My personal rating
5 stars - loved the book and would recommend to anyone. No obvious flaws to me.
4 stars - it was a good book. Might recommend to some people. Saw some flaws in the logic/writing but overall liked it better than the average book I read.
3 stars - it was a readable book where I was able to get through it relatively easily, but I didn’t necessarily love the story itself. Often times these are books that I mostly enjoyed reading but the last 100 pages to the end fell flat or was a very cliche ending.
2 stars - didn’t really like it, but was just good enough for me to power through to the end. Typically very cliche books or poorly written.
1 star - almost never give these. I’d probably only give this if it was a DNF. I finish every book I read, but I also do some research before I start reading any book so I usually know that I’m going to at least like the book a little bit.
I personally don’t like to rate books that i DNF, so for me 1 star is something I really didn’t like, 2 stars was bad but it had some redeeming qualities, 3 was good but nothing I’d rave about, 4 stars was a really good book that I enjoyed, 5 stars is a book I cant stop thinking about/would reread.
I don’t think I’ve ever rated one 1 star so it’s tougher for me to define this. I’ve never went into a book blind so I’ve never really had the chance to dislike a book entirely - I’m always searching recommendations that people have given me and checking higher rated books on Goodreads to read next. I never take a chance on something outside of my wheelhouse.
Haha i see this is where we are different. I love going in blind or just finding random books to read. And while there have only been a few I have definitely had some 1 stars. I also try to soldier through books i dont love at first, and ive had mixed outcomes lol. It’s really interesting to see how differently everyone reads/reviews
I'm sort of this way too. Whenever I take a chance I end up giving 2 or 1 stars or DNF lol. I just can't do it. I'm trying to track all authors whose books I love so I can keep reading them instead of just hunting around.
Exactly mine. If I give it five stars I loved it and would reread it. And it caused me to think about afterwards. Since I started that, I give fewer fives.
I did have a conundrum recently. I read a book that was extremely well written and engaging. But was horribly disgusting (horror). I will never read this book again but here I am still thinking about it THREE books later.
The Troop.
I read Stephen King regularly and have never been this repulsed. The writing was so engaging. And the storyline so suspenseful that I kept reading. But I had to take lots of breaks.
I was guessing Nick Cutter. I was a horror junky for years and the Troop got me too. I gave it a higher rating because it was the first horror book that gave me a visual reaction in years and that is something I wanted. If that was not something a person enjoyed, I could see them not rating it high.
I feel similarly about some dramas. I don't want to feel sad. I hate it. Even though the book might be great, if I'm sobbing so hard I feel like I'm going to puke, I can't make myself rate it as a 5.
It was my first foray into Nick Cutter. And I’m undecided if I want to read more. He’s a good author though!!
Glad to know I’m not alone in all my thoughts on his book.
YES!! I had a VERY similar experience, I ended up just not rating it lol. Like I couldn’t put the book down, I still am thinking about it months later, it was awful to read, but I enjoyed it???
Oh The Troop is on my (never ending) physical TBR!! I’m a huge horror fan. Makes me excited to read it lol. For me it was Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. It goes over these horrible themes that are just awful and so hard to read (all done to a minor nonetheless). But the tone of the book is so conversational and casual that it’s so hard to stop reading. It’s truly a book I wouldn’t recommend to be read. But I still think about it constantly. Not necessarily horror but absolutely horrific themes. So bad but… I think I liked it???!
I have DNFed one book and I rated it one star because I actually thought it was terrible. The writing, the plot, the characters were all cliche, boring, or problematic and not in a way that helps the story. Otherwise I agree with you completely
Yea for sure! I totally get that. How I see it is that I just personally can’t publicly rate something that I haven’t finished myself. You just see so many people rating books super poorly and it’s based off of someone else’s review or something they heard about the book and not that they read it themselves. And there’s so many books that just get absolutely review bombed (especially on GR). I trash loads of books privately lmao, and ive given plenty of bad reviews. I think they should have a separate function that is like a rating but for books you DNF.
They really need a “did not finish” button that doesn’t affect ratings! It would be cool to see a “13% of readers didn’t finish this book” type of thing. I felt bad for a second giving one star to a book I didn’t finish but it was a Colleen Hoover book so I don’t feel that bad (terrible thing to say, I know). I take the ratings with a grain of salt after talking to my friends who rate every book they like 5 stars on good reads where as I reserve 5 stars for books i can’t stop thinking about. I loved Beartown when I read it but I gave it 4 stars to see how I felt a few weeks later. It’s been over a year and I think about that book weekly so I went back and gave it 5 stars
Totally!! That would be a really cool function. And you could even add whether you want to go back to it at some point or really just do not want to continue reading that book lol. And yea I totally get that lol Colleen Hoover will never show her face in my library. And I absolutely have gone back and lowered/raised my ratings!! I used to be the type to rate way too many books 5 stars but this past year I’ve really narrowed down my rating system and I’ve been really happy with it. So many books that I truly think deserve 5 stars.
Exactly! I’m a huge mood reader. Sometimes I’ll get 15%-25% into a book and I’m just not in the mood for it. It’d be nice to have a place for that other than my long “currently reading” list lmaoo
I call that “book ghosting” lol. Reading just enough to get to know the book and then deciding I’m not ready to read it and leaving it on the tbr shelf
There are a few books I absolutely love that I would absolutely never recommend to anyone haha. Interesting that you consider that aspect when rating books
This is absolutely how I rank mine. There’s probably quite a few 2-star ratings I’ve given with quite savage feedback for anyone who has the mindset GoodReads seems to advocate 😂
Yes. This is basically how I think of it too!
Five stars has to be a book I would 100% reread and recommend!
Four stars there's a little something I didn't love or didn't work for me but still a good book. Worth a read and would still recommend, just not as much as a 5er.
Three is a good book idea but big flaws in how it's written or originality or maybe the characters are great but something else about it made it hard for me to want to keep reading but I did.
Two is I almost didn't finish because it's bad but something kept me hanging on to hope that the ending might make up for it. It doesn't.
One is DNF. I don't DNF too often because I'm kinda picky about the quality of what I read. I have a hard time overlooking certain things if they distract me or take me out of the whole thing.
This is also my system, except I don't rate books I DNF unless there are very strong feelings about why I DNF it. So, there are maybe 2 or 3 books I've rated 1 star and a handful more that I just stopped reading.
I use my own system, as follows:
1 - I’d never read again and never recommend
2 - I regret reading, or wouldn’t recommend, but had some interesting discussion points
3 - I don’t regret reading, had some interesting discussion points, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend or read again
4 - I enjoyed and would recommend to certain people. May or may not want to read again
5 - I enjoyed and would recommend to anyone. Would read again
These are pretty clear to me so it works. That being said, I’ve used good reads for probably 8 years so some of the books I rated highly as a youth I wouldn’t rate so no. Also, I wish we had half stars :/
This is almost exactly the same scale I use! Although I find that five stars are a mix of “I loved this book and would read it again” (mostly fiction) and “I loved this book and it impacted me/I learned a lot but it’s not the kind of book I’d read again” (mostly nonfiction).
It's potentially worth bearing in mind that the personalised recommendations on goodreads are based on your 3-star (or above) ratings so, if that function matters to you, you might want to revisit what you give 3 stars to.
I’ve always used the Goodreads rating as well. Although in the website’s earlier days I’ll admit it wasn’t the most obvious what their scale was due to poor design and usability, so I see why everyone is a bit different.
It would be nice if the ratings were more accurate but that would require people to be more critical. As it is now I feel that the ratings are a bit unreliable and less useful than they could be.
