I’m always kind of curious about ratings and how people rate
the books they’ve read, and how they might interpret the ratings system and how
it all works and what it all means.
& sometimes because of this I feel bad
because – for example - I think 3 stars is good, but what if other people think
3 stars is only okay, what if they think I liked a book less than I did because
I’ve ‘only’ given it 3 stars and why do I care so much.
Also,
5 stars.
I see so many 5 star reviews and that’s amazing, naturally, because
who doesn’t want to read all the 5 star books, but I dunno, I kind of save my 5
stars, I only give them to books that blow me away and when I see people giving
5 stars to everything, it makes me wonder if they see 5 stars as something different
to me and if they give 5 stars to everything then what do they have left when that book comes along? (How many times did I say 5 stars in that paragraph good gracious.)
And so, because I keep thinking about this, I figured if for no other
reason than to shut myself up, today I shall talk about how I rate my reviews– broken down into the star rating and how I interpret it, with a little Blaine
Anderson gif for illustrative purposes because I love both Glee and Blaine
Anderson completely unironically (but that’s another story for another day.)
Basically, I just want Darren Criss’s face on my blog.
So. HERE WE GO.
If I give a book 5 of the stars it’s because I’m saying
to you that THIS BOOK IS SO AMAZING I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO EVEN. This is
booklove like no other guys, this is me, drowning in feels and unable to do
anything other than flail around in a mess of fangirl. It’s reserved for the
best of the best.
4 stars means this book is an excellent book. This is a book
that made me happy, maybe even left me with a book hangover. A book that whilst
may be not quite head over heels in love with, I could certainly see myself
fall for. It’s a book that’s different, and well written, that grabbed me and didn’t
let go and left me feeling like it’s better than most other books.
3 stars: This book is a good book. I liked it. This is always
the iffy one for me, because I think 3 stars is a pretty darn good rating but I
feel like other people might feel like it’s only ‘okay.’ & that makes me
wary. Sometimes I feel like I need to justify a three star rating. Here’s the
thing: if I give a book 3 stars then it’s because it’s A Good Book. Do I enjoy my
3 star books?
2 stars: I am indifferent towards this book. It was okay. I didn’t
like it, particularly, but I didn’t really dislike it either. These books
probably leave me feeling a bit ‘meh,’ a bit 'what did I just read?' These are the books that I've finished but I won't re-read and won't recommend and certainly won't be gushing over. The books that make me feel a bit '....what?'
1 star: Do not like. Nope. In fact, we could even go so far
as to say I actively dislike the 1 star books. I don’t rock out the 1 star very
often, which pleases me.
And that is that. So tell me: do you rate in the same way I
rate, and if you don’t then what do you do differently? And is Blaine Anderson
not the most adorable Blaine to ever Blaine?
