To rate or not to rate a book, is the Great Debate for bloggers. On one hand, it's very unfair to writers to rate their books on a rigid and arbitrary scale but on the other hand as a blogger, your word is your bond and if you want gain influence and popularity, you need a solid baseline for your tastes. My own rating system exploded after reading THE CRYING OF LOT 49 by Thomas Pynchon. While I didn't get much out of it, it would have been unfair to give it any low score because well...it didn't suck, I just didn't understand anything.
Not rating a book as gives problems. I also review (well, really it's more of a blurb) books on social sites like Goodreads and Amazon, to help and promote the working writers (and warn-off against bad books too, to a certain extent). The scoring dynamic of those two sites is very peculiar. It's a political gesture, more than anything else. Like voting, for example. If you like a writer, you're almost forced to give him four or five stars, because if you give him anything lower, it's going to hurt his sales. The blog reviews are often influenced by that as I feel the need to justify what I've rated on Goodreads and Amazon. Meaning it's not objective.
But thanks to Lori, from The Next Best Book Blog, I think I have found the solution to this issue. A workable compromise, at least. Her rating system really is a recommendation scale. It doesn't speak of the quality of the material in the book, but on the effect it had on the reviewer. Since I have a fairly good idea of who I am and what my tastes are, I find most books I read enjoyable, but the books that are game changers to me are fairly rare. Lori's system reflects that and that's why the new Dead End Follies rating system for books will heavily borrow from hers (don't worry, she gave me her blessing beforehand).
Dead End Follies Rating System for Books
One Star - Not Recommended
Two Stars - Recommended to Adventurous Readers only. You might want to buy that book in a shopping spree, but it's a toss up as to whether you'll like it or not. If I rate Two Stars, there's a good chance I didn't like it, but I recognize the quality of the writing.
Three Stars - Recommended to Fans of the Genre. Enjoyable read overall, won't turn anybody to this kind of writing, but will take its rightful place in your book collection.
Four Stars - Strongly Recommended. This is the type of book you want to look out for, if you want to try a new genre or if you're bored with everything that's done in this field. If this book was a wine bottle, it would be in my cellar.
Five Stars - Personally Recommended. As a reader, I'm always longing for a certain type of book. This type in particular that affects me physically as I read it. It's the can't-stop-reading, this-is-the-best-thing-ever kind of book. By giving a book Five Stars, I'm almost certain you will enjoy it as much as I did.
As you can see, three stars will be a positive review and a book will have to stand out to get four and be exceptional to have a five stars review. Only three books I've read in the last two years have got the proverbial five stars. Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD and Anthony Neil Smith's HOGDOGGIN' and CHOKE ON YOUR LIES. Three out of a hundred and fifty-something books. There were maybe twenty books worthy of four stars. Those two rates are reserved for the most gorgeous, gripping books there are. Three stars isn't a bad review at all. It means your book was good, highly enjoyable even, but that it was missing the ingredients of greatness. It's normal. You can't hit a home run every time you walk up to the plate.
That said, I will keep rating books ridiculously high on Goodreads and Amazon, because as I said earlier, it's a political gesture to do so. If I like a writer, I want to contribute to his good name and sites like these two don't leave space for anything else than bluntness. Four and Five Stars reviews are used as a shopping barometer and even some bloggers use it as a review baseline*. Dead End Follies will be where I discuss a book in depth and give you my accurate recommendation on it.
* Some bloggers demand a certain number of four and five stars reviews for taking an eBook into consideration, which I think is stupid.
Dead End Follies Rating System for Books
One Star - Not Recommended
Two Stars - Recommended to Adventurous Readers only. You might want to buy that book in a shopping spree, but it's a toss up as to whether you'll like it or not. If I rate Two Stars, there's a good chance I didn't like it, but I recognize the quality of the writing.
Three Stars - Recommended to Fans of the Genre. Enjoyable read overall, won't turn anybody to this kind of writing, but will take its rightful place in your book collection.
Four Stars - Strongly Recommended. This is the type of book you want to look out for, if you want to try a new genre or if you're bored with everything that's done in this field. If this book was a wine bottle, it would be in my cellar.
Five Stars - Personally Recommended. As a reader, I'm always longing for a certain type of book. This type in particular that affects me physically as I read it. It's the can't-stop-reading, this-is-the-best-thing-ever kind of book. By giving a book Five Stars, I'm almost certain you will enjoy it as much as I did.
As you can see, three stars will be a positive review and a book will have to stand out to get four and be exceptional to have a five stars review. Only three books I've read in the last two years have got the proverbial five stars. Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD and Anthony Neil Smith's HOGDOGGIN' and CHOKE ON YOUR LIES. Three out of a hundred and fifty-something books. There were maybe twenty books worthy of four stars. Those two rates are reserved for the most gorgeous, gripping books there are. Three stars isn't a bad review at all. It means your book was good, highly enjoyable even, but that it was missing the ingredients of greatness. It's normal. You can't hit a home run every time you walk up to the plate.
That said, I will keep rating books ridiculously high on Goodreads and Amazon, because as I said earlier, it's a political gesture to do so. If I like a writer, I want to contribute to his good name and sites like these two don't leave space for anything else than bluntness. Four and Five Stars reviews are used as a shopping barometer and even some bloggers use it as a review baseline*. Dead End Follies will be where I discuss a book in depth and give you my accurate recommendation on it.
* Some bloggers demand a certain number of four and five stars reviews for taking an eBook into consideration, which I think is stupid.