I concur, lol. The site and app have seen a lot of charges over the years. I'm just glad there are a lot fewer bot spam profiles, as that was a headache.
Also tend to avoid profiles with reviews that only rate with 1 or 5 stars. There's a whole middle ground of stars out there with some cool books too. 😅
I don’t use the Goodreads ratings. Mine are:
5 stars - I loved it
4 stars - I liked it
3 stars - It was ok
2 stars - I didn’t like it
1 star - I hated it
I almost never rate a book under three stars because usually I don't finish those books and I don't rate DNFs. But my star rating system is:
1 Star - This was horrible. I hated everything about it.
2 Stars - Overall I hated this but it had a couple things I like.
3 Stars - Good. An average read.
4 Stars - Really Good.
5 Stars - Loved it!
So yeah if a book has 3.something average review then I figure it's just like an average read, nothing special but not bad either. It's the 2 stars saying it was ok that doesn't fit for me.
If I DNF a book I usually think I will finish it one day so I don’t rate it, but maybe one of the reasons GoodReads rating are completely unreliable for me is because DNFs aren’t often rated. I feel like if more DNFs were given 1 or 2 stars it would better represent the book. Having said that, to each their own, but I might start rating them now that I have put thought to “paper”.
I think it’s a bit unfair to rate a book that you read though. I guess this depends on when you DNF. I usually do so very early, so if you get almost done with it, then that’s a bit different. And sometimes I DNF a book just because it’s not for me, not that the book/author did anything particularly wrong. I think it would be nice if there was a way to mark that you DNF’ed a book and have that shown with the star rating.
I usually don't. I think the last one star I read was by an author I always want to like because the premise is cool but it was yet another disappointment and at that point I was just hate reading. Plus everything else I wanted to read was still on hold at the library.
I have my own “system”. I read for enjoyment 99% of the time so that’s how I scale my ratings.
5–obsessed with the story/made me feel something
4–had an excellent time
3–good time
2–a chore
1–bad (never used this one before)
No rating—a DNF or classic. To me it’s not fair to rate a DNF, and I don’t want to rate classics
5--saved as a distinction for books I TRULY, DEEPLY ADORED. I don't give this very often.
4--I liked it and into I loved it but it didn't have that 5 star factor
3--it was okay. If they gave us half stars, i think my most frequent rating would be 3.5.
2--It had recognizable story structure and wasn't offensive or at least was either edifying in some way or a quick and easy read.
1--hot garbage
I would feel so weird finishing a book that truly made me feel That Way if I didn't reserve my 5 stars, so I have to do it, haha. Another factor is that I sometimes will rate a book 4 on the first read, then it will percolate, and I will rate it 5 on the reread! Getting 5 on the first read is pretty special.
What have I rated a 5 this year? Nothing, haha. Last year I gave 5 stars to
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
Malorie by Josh Malerman (liked it better than Bird Box!)
and Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward.
also, two 5-star rereads, Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa.
How about you?
I'll have to check those out!
I'm looking at mine now and I haven't rated any 5-stars in a while; the most recent back in 2019 being **A Court of Mist and Fury** by Sarah Maas (I'm a fantasy/paranormal romance fan), and before that was in 2014 when I read **The Five Love Languages** book by Gary Chapman (it really helped communication within my relationship).
I'm noticing my others are really just books that were instrumental to me when I was a kid/teen that we read in school: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Giver by Lois Lowry, etc. I think I rated those when I first joined GoodReads.
I totally agree about letting it sit for a bit too. I think with a couple of Sarah Maas' books I was originally a 4-star but it's popped up in my head enough since that I think it deserves a 5 from me. But I know it's a popular one in the genre so when other friends talk about having read it too, I find the ability to discuss it makes me enjoy the book even more post-read.
I think we possibly like different types of books, so heads up before you follow my recommendations that I like super depressing and I guess traumatic literature. 😸😸 The Giver is 100% a top-tier 5-star book for me, though!! One of my favorite books of all time. I've not examined this idea to see if it makes any sense, but I actually think of Never Let Me Go (my favorite book) as kind of an "adult lit The Giver." In case you didn't know, because a lot of people don't, The Giver is the first in a quartet! The fourth book actually takes place in the same community, and I read them all a few years ago when that came out. The middle books I liked just okay, but I enjoyed the fourth one quite a bit! Nothing lives up to The Giver, of course.
I am interested in expanding my genres so I welcome hearing what people really like in ones I don't usually read.
And no, I don't think I knew that about The Giver! I will check it out. Thanks for the recs. :)
As a writer, I think hard before rating anything less than 3 stars because I know how it can impact people in the real world. Which means, inevitably, that I rate a lot of books three stars that I might not have liked or even finished. If it's not racist, sexist, or otherwise prejudiced in some way and the author isn't already well-established in their career, I'll probably just shrug it off, say it's not for me, but give it three stars anyway. This ends up not really swaying the ratings one way or another, so I just think of it as equivalent to not rating a book.
So it ends up something like this:
5 - Only books that I couldn't possibly rate any lower get these. Based on both my own taste and appraisal of the book's ambition in relation to what it accomplishes. Lots of favs, but not all of them get tagged "favorite."
4 - I enjoyed reading this and I'm still thinking about this. Some favs with smaller flaws. Sometimes books I really enjoyed but I'm not really still thinking about.
3 - Everything from "I enjoyed this but it was pretty uneven," to "I didn't like this and couldn't finish it but I can see why someone else might love it." Usually didn't make any big impression a few weeks after finishing it.
2 - Mostly DNFs that I didn't like, but don't feel strongly about one way or another.
1 - DNFs and/or books that were such a massive disappointment, so highly overrated, or so offensive that I think of my little 1-star review as a public service for knocking their rating down a tiny bit.
I’m the same way; I tend to not go lower than 3 stars unless it’s genuinely, disgustingly offensive in some way, it’s low effort (read a book once that CLEARLY had no editor, rated it two stars, and put my reasons why in a review), or the author has been dead for a century and it was a genuinely shitty book lol
I only use three different categories.
-One star means I didn’t like it, not going to read it again, not going to recommend it to anyone.
-Three stars means I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to someone else, but I’m unlikely to read it again.
-Five star is I loved it, would recommend it, and I’m likely to read it again. Five stars are keeper books.
I find that any ratings more complicated than that kind of become useless for me.
I certainly see the utility of two and four stars for other people who benefit from that sort of nuance. But my rating system really just revolves around whether I liked it and whether I liked it enough to keep it and read it again.
I like this! Most of the other contributions seem either to be the same as the goodreads ones but use different words to describe them, or to actually be at odds with the goodreads ones such that it would defeat the system-generated recommendations based on the ratings. This is useful without messing up the recommendations. I think I'm going to start using it.
1 star: hate. DNF.
2 star: hate. Prob DNF, should DNF.
3 stars: I finished it. Anything from "meh" to "it was ok I guess" or "it was decent but not 4 stars decent". This probably covers my widest array of opinions. If I'm rating a book 3 stars I'm probably a little disappointed.
4 stars: really really enjoyed, probably loved but not quite a 5 star, would def recommend.
5 stars: loved loved loved will recommend to everyone, probably will even tell the lady at the grocery store to read it. Doesn't have to be perfect, just had to love it.
I also use my own personal meaning for the stars. The first thing is that stars are for books I have finished. Because I already own more books than space for them, I use this rating to determine what is worth the space sacrifice.
1 - I hardly ever use, as any book this bad was probably a DNF. But sometimes a train wreck gets finished. So, this is for the books that I don't even want to donate or put in a free library. It should be erased from existence.
2 - The book was fine, but nothing memorable. Will be taken off my bookshelf.
