A few weeks ago, I posted about my thoughts on rating systems and asked your opinion on whether I should integrate one here on my reviews. Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment, they were all really helpful and thoughtful. The majority of people seemed to find rating systems helpful because it gave a definite impression of a person's overall opinion and the results of the poll showed that most of the voters would like a rating system here because only 2 out of 15 voters said they wouldn't.
So, I've decided to a trial rating system here until the end of March to see how it goes. To get over the problem of different genres, I'm going to rate mainly on enjoyment so if I couldn't get into a book even though the writing was good, then the rating will be lower. I love all the pretty graphics that people use for rating systems but until I decide whether I will use a rating system permanently here, I'll just to keep to just writing the number of stars. If I do continue to use it, I will probably also create a page to explain the ratings more in depth.
Here's what I've got outlined for each rating:
1 stars- I really didn't like this book and it wasn't worth my time.
2 stars- Overall, this book wasn't for me but I probably liked small parts of it.
3 stars- I liked this book and it was worth a read but there were a few things that affected my enjoyment. You may want to get it from the library before you buy it.
4 stars- I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it but it was missing that extra spark.
5 stars- Everything about this book was amazing and I absolutely loved it- go and buy it now!
5 stars- Everything about this book was amazing and I absolutely loved it- go and buy it now!
There will also be half ratings to give me more leeway in deciding because I don't want all my ratings to end up really high.
I'm very interested to see how this trial goes and I hope the ratings will be useful to you!
Though I use a rating system, they're sometimes hard because of the genres. There may be a really beautiful book which was flawless so you give it 5/5 and then there may be a book which makes you LOL and you really want to give it 5/5, but then the two books are on different levels...
ReplyDeleteIt's hard, but I think it works. Hopefully it does for you too (: xx
Love the simplicity of this rating system, Stephanie! It's pretty similar to the one I use, and I think it's the clearest judge of how I felt about a book :)
ReplyDeleteLooks great, Stephanie! I like that you combine your fondness of the book with the quality of writing in your ratings. Good idea. And as for having lots of 4-5 star books, look at it this way: you're reading lots of fantastic books ;)
ReplyDelete@Ria Thank you :) I completely understand what you're saying which is why I hesitated with a rating system and I'm now basing it on enjoyment because otherwise it would be too complicated.
ReplyDelete@Melissa Thanks :) Yes, I think it will be useful for me to refer back to to remember how I felt about a book.
@Teacher/Learner Thanks :) Haha yeah! It's just sometimes it can look like people are not very reliable/honest if they like nearly all the books they read, which is the case most of the time for me.
Hey! Thanks for your thoughtful comment on my post about the lengths of reviews/posts.
ReplyDeleteI use a Grade based system to rate, since there are times I can't make up my mind between 3/4 starred books.
Looking forward to more reviews!
' Deepali You're welcome :) I think that would be a problem for me too, which is why I am going to use half stars too.
ReplyDeleteYay! I hope the rating system works out for you. I like the idea of rating based on your own level of enjoyment. I also find this makes me feel a lot better about rating a very hyped book lower if I just didn't enjoy it. I don't feel comfortable passing objective judgments on a book, but this way I'm just writing about my personal experience.
ReplyDeleteI like your explanations for your ratings!