mean, meh.

]]> By: Leah https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1741 Mon, 25 Jun 2012 01:27:47 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1741 In reply to Ricademus.

There’s an idea! :P

]]> By: Ricademus https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1740 Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:31:35 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1740 Crap and Meh could be part of an effective rating system =)

]]> By: SC Langgle https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1739 Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:47:03 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1739 In reply to SC Langgle.

Yeah, I think the goodreads reviews definitely get more attention if you actually include a star rating…

]]> By: Leah https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1738 Sun, 24 Jun 2012 07:51:13 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1738 In reply to Chihuahua Zero.

Yeah, I think half-stars will really help. It won’t make me feel too bad about 3 stars ratings. :P

]]> By: Leah https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1737 Sun, 24 Jun 2012 07:50:05 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1737 In reply to SC Langgle.

I know what you mean about what to do when you didn’t really enjoying a well-written book. What then? :S

I didn’t know that about Goodreads! I thought the rating was a requirement! I’d feel weird about posting a review without a rating though. :S

]]> By: Chihuahua Zero https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1736 Sat, 23 Jun 2012 14:51:28 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1736 I also use three as a default, since that means average and it makes sense for most of the books that I had read to be average. However, I feel guilty about it sometimes since people tend to default more toward 4 or 5 stars, but I don’t like throwing 5 stars out at every book. I feel like a book has to be fantastic to earn it.

However, I wished more rating systems allow half-stars. Then you’ll have more 3.5 stars. It might be hard remembering whatever a book was a 3 or a 3.5, but it takes some of the pain away.

]]> By: SC Langgle https://www.whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-post-where-i-ramble-about/#comment-1735 Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:26:25 +0000 http://whiteskyproject.com/2012/06/this-is-a-post-where-i-ramble-about-review-rating-systems-and-say-meh-a-lot.html#comment-1735 I agree with you–rating is too hard! Especially on a one to five scale, there’s just not enough room–I want to save the fives for the changed-my-life type books, but that doesn’t seem fair to other books that are also really great–why shouldn’t they get fives too? And then there’s the question of whether you should rate based on how well-written you think a book is, or how much you enjoyed it. There are some very well-written books I didn’t enjoy or connect with at all, and vice versa. So I usually don’t rate books…you actually don’t have to rate them on goodreads, you can just mark them read and write in a review without filling out the star part.

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