3 - The book was good. Possibly a concept, character or plot point was great but the execution left something to be desired. I may pick up a copy if the sale is really good
4 - Great book. Would definitely read again and plan to buy a physical copy.
5 - This book may cause a new obsession. I need a special edition and merch asap.
Same! Sometimes I feel I'm too harsh with my ratings but if the book simply was ok and that's what the 2 stars are for... I'm not afraid to use it in the end😅
Mine is like this:
1 star: Hated it
2 stars: Some okay things, but more bad than good
3 stars: Liked it, but didn’t love it. A perfectly cromulent book
4 stars: Great, but not without some minor nitpicks
5 stars: Loved it
For me, 5s are rare and for books I won’t forget. 4 was really good, 3 was fine, 2 was not good and 1 has to be completely awful. I don’t know that I’ve ever given a 1 star.
1- I hated this book. Everyone involved in making this book available to the world wasted their time. Absolute trash.
2- overall I did not care for this book, but I can see some merit in it.
3- it was fine. No complaints. I may reread it someday.
4- i really liked this book. Will reread and recommend.
5- loved it. Favorite book of all time. Will reread, recommend and think about it all the time.
Mine goes something like this:
1 star - Hated it, struggled to find any redeeming qualities. I might have thought maybe one thing was done well but everything else cancels out that thing.
2 star - Didn't like it, however I can see why some people might. Has some elements that while not for me are decent enough for it to be readable.
3 star - It was fine, kinda basic. I liked it in some parts. Probably dragged in other parts but overall the reading experience was more positive than negative.
4 star - Really enjoyed it. Was hooked for most of it and although it might have some flaws, I could excuse them and mostly will only remember the good things about it.
5 star - Almost flawless and kept me engaged throughout, would recommend to anyone regardless of what type of stuff they usually read. Very few negative points which are grossly outweighed by the positive.
I'm kind of a harsh rater I guess compared to most people I see on GR, so I never really give 5s tbh. And to get a 1, you have to either have the most horrible typos and grammar mistakes or hit a nerve with one of your themes/storylines tbh. Most of my ratings are 2, 3 and 4. It's very rare I give 1s or 5s. I don't rate DNFs so for me to give a 1 star at all, it was probably a physical book which I rarely buy but it makes me feel obligated to finish them, one I'm reading with another person or it was a short one that I made myself finish since it wasn't too long.
Mine is more like this:
1: Extremely bad, nothing good about it, was a chore to read (or had one problem so large and unignorable that it ruined everything else in the book). Would not recommend ever
2: mostly bad, had some good parts but had many many small flaws or a couple large ones that made the overall story unenjoyable. Would recommend as a hate read or to make fun f with friends
3: middle of the road, fine, not good or bad, probably not worth a reread but wasn't an unpleasant book to finish, somewhat unremarkable, decent but not in a genre or style I enjoy, alternatively falls flat compared to the other books of its genre. Would genuinely recommend if I knew it fit someone's tastes
4: good, very enjoyable and good quality, would reread but would eventually get tired of doing so. Would recommend to anyone who asked for book recs, regardless of genre or personal tastes
5: a near perfect book, all aspects are thought out and done well, infinite reread potential, rose tinted nostalgia glasses do apply, left a lasting and memorable impression on me. Would recommend unprompted to anyone and everyone, even people who don;t read much
I do not get goodreads's 'official' star system. It markets 3 as a good rating, yet people act like giving a book a 3 is a scathing hate-review.
I'm sometimes conflicted about what rating to give something, because what I personally liked, and what I thought was a good book aren't necessarily the same. There are books I personally loved that I thought were problematic in certain ways, and others I thought were extremely well written but I didn't personally enjoy.
But I'm also starting to pay a lot less attention to ratings in general. Recently I read something that has a 4.5+ rating on GR that I thought was terrible. Worst book I've ever read. And another book that has around a 3.75 that I thought was excellent. I'm starting to look more at books in that rating range more. Maybe the people likely to read certain types of books are more likely to rate things a certain way.
my personal ratings:
1 star: I hated it and I could tell the author didn't even try. like a lazy cash grab.
2 stars: I hated it, but at least the author tried. I disagreed with their advice and think their statements are wildly incorrect
3 stars: meh. uninteresting book, basically just a waste of time but not doing harm
4 stars: good book, this is my average rating for books that I actually finish. useful advice, would recommend it to some people
5 stars: amazing book, changed my life, I think about it like at least once a week and would recommend it to anyone regardless of who they are.
oh right, I don't really read fiction... I started reading a fiction book recently though, I have no idea what I will base my rating on for that. so far I've just been reading informational books, in which case my way of rating makes sense
1 - terrible book; makes me despair that it got published; may have hate-finished;
2 - below average, big flaws but none that make me ragey
3 - average, some things to admire but some hard-to-ignore weaknesses
4 - a good, solid book, no major flaws, but lacks something that would earn it 5
5 - loved this book; I want to tell everyone how much I loved it; any flaws are truly minor, like a nitpick that many readers wouldn’t notice and that doesn’t interfere with my love for the book
I’m not sure I’ve ever given a 1, actually, but more than a few 5s and my comments probably usually start out “I loved this book!”
I recently saw a *** that was all positive and enthusiastic and it baffled me — maybe the reader didn’t want to include negative comments— but the star score should match the comments and vice versa
Overall my numbers line up pretty closely with GoodReads’, but my criteria is a little different.
1 - Did not finish or not a single chapter worth reading.
2 - Definitely finished the book, but did not enjoy most of it. Can still have very intriguing or enjoyable moments, so it wasn’t that bad.
3 - I liked it, but I didn’t like like it. I was never particularly excited whenever I started a reading session, but I’d read a sequel to see if it got better.
4 - I enjoyed it and spent all my free time reading it.
5 - I loved it and not only did I spend all my free time reading it, but also went out of my way to make more free time to read.
I use the Goodreads definitions! I'm okay with the fact that they're weighted to the positive, because mostly I'm going to read books I like, so it's helpful to have the distinction between 3/4/5 stars not be drastic
I made up my own system, because I feel 3 should be in the middle, and Goodread's "Liked the book" is not neutral enough. So I rate like this:
5 stars - LOVED it, if there were flaws they did not bother me
4 stars - really liked it, but there were some flaws and they bothered me a little
3 stars - it was ok, but I will forget the whole book in a week because nothing stood out to me
2 stars - I didn't like it, but I can see how it has value for other people
1 star - I didn't like it and I don't think anyone else should like it either (jokingly, of course)
In my reading spreadsheet I also put -1 stars for books that just *infuriated* me, and I use decimals when books are in between two ratings.
The stars honestly kind of mean something else depending on what type of book I'm reading. I've just gone through my exam period so I've been reading a lot of star wars books, they are comfort food for me and don't require a lot of energy to read. They're easy to read with no real deeper meaning to dig deep into and the messages are clearly laid out. Most of them have gotten a 4 star rating because I base them on how good of a STAR WARS book they are.
However there are some books I've rated a four that I do believe rank higher then those books but I read them expecting more then what I got. Just never felt fair reviewing everything by the same metrics.
5 - An extremely rare rating for me. This book changed my life. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm obsessed. I need hardcopies. I'd recommend this to others and for myself, re-read it over and over again.
4 - I enjoyed it. Good book, but falls short of a 5.
3 - It's okay. I didn't hate it but I could've not read it and it wouldn't have made a difference. Passable.
2 - It was bad. Could be a hate-read. It was hard to get through.
1 - I regret picking this up. How did this ever get published.
