Let’s talk about star ratings. Do you love them or hate them? Personally, I love them. And, I especially love when other bloggers use them because I can easily see what someone thought based on the number of stars.
The problem with star ratings is that everyone uses them differently. Take me for example. I only give five stars to books I’d consider as a favorite. Everything else is less than five and I think this can be misleading. The other problem I have is for books like East of Eden. I really enjoyed the story, its symbolism, and how it made me think. But, I didn’t love it so I only gave it three stars. Sometimes I wonder if a letter rating would be better? I could then use it for the book’s literary value rather than how I enjoyed it. But, there’s still a problem with that too. Hmmm. I guess that’s why there’s the actual review to help explain the rating.
What do you think? Do you love them or hate them?
About Jenni Elyse
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I like them and find them helpful when wanting to know how a fellow blogger feels about a book. I am pretty stingy with 5 stars but I have noticed others aren’t though.
I sometimes think I give 5 stars too liberally. But, for me, it’s whether or not it’s a favorite. If it is, then it deserves the 5 stars. And, I only have 29 compared to the 112 reviews I’ve done, so I guess it’s not too liberal. But, yeah, I know what you mean.
I like them, even as I know they are completely subjective and sometimes arbitrary. I know I go based only on what I feel. I’m thinking that’s pretty much true of any kind of book rating system. But, like you, I want to be able to see easily what a person thought of the book, so I use them and I look at them.
Yeah, that’s true. Any type of rating system, or even reviews for that matter, are going to be subjective and arbitrary. So, it’s nice to have the quick glance of what people think about them.
I like seeing what people think of a book at a glance, but I hate giving a book a star rating. It is hard for some books. I personally don’t like to use them, but I like it when other people do.
Ha ha! I know what you mean. I’m the same way with others things. I love it when others do it, but I don’t like to do it myself. I don’t feel that way with star ratings, but I do about other things. So, I totally get it!
I get sad when I’m reading a review that doesn’t have some sort of rating system. I know it can be arbitrary, so I would also be sad if a review was just a rating and had no commentary. But, I think the rating with the commentary gives a better picture of what the reviewer thought of the book.
I agree completely. I don’t think you can do one without the other. Both help form the picture in my mind of what someone thought. I usually skip over reviews without stars unless I know the reviewer and I like the way they review.
I have a love/hate relationship with them. On the one hand I think they are so useful especially when you are just trying to get a feel for the book based on what the rest of the populace thinks. On the other hand I think it’s hard to really determine what your overall feelings of a book are. I know I have a hard time sometimes because I will separate all these different elements of the story out and will base my rating more on one element rather than the whole picture. (Hopefully that makes sense.) I guess the solution then is to break down the elements and assign each of them a rating to get an average for the overall. . . I kind of like that idea. (I just had a mini aha! moment!)
I can understand your feelings of going back and forth between loving and hating them. They’re so arbitrary and subjective. But, I do like them. I don’t know if I could break down the elements and give a rating to each one. But, I’ve seen others do it.
I really like the star system– I can’t really think of a better way. BUT, the star system only works for me if the book is being rated by someone I trust or who has similar tastes to mine. Your ratings, for example, are pretty similar to mine, so I know I can trust them.
I also feel like I give 5 star ratings too liberally, but I try to do only do it when I want to say, “Omigosh! You HAVE TO go read this book!” But maybe I just get more excited about good books than other people since it is something I’m passionate about, you know?
I do agree it’s better when you can trust the person who reviews them or that they like similar books to your own likes. I guess that’s the good thing about having the review along with it is that you can see why they liked it.
I have mixed emotions… the way I rate on Goodreads sometimes depends on my mood. Comparing it to my own rating system is hard to do. When it’s kind of in between 4 and 5, I usually lean toward 5 to dignify the book better, but sometimes I’ll give it a 4. It just depends on the level of joy I got out of reading the book as to how my choice sways. It would actually be nicer if you could rate it with 10 instead of just 5. That way you can really pinpoint how much you liked a book instead of having to find the right balance.
Honestly, I think all reviews are based on mood. I know there are some books I’ll never like no matter what mood I’m in. But, there are some books that I may have liked more than I did if my mood were different. The books that stand the test of time for me, meaning I can give it the same rating every time I read it, are the ones that I know transcend my mood.
I love them too. Sometimes it’s hard to choose a rating – a book may be a 4 for some reasons but a 3 for others. Or I might push the rating up or down based on my emotional connection to the author or series (i.e. Twilight). But overall, it’s an incredibly useful system. And so much easier when I’m reading other people’s reviews to glance at the rating before I start reading.
Yeah, I’m like that too. If I love a series, I have a hard time giving the individual books in the series a different rating than the other books. But, I usually love the book still, just for different reasons than the others. Or, maybe, it’s just justification, lol.
I’m sorta apathetic on this subject. I don’t use star ratings on my blog and I rarely look at them on other people’s blogs. Sorry. That was useless.
Ha! I love your opinion. Most of the people I’ve seen who don’t use them still look at them, but your the first who doesn’t. I love that about you!
I like ‘em. I started out doing the letter grade thing but for me it ended up pointless, so I changed to the stars to match Goodreads. I’m finding that I give out less five stars then I did A grades. But I’m not shy about giving out fives, if I loved the book. It doesn’t matter why I loved it, as long as I loved it. Know what I mean?
I know exactly what you mean. And, I understand about the letter grades. I think they’re kind of pointless too, but at the same point, I wonder if it’s just the way I view them.
I love star ratings, but I also find them problematic. I know I don’t really have a system or assigning them and for the most part it is a mix of how much I enjoyed a book and how much it lived up to its own potential. For example, I recently gave a 3 rating to a really well-written, though-provoking book that I just couldn’t enjoy. But then I gave a 5 rating to a Stephanie Plum novel, because I had so much fun reading it. Obviously, I know that Stephanie Plum isn’t high literature…
Ha ha! I know what you mean. The books I give high ratings to aren’t usually high literature, but I love them for their story and how much I enjoyed reading them.
I do like star ratings, but I also go by the reviewer’s comments.
Ann
Makes completely sense. I’m the same way. I glance at the stars to see what someone thought and then I’ll read the comments if I’m interested in that book.
I use letter grades because I think they make sense to most people. I love it when other bloggers use some kind of rating system too, because like you said, it lets me see instantly how they felt about the book in question. Obviously, our grading is highly subjective — I’m very stingy with my “A” grades. Those are reserved for books that aren’t just good, they’re mind blowing!
I do think they make sense to people too. But, I still have issues with them because are you giving the book the grade you’re giving it because of its literary value or how much you enjoyed it? Know what I mean? I think any type of rating system is going to be arbitrary and subjective to the one who’s reviewing it.
I like seeing the rating systems that people have —- once I get to know how a person writes their reviews, the rating makes sense. Once in a while, I get stuck on my ratings, like where I feel like I’m in between two of them. Maybe I should make up a graphic for that kind of situation.
I agree with you completely. Once I find out how people rate things and their likes and dislikes, it helps with the rating system a lot. I’ve considered doing “half stars” but I just don’t want to get involved, lol.