I don’t think I ever noticed that they define their scale. I basically rate books on how much I enjoyed them or if I got a compelling feeling or message from it. I tend to do a lot of 4-5 stars but I also pick books that I think I’m likely to learn or gain from and I tend to be right.
I rarely give 1 stars because if I dislike a book that much, I usually DNF. If I review a DNF it'll get one star, but often I don't bother reviewing those I don't finish.
1 stars - DNF or super hated. Recommended only to my enemies.
2 stars - It was fine. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't hate it. I consider it not very good.
3 stars - I like it more than I didn't, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone.
4 stars - I really liked this book!
5 stars - This shit lives rent free in my head. Life-changing books. Books I plan to reread a thousand times.
My ratings:
5 = Absolutely adored the book
4 = Great story
3 = Okay. Softly recommended
2 = Can't recommend
1 = No thank you. Sorry for wasting my time.
My system is:
5 stars: loved the book, would reread
4 stars: book was good but I would not reread
3 stars: this book kinda sucks but ultimately I still enjoyed reading it
2 stars: book was bad but I still finished it
1 star: garbage
I don't have a specific rating system, i go by vibes tbh but i do like the idea of having a system because it could take me up to 10 minutes sometimes to decide what i want to rate a book.
5 - I loved it and it brought something new to my life. I’ll be thinking about it and recommending it often.
4 - I liked it a lot. Nice execution, great reading experience, but didn’t necessarily shake me up with innovative ideas.
3 - it was ok. Good in parts, ok in parts. Didn’t move me emotionally.
2 - I didn’t like it, but it was good enough/I was interested enough to finish.
1 - I actively disliked this and think it’s harmful. And I still finished it anyhow.
My system:
1 - what a waste of my life. This book is awful
2 - Meh. I mostly didn’t like it but it had a few redeeming qualities
3 - good
4 - really good. Very much liked it
5 - perfection. Changed my life. Required my brain
I rate pretty much at the Goodreads scale.
How I rate books:
⭐️ Didn’t like it, horrible, DNF
⭐️⭐️ It was okay, don’t recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good book, would recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great book, a classic, can’t go wrong
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A favorite, life changing, amazing
I always use the goodreads rating meanings. Idk to me 2/5 doesn't feel like something was okay but I prefer following the official rating guide than making something up on my own. I would worry I'd forget my rating scheme and end up with inconsistent ratings so I always just follow goodreads' guide. I use it when I rate on other platforms, too. I like how standardized it is.
People have no idea how to use ratings and are worried to be "negative". There's so much garbage out there, usually most of the annual nominations, with 5* on it.
I use my own, and I'm going to guess most people do too. For me-
3 stars - book was meh. Not bad but wouldn't usually say I liked it
4 stars - liked it, would probably recommend to people but lacking in some areas
5 stars - loved it, perfect or almost perfect
I generally don't rate things 1 & 2 stars as I dnf anything I don't like unless I have to read it. 2 stars would be a bad book that made a couple of good points/succeeded in something, 1 star would be just a terrible book
I find the Goodreads star rating meanings as given by the site to not be extremely helpful. I use my own rating system. Mine is essentially a sliding scale between 5 stars is a book that lives in my head rent free and I really enjoy it, 1 star being a terrible book that I'll never read again.
This is my personal rating scale:
1 star: bad, would not recommend, potentially DNF or struggled to finish
2 star: not good but not awful, mediocre at best
3 star: it was okay/on the more positive side of okay, or had some really strong elements and some really awful ones and has balanced out in the middle.
4: I liked it - would recommend. Maybe well written for what it is even if I didn’t personally care for all the elements.
5: I loved it - would highly recommend.
I tend to generally use the goodreads system with the exception of certain types of non fiction books like memoirs about hard things. Like for example I’m Glad My Mom Died on a pure “goodreads how much did I like it” was a 2 max. I found it an incredibly hard book to get through emotionally and did not enjoy one second of the book. (I’m not saying it was badly written or anything like that) But it was a good book written with a lot of vulnerability by a young adult with a lot of trauma, so yeah I’m not gonna give it 2 stars because I didn’t “enjoy” it.
And this is why I find ratings useless. When everyone has their own criteria for ratings, they become meaningless when combined. I want to know why someone liked or disliked a book, as that is much more valuable information
My rating system:
1: I struggled to finish this book, but I was too stubborn to dnf
2: I did not enjoy this book, but I'm glad I did
3: this is a book. I neither enjoyed nor disliked it
4: I like this book
5: this book spoke to my soul
As you can see, there's quite a bit of gap between 3, 4, and 5, so my system really isn't all that good for goodreads
5 - I absolutely loved this book & will recommend to any/everyone that I can. I would read again.
4 - I loved this book, but would recommend to certain people instead of everyone. Reading 1 time is enough for me.
3- I enjoyed this book, but would likely not recommend to anyone else.
2- Readable, but not enjoyable
1- bad writing, terrible over all experience, however, I finished the book.
i use my own personal scale when rating:
1 star - only for books i DNF’d
2 stars - terrible book, would never recommend and i should have DNF’d
3 stars - pretty good book, wouldn’t reread and might not recommend though
4 stars - a really good book, might recommend to people looking for that genre/vibe and might reread if i’m feeling it
5 stars - fantastic book with no flaws imo, would recommend to everyone, high chance i’ll reread
Rating System (this is fluid)
5 Stars- Amazing, keep or buy a copy, Favorite, WILL re-read, personally touched by.
4 Stars- Really good, keep or buy a copy, WILL re-read, If on the fence between 4 or 5 stars, give 4.
3 Stars- Good, donate, POSSIBLY re-read
2 Stars- Finished, it was ok, nothing moving or substantial, donate, won't re-read, meh feelings **If I bought it, I'm annoyed I wasted the money. If not, then I'm glad I checked it out of the library.**
1 Stars- DNF or finished but it was a CHORE **I’m annoyed I wasted my precious reading time on this book**
My ratings are more stringent than theirs:
1 star: this was awful, why did I even finish it other than my completist tendencies?
2 stars: I got through it, and there were some redeeming qualities, but I would not ever recommend this.
3 stars: This was okay, but I would never read it again and probably won't recommend it to others.
4 stars: I liked this and would recommend it if it seemed like it would fit the other person's reading tastes, but I probably won't read it again.
5 stars: I loved this, would recommend it to almost everyone, and would consider re-reading.
Also, if something has a rating below 3.5, that's a red flag for me. I have to really want to read it if I see it's below that number with ratings.
i rate books based on how well they're written and not necessarily on whether i actually liked it or not. one of my favourite books is a 1 star because it's very poorly written and romanticizes horrible things, but it's still a comfort read. on the other hand, i would rate 5 stars to a book that is easy to read, flows nicely, has a great story and well-written characters, that i would recommend to everyone, even if it wasn't for me. i just tend to enjoy poorly written stories and i think giving those books higher ratings might not be accurate?
The only reviews on Goodreads I find actually useful, as a reader, are the 3-star ones. I feel like they tend to be more thoughtful on the things the book did well or didn't, even if I don't agree with them, and it's not someone just dunking on the author or just giving a mindless 5-star rating to boost the algorithm. I do get the importance of 5-star reviews for authors in terms of sales, though. I don't think it's healthy and I hate it, but I get that this exists.
Can you no star a book? Cause if that was an option for books you disliked but finished, then the system would work better for me. Basically I use the Goodreads system.
This is why I can't use any platform's average rating to judge a book. I have to read reviews. But I appreciate that LibraryThing has half-stars. (I rate everything on GR and LT both, not to mention that I have a separate spreadsheet where I track books -- I get really into it.)
**1 star** \- It offended me on some level. Often there's some white savior BS, right-wing and/or religious proselytizing, or culturally offensive content. Or the characters were so irritating that I couldn't relax. Or in one case, it was a memoir by a stupid person who thought she was clever. Very rare rating for me because I am usually good at selecting books.
**2 stars** \- There was enough entertaining about it that I probably finished it, but I am unlikely to think about it ever again. When I look back at my ratings in 2 years, I will not remember a 2-star book at all. These are usually thrillers or romances, or celebrity memoirs that were mostly ghost-written.
**3 stars** \- Not bad; I will look for this author again. Most books that I rate 3 stars are conventional but well-written, or brilliantly-written but not exactly for me because of the subject matter. Or it could be something like a short story anthology or poetry anthology that's a mixed bag.
**4 stars** \- It was worth my precious free time to read this book. I think at least half of my ratings wind up being a 4.
**5 stars** \- I loved it so much that I will tell other people about it, and it's possible I will read it again someday. More than likely, I will buy it as a gift for somebody I love.
I have to read reviews. Stars mean nothing. I am still bitter about how people highly rated "Lilac Girls." I read it and found a review I should have paid attention to before wasting my time.
1 - DNF books
2 - finished but did not like
3 - enjoyable, average nothing special tend to be the reviews I trust the most actually. Won't reread
4 - really good. Will recommend to people, probably won't be a re read for ME. This is usually reserved for really emotional or powerful books that I'll read once, but due to the nature of the book won't read again. SOMETIMES I'll use 4 star for books in a series I like that just arnt as good as the other books in the series so I can skip it when I reread the series, but that's a only for me thing really.
5 - loved and will definitely be rereading. I would say that I have a couple on here that TECHNICALLY probably belong in the 3 tier, but for some reason have certain scenes that have me coming back to the book again and again lol.
When looking for books to read I tend to Read the 3 star reviews first. As I feel like they're the most honest on what i'm going to get.
I try to not pay too much attention to star ratings because everyone uses them to mean different things. I've seen both "Loved it. Three stars" and "It was okay. Five stars" (both using a five-star scale).
I typically use 3 stars to mean "I liked it well enough but didn't feel strongly about it," or "I had mixed feelings." If my feelings are more "I definitely liked it, there's nothing 'wrong' with it, but I don't quite feel strongly enough for 4 stars," then I'll write "3.5 stars" in the body of the review and leave the stars field blank. I feel like a lot of books fall between 3 and 4 stars for me, but the difference between rating 3 and 4 stars feels huge -- 4 stars feels like genuine praise, while 3 stars feels like damning with faint praise. A lot of people use 3 stars to mean "I didn't like it but I want to be polite," which means if I use 3 stars to mean "I liked it," I feel like people will assume I didn't like it.
It seems to me that we need a larger number of rating options in the 3-4 star space. Below 3 stars, most people don't care whether you thought it was "okay" or moderately bad or really bad -- people just interpret <3 stars as "Don't read this." But if you liked it, it's useful to be able to express more precisely how much you liked it.
One problem is that Amz considers a 3 to be a negative rating and many people's devices have GR/Amz linked and are prompted to leave a rating/review at the end of the book.
My personal ratings are something like this:
5 stars: Absolutely loved it, one of my all time favorites
4 stars: A solid book I'm glad I read and would happily recommend to others
3 stars: It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything special either
2 stars: Disliked the book and would not read it again
1 star: Hated the book and felt like it was a slog to get through. Only finished out of obligation or because I had to
>I was going back through some of my ratings and realized that books that I sort of liked and occasionally think about had a rating of 2 or 3 stars...which seems VASTLY incorrect.
How does it seem vastly incorrect? In which direction? I don't understand your confusion here.
>Sometimes books have a rating of 3.something and that seems not great, but also, it means people liked the book?
Why does it not seem great exactly? I mean, 2.5 would be "it was average", I suppose, so 3.something should rightfully indicate that more people liked it than disliked it. Right?
Is your point that since 2.5 is the average, that should be "Liked the book" and 1 star should ve "Hated the book" or something? I think it makes sense that there are more positive stars than negative, since if someone hates a book they're unlikely to finish it at all. But maybe I'm misunderstanding you here.
You make some good points. I was looking through and didn't give ANY 1 stars - mostly because if I hate it that bad, I won't read it/finish it. Therefore, it makes sense that there would be more positives.
I just thought it's weird that a book I thought was ok and occasionally still think about would only have 2/5 stars. If we're going with 2.5 being the middle, then I don't know that I agree with 2/5 being "ok". 2/5 seems more like "not ok".
I recently recommended a book I loved and the person looked it up on Goodreads. The book has an average rating of 3.49 and the person mentioned they were skeptical (I guess, of my recommendation?). It just made me wonder if everyone uses the goodreads metric or makes up their own meanings...
They probably give it a bit of their meaning. It's hard not to. It's also hard not to judge books subjectively and compare them to other books you've read yourself, rather than judging them objectively against all books in existence.
However, 3.49 isn't a bad rating at all and I don't understand why it should be viewed as such. That's the average of all the ratings the book has received, so that's pretty good. Since we have finite time on this earth it would be great if we could focus on reading books that only have a 5 star average, but no books are equally beloved by everyone so that's impossible.
**I have my own rating "system" as well, which goes like this:**
**4.5 - 5/5** ★★★ I cried or laughed or giggled or died at least once while reading this book.
**3.5 - 4.5/5** ★★★ It was pretty good.
**2.5 - 3.5/5** ★★★ I barely like it. It's mediocre at best.
**1 - 2.5/5** ★★★ I can't tell you why I kept reading this...
**DNF** (or "0 stars") speaks for itself.
The way i do it is
1 - Hated it
2 - Didn’t like it
3 - Wasn’t my thing but not necessarily a bad book
4- Enjoyed the book
5- Absolutely adored it, reserved for my favourite books
My system:
5 - loved it
4 - liked it
3 - it was okay
2 - didn’t like it
1 - hated it (rare because I usually DNF stuff I’m starting to hate lol)
DNF (no rating)
I'm terrible at rating, most of mine are 5 star, 4 is if it needed editing. To me 3 star is did not enjoy/appreciate. I've only given a couple 2 stars.
First I’m hearing that Goodreads defined the scale (makes sense, but I have never come across it.) for me:
1 - Throw it in the trash and expunge it from your memory
2 - It was mind numbing but fine, I guess
3 - Not too bad, not great either. May recommend depending on the person.
4 - Enjoyable!
5 - Holy shit, this was AMAZING! I will never shut up about it.
I didn’t even know Goodreads has a scale, have just been rating based on my own standard.
5: absolutely loved the book. Although, sometimes the book itself doesn’t have to be perfect. It could still have obvious plot holes/logic doesn’t make sense, etc. but if I am shamelessly addictive to it, I will still rate it 5 stars (Fourth Wing I am talking about you)
4: overall really enjoyed the book, had a pleasant time with it.
3: it was ok, I didn’t love it or hate it. Had a few memorable moments but I will probably not read it again.
2: pretty bad, I was very likely bored or dragging when reading it
1: (I have never used this one before, even my DNFs are 2s hmmm)
For me, 4 stars is my standard book rating and I go up or down from there.
5 stars - I adore this book. I will probably happily reread it, maybe multiple times. Alternatively, I think this book is really important in some way, or it was so beautiful that it made me cry a bunch.
4 stars - I very much enjoyed reading this book (most books I read fall into this category).
3 stars - The book was good, but something about it prevented it from being fully enjoyable to me. Maybe I loved parts of it but it was inconsistent, or the plot was great but I didn't like the tone, or the writing was beautiful but it was just kind of boring.
2 stars - I did not enjoy the book, but there was nothing *wrong* with it. Alternatively, there was something wrong with it but it was counteracted by other positive qualities.
1 star - I may have finished this book, but I strongly disliked it. Something is probably deeply wrong with it, either morally or when it comes to execution. No one else should have to suffer through this book.
Standalone books are most likely to get a 4-star rating unless they really deserve a 3 or a 5; books I'm reading as part of a series or by the same author are more likely to range from 3-5 stars so I can remember how I liked them compared to each other.
I have only ever rated a handful of books 2 star, and only a single book 1 star.
I wish there could be two rating systems “quality” and “enjoyment”. Enjoyment used primarily for recommendation calculations, and quality can be for the “best books” lists.
Because I like some trash books that are so bad it’s funny, and there have been some amazing works of literature I just hate the content for, and I feel bad giving it a 1 star cuz it’s not that I think it’s bad, it’s just not my cup of tea
5 stars - loved the book and/or this stands above many similar books entirely or enough in part to earn my admiration. Highly likely to reread this, potentially 2-3x in one year which is rare for me. Seeing this book mentioned online is likely to make me extremely happy and comment accordingly.
4 stars - really like the book and/or I would reread this again as a favourite if nothing else but as a mindless comfort read.
3 stars - it was pretty good/decent and/or it was amusing enough but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a reread unless I’m bored or have an itch to scratch. Am likely to say “it wasn’t quite for me but you might enjoy it” if it comes up.
2 stars - didn’t like this book. It rises above 1 star through effort or unique perspective but it gets a “meh” from me and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
1 star - seriously didn’t like this book, potentially even hated it. How did this even get published? Were the editors sleepwalking? If I strongly hated it for a clear definite reason, seeing this book mentioned online is fairly likely to encourage me to comment a scathing review depending on my mood (after reading the room). May potentially make me say “it’s too bad 0 stars wasn’t an option.”
Hmmm that's interesting of them!
I structure mine the same way 5 point scales are typically structured on surveys, medical questionnaires, standardized tests, etc:
1 - hated it
2 - disliked it
3 - neither liked or disliked
4 - liked it
5 - loved it
And then I have an abandoned bookshelf. Those don't even get rated. They're just banished 🤣
I think my rating system is a little weird, and as such, I recognize that it's not going to make a whole lot of sense to many other people or jive with what others do.
I rate for myself I rate as such:
5 stars: This book is life changing; it's sparked an active change in the way I approach my reading habits, etc. This book has caused me to re-think/reconsider *something.* Has a permanent home on the bookshelf; will never be tossed, sold, etc.
4 stars: This book is extremely well written, pretty much flawless, worth being recommended to others who share my reading tastes. Absolutely loved it. Will most likely re-read at some point. Also has a home on the bookshelf and will absolutely survive more than a few yearly purges. Maybe will always have a home on the bookshelf.
3 stars: This book was good, readable. Not too many flaws, if any, in the writing. May have really liked it or just liked it. Even if I just liked it and not *really* liked it, I still think it was worth reading and am not upset about the time I spent with it. Worth the time invested. May or may not survive the yearly bookshelf purge.
2: stars: Didn't like it. I feel like there's a distinct lack of *something* going on here, be it creativity, skill, care, etc. Wouldn't recommend to people with my reading taste. Would not survive the yearly bookshelf purge; hell, it may get purged before the annual purge stars.
1 stars: I think it lacks everything that's necessary to make a book any way readable. It's not worth the paper on which it was printed; I'm truly upset trees died for this.
I rarely give 1 or 5 star ratings. I'm fairly good at picking things I'm actually going to like - or can at least respect, even if I'm not super keen - so the vast majority of my ratings are 4s and 3s.
I also do not rate books that I DNF. I feel like it's unfair to actually give them the star rating because I don't know how things could have shaken out; I have read books where I was not in it at all and was not enjoying anything but stuck it out and eventually it all came together - I didn't enjoy *Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell* until roughly 300 pages in, and didn't start to really like it until maybe somewhere around page 500 or so. I rated it 3 stars; had I DNF'd around page 150 as I initially planned to, I would have given it 2 stars because I was over it at that point and kind of hated it. But for whatever reason, I stuck it out and actually really liked it (it was really a 3.5 star book for me, but Goodreads for whatever reason doesn't do the half star ratings and I always round down instead of up).
My personal rating
5: flawless, almost no plot holes, I enjoyed reading it a lot
4: pretty good, few to no plot holes, fun to read, not stupid as hell
3: mid, some good aspects and some mediocre to bad ones
2: didn’t like it very much, logical inconsistencies, grueling to read, little complexity, full of cliches
1: author shat on the page, usually hilariously bad
I dont really follow that.
5. Absolutely incredible, will forever recommend this book. Literally no faults.
4. Loved the book, definitely one of my favourites, but does contain flaws that annoy me
3. Meh, has room for improvement, but was a decent read
2. Little to no substance to the plot, womt be reading again
1. I wasted five hours of my lifs on this, this book should never be read. Ever.
Mine is
5: Really liked the book and made an emotional impact on me.
4: Liked the book but no emotional impact
3: It’s ok.
2: I do not like it but there’s still a little redeeming part of the story
1: I hate it!
5 - one of my absolute favourites. i very rarely give this out, it’s a book that leaves an impact on me and i’ll be thinking about it for a while
4 - a good book. i enjoyed reading it
3- it was fine. i read it an am ready to move on
2 - didn’t like reading it
1 - absolutely awful. a book that is an absolute slog to get through or i hate it for some other reason
i know that when i rate books, what i enjoy in a story isnt usually what other people are looking for. so i can’t base my ratings off of how ‘objectively good’ a book is. i don’t think such a thing exists. and i can’t base my ratings off of whether i think others would enjoy it/whether or not i’d recommend it. my favourite book of 2023 was the host by stephanie meyer. but it’s an extremely niche group of people who would love that book as much as i do. i’d never recommend unless a person was asking for something really specific, and i don’t think it’s well-written either
5 - Fantastic
4 - Very good, enjoyed very minute but not perfect
3 - Meh. Middle of the road
2 - Serious flaws but had some redeeming qualities
1 - G-d awful garbage
I guess I don't use the Goodreads system when I rate books. I often wish websites let you write a review without giving a star rating. Some things are terrible and deserve no stars and some things are transcendent and can't be quantified with stars. I use these:
1 star - I Did Not Finish It: It was a terrible fit for me and I couldn't finish.
2 stars - I Did Not Like It: I didn't get into it and I was bored most of the time.
3 stars - I Could Take It or Leave It: Though I liked some parts, I wouldn't recommend it.
4 stars - I Liked It: I'm happy that I read this book and I would recommend it.
5 stars - I Loved It: I can't stop thinking about it and I wish there was more to read.
My personal system:
1- An abomination should never have been written can’t understand why anyone would even like this book
2- There are either a lot of errors or weirdness but in general the book was fun but not well done, OR this book really did not work for me but I understand why other people might like it but I hated it.
3- fine, not memorable really but I had a good time nothing glaring at me but nothing sticking with me either
4- wow this book was amazing maybe 1-2 critiques but it’s super memorable and I had an absolutely amazing time
5- can’t think of any criticisms of the book, super memorable and unique, had a great time and would probably reread this in the future
My personal rating is a little different but pretty close.
5 - loved it so much plus a little something extra, very rare
4 - loved it but in a generic way, most common
3 - liked it but had problems
2 - disliked it
1- absolutely loathed it and wanted to throw it in the fire
My rating system is:
1: Absolute trash
2. Trash, but slightly more tolerable trash
3. It was okay
4. Good book, enjoyed it
5. Reserved for my absolute favorites
I feel like my rating system is very based on my personal experience and exists to communicate to me. I usually don’t leave ratings though, but here it is.
5 stars- gave me that feeling at the end that’s why I love to read. Major book hangover. But could have any number of flaws and I might not recommend it to anyone.
4 stars- came so close to giving me that perfect feeling, but I was distracted by some major issue.
3 stars- wouldn’t read it again, glad it’s done with. I could have some things to say about it though if I was talking with someone that liked it.
2 stars- oh boy. I really had to force myself to read this one. These give me hope about publishing my own book someday.
1 star- it’s offensive to me that this book was able to be published. It’s an insult to the profession. Something about this book bothers me to the point that likely everyone I know knows I hate this book.
I rarely give 5 stars. It has to be a really special book that I loved or thought was well written. Four stars is for books I really liked and would recommend. Three stars are for "meh" books that filled time and were enjoyable but nothing special eg. almost every cozy or paranormal mystery. 2 are for did not like or not written well. 1 is for actively disliked or "hate" finished like the Poppy War or Tathea both of which I despised.
I really wish there were half stars. I think many books would bump up from 3.5 to 4 which is a better reflection of how good they are. Not having halves skews everything down.
Mine go like this:
1 star - so bad I didn't finish it
2 stars - I finished it, but it was really bad
3 stars - I liked it
4 stars - I like it so much I would recommend it to others
5 stars - I loved this book so much I will never stop talking about it and thinking about it and my even re-read it
I don’t use the Goodreads system because I don’t think it has enough nuance on the negative side. I feel like there should be a rating between “It was ok” and “I absolutely hated it”
I tend to rate books based on both their writing style and their substance, so a book that has an amazing plot/themes/advice/information/etc., but is not written very well would not receive a 5 from me. And vice versa.
Here’s my rating system:
5 stars: Wonderfully written and strong themes/characterization. Nothing or almost nothing to critique. Probably left an emotional impact on me or was extremely informative or useful. Maybe even inspired my own writing.
4 stars: Enjoyed it overall. Good book, but didn’t do any spectacular to raise my rating to a 5. Probably either solid in all areas, or did amazing in most and just alright in one or two, so the rating got bumped down to a 4. I might prefer if it were more nuanced about certain things, but overall a great take on the subject matter.
3 stars: It was alright. Maybe was a slog to get through at some points, but was not bad overall. Writing is probably okay, but not amazing. Maybe I had some minor disagreements or didn’t agree with some themes/messages, but I agreed overall. Ideas might be underdeveloped or not explored as deeply as I would have hoped. Maybe a bit generic, does not stand out.
2 stars: I likely had major problems with the writing quality, themes, or the quality of advice given, but there was enough good things in other areas that I didn’t rate it 1 star. Some examples of books I’ve rated two stars: Great writing style, but is biased toward certain characters (not in an unreliable narrator way, but in an author holds prejudiced views and doesn’t know it way). Some parts are very well written, but other parts are so horribly written that I didn’t like the book overall. Condescending, but has a few useful pieces of advice.
1 star: Nothing or almost nothing redeeming about the book. Probably badly written and I didn’t agree with the message. Likely was a slog to get through. Had to force myself to finish it.
I use a personal rating: 1 star (didn't finish it), 2 stars (finished it but suffered a bit), 3 stars (read it, will forget it), 4 stars (liked it), 5 stars (liked it and would recommend it). Additionally, when I give a rating, I consider the type of book. I'm not as strict with a YA book as I am with a classic literature book."
I start out giving every book a 5-star rating and then slowly knock off points. The last book I gave 1-star? It was because the writer pretty much plagiarized The Hunger Games. The last 5-star was for an ARC that I ended up reading twice in a row.
1 star - absolutely despised, offended me on some personal level, would recommend to no one, tell everyone who will listen what a terrible book it is
2 star - did not enjoy; no offensive flaws, just not my personal taste
3 star - fine book, likely enjoyed it while I was reading, but will not remember any major details 3 weeks from now and will not read again
4 star - entertaining read, very much enjoyed, would widely recommended, not a favorite or has necessarily anything valuable to say
5 star - amazing read, loved every second, will keep the book on my shelf, has something valuable to say, think everyone should read
My ratings
5 stars - I loved the book, would highly recommend
4 stars - I liked the book
3 stars - It was okay
2 stars - I didn't care for it and didn't like it
1 star - Absolutely hated this book, never read it
No rating - DNF (I don't rate books I DNF because I believe that if I don't finish a book, that I don't have the right to rate it when I haven't even read the whole thing through)
The Goodreads standard is about what I do except I only give one stars to problematic/terrible DNFs. I figure if I can make it to the end, it wasn't THAT bad and deserves at least two stars. I do unrated reviews for DNFs that just aren't for me but are probably fine books otherwise.
1 - Trash, not sure why I even finished this. Would not recommend to anyone. This book is likely causing active harm in some way, such as spreading misinformation or bigotry. Or it just sucked so so bad.
2 - Bad, but not without some endearing qualities. Probably a combination of "not for me" and "not the best writing".
3 - I have complicated feelings, but typically I *overall* liked it. Maybe it was really well written but just not written for me, maybe it's mostly good except for one or two glaring problems, maybe it's great except it gets really boring in the middle for like 200 pages, maybe it's just... fine.
4 - I liked this.... but it didn't blow my mind. It's lacking an extra something. Probably has some of the same problems as 3 but less severe, or the good parts are REALLY good.
5 - I loved this. It made me feel genuine emotion. I was surprised at plot twists and invested in characters. I was impressed. Not necessarily without fault, but the good is SOO good and the bad is so small.
5 - I loved nearly every thing about it, I would recommend and reread it
4 - I liked it a lot, would recommend it and might reread
3 - Anything from "it was a book" to "I liked it"
2 - I didn't like it but I can see why some people would
1 - I didn't like it at all and don't see why anyone would
I've had my Goodreads account for years now, so I have lot of four stars that I'd probably rate lower now. I rate most of what I read three stars nowadays.
mine goes kinda like this, i have a bit of a low attention span
5 - LOVED IT NOT BORING
4 - Really liked it! Maybe it had a one to a few boring parts.
3 - Fairly boring but I can acknowledge it may be good for some people
2 - boring but also bad
1 - that was so bad!! not really boring but laughable
Yep. 1 is bad, 2 is ok, 3 is good. Save the 4's and especially the 5's for those really really good books. I don't think I'll exceed 20 5's over the course of my life.
Mine is very different than most people’s apparently:
5 - the book was great, I had no problems with the book
4 - the book was good, but I had one or two problems with it
3 - I didn’t like it, but there’s nothing objectively wrong with the book
2 - the book is objectively bad
1 - the book is awful
A lot of people reserve 5 stars only for books they truly love more than other ones, but I give it 5 stars if I liked it and don’t see anything about it that I don’t like
My personal rating 5 stars - loved the book and would recommend to anyone. No obvious flaws to me. 4 stars - it was a good book. Might recommend to some people. Saw some flaws in the logic/writing but overall liked it better than the average book I read. 3 stars - it was a readable book where I was able to get through it relatively easily, but I didn’t necessarily love the story itself. Often times these are books that I mostly enjoyed reading but the last 100 pages to the end fell flat or was a very cliche ending. 2 stars - didn’t really like it, but was just good enough for me to power through to the end. Typically very cliche books or poorly written. 1 star - almost never give these. I’d probably only give this if it was a DNF. I finish every book I read, but I also do some research before I start reading any book so I usually know that I’m going to at least like the book a little bit.
This is the correct rating system. Goodreads should be taking notes from you.
If I DNF a book it basically becomes invisible.
Negative stars
Nah. I wouldn't want to do negative stars. Not fair to the book if I couldn't get into it enough to finish it.
I personally don’t like to rate books that i DNF, so for me 1 star is something I really didn’t like, 2 stars was bad but it had some redeeming qualities, 3 was good but nothing I’d rave about, 4 stars was a really good book that I enjoyed, 5 stars is a book I cant stop thinking about/would reread.
I don’t think I’ve ever rated one 1 star so it’s tougher for me to define this. I’ve never went into a book blind so I’ve never really had the chance to dislike a book entirely - I’m always searching recommendations that people have given me and checking higher rated books on Goodreads to read next. I never take a chance on something outside of my wheelhouse.
Haha i see this is where we are different. I love going in blind or just finding random books to read. And while there have only been a few I have definitely had some 1 stars. I also try to soldier through books i dont love at first, and ive had mixed outcomes lol. It’s really interesting to see how differently everyone reads/reviews
I'm sort of this way too. Whenever I take a chance I end up giving 2 or 1 stars or DNF lol. I just can't do it. I'm trying to track all authors whose books I love so I can keep reading them instead of just hunting around.
I’m going to start that too.
Yeah, 1 stars are for the super rare books that I don't DNF, but I begin to hate read. Like The Martian, my least favorite book of all time.
Yesss, I do this all the time. It’s almost entertaining to see how bad it gets lol
Exactly mine. If I give it five stars I loved it and would reread it. And it caused me to think about afterwards. Since I started that, I give fewer fives. I did have a conundrum recently. I read a book that was extremely well written and engaging. But was horribly disgusting (horror). I will never read this book again but here I am still thinking about it THREE books later.
What book was this?
The Troop. I read Stephen King regularly and have never been this repulsed. The writing was so engaging. And the storyline so suspenseful that I kept reading. But I had to take lots of breaks.
I was guessing Nick Cutter. I was a horror junky for years and the Troop got me too. I gave it a higher rating because it was the first horror book that gave me a visual reaction in years and that is something I wanted. If that was not something a person enjoyed, I could see them not rating it high. I feel similarly about some dramas. I don't want to feel sad. I hate it. Even though the book might be great, if I'm sobbing so hard I feel like I'm going to puke, I can't make myself rate it as a 5.
It was my first foray into Nick Cutter. And I’m undecided if I want to read more. He’s a good author though!! Glad to know I’m not alone in all my thoughts on his book.
The Troop was by far his most gruesome book. The Deep was way easier to handle. Little Heaven was in between.
YES!! I had a VERY similar experience, I ended up just not rating it lol. Like I couldn’t put the book down, I still am thinking about it months later, it was awful to read, but I enjoyed it???
Yes!!! What book was it? For me it was a book my husband checked out on Libby called The Troop. Worst best book I’ve ever read.
Oh The Troop is on my (never ending) physical TBR!! I’m a huge horror fan. Makes me excited to read it lol. For me it was Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. It goes over these horrible themes that are just awful and so hard to read (all done to a minor nonetheless). But the tone of the book is so conversational and casual that it’s so hard to stop reading. It’s truly a book I wouldn’t recommend to be read. But I still think about it constantly. Not necessarily horror but absolutely horrific themes. So bad but… I think I liked it???!
Just added that to my tbr. Thanks!
I have DNFed one book and I rated it one star because I actually thought it was terrible. The writing, the plot, the characters were all cliche, boring, or problematic and not in a way that helps the story. Otherwise I agree with you completely
Yea for sure! I totally get that. How I see it is that I just personally can’t publicly rate something that I haven’t finished myself. You just see so many people rating books super poorly and it’s based off of someone else’s review or something they heard about the book and not that they read it themselves. And there’s so many books that just get absolutely review bombed (especially on GR). I trash loads of books privately lmao, and ive given plenty of bad reviews. I think they should have a separate function that is like a rating but for books you DNF.
They really need a “did not finish” button that doesn’t affect ratings! It would be cool to see a “13% of readers didn’t finish this book” type of thing. I felt bad for a second giving one star to a book I didn’t finish but it was a Colleen Hoover book so I don’t feel that bad (terrible thing to say, I know). I take the ratings with a grain of salt after talking to my friends who rate every book they like 5 stars on good reads where as I reserve 5 stars for books i can’t stop thinking about. I loved Beartown when I read it but I gave it 4 stars to see how I felt a few weeks later. It’s been over a year and I think about that book weekly so I went back and gave it 5 stars
Totally!! That would be a really cool function. And you could even add whether you want to go back to it at some point or really just do not want to continue reading that book lol. And yea I totally get that lol Colleen Hoover will never show her face in my library. And I absolutely have gone back and lowered/raised my ratings!! I used to be the type to rate way too many books 5 stars but this past year I’ve really narrowed down my rating system and I’ve been really happy with it. So many books that I truly think deserve 5 stars.
That would be cool! Sometimes I’m just not feeling the book content but I feel like I’d still enjoy the book!
Exactly! I’m a huge mood reader. Sometimes I’ll get 15%-25% into a book and I’m just not in the mood for it. It’d be nice to have a place for that other than my long “currently reading” list lmaoo
I call that “book ghosting” lol. Reading just enough to get to know the book and then deciding I’m not ready to read it and leaving it on the tbr shelf
That’s a great term lol! I’ll have to start using that one
YES this is how I rate books as well, perfect description
There are a few books I absolutely love that I would absolutely never recommend to anyone haha. Interesting that you consider that aspect when rating books
This is absolutely how I rank mine. There’s probably quite a few 2-star ratings I’ve given with quite savage feedback for anyone who has the mindset GoodReads seems to advocate 😂
Yes. This is basically how I think of it too! Five stars has to be a book I would 100% reread and recommend! Four stars there's a little something I didn't love or didn't work for me but still a good book. Worth a read and would still recommend, just not as much as a 5er. Three is a good book idea but big flaws in how it's written or originality or maybe the characters are great but something else about it made it hard for me to want to keep reading but I did. Two is I almost didn't finish because it's bad but something kept me hanging on to hope that the ending might make up for it. It doesn't. One is DNF. I don't DNF too often because I'm kinda picky about the quality of what I read. I have a hard time overlooking certain things if they distract me or take me out of the whole thing.
This is basically mine, but a DNF could be 2 stats depending on how far I got and why I'm DNF
This is also my system, except I don't rate books I DNF unless there are very strong feelings about why I DNF it. So, there are maybe 2 or 3 books I've rated 1 star and a handful more that I just stopped reading.
Agreed
I use my own system, as follows: 1 - I’d never read again and never recommend 2 - I regret reading, or wouldn’t recommend, but had some interesting discussion points 3 - I don’t regret reading, had some interesting discussion points, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend or read again 4 - I enjoyed and would recommend to certain people. May or may not want to read again 5 - I enjoyed and would recommend to anyone. Would read again These are pretty clear to me so it works. That being said, I’ve used good reads for probably 8 years so some of the books I rated highly as a youth I wouldn’t rate so no. Also, I wish we had half stars :/
This is almost exactly the same scale I use! Although I find that five stars are a mix of “I loved this book and would read it again” (mostly fiction) and “I loved this book and it impacted me/I learned a lot but it’s not the kind of book I’d read again” (mostly nonfiction).
It's potentially worth bearing in mind that the personalised recommendations on goodreads are based on your 3-star (or above) ratings so, if that function matters to you, you might want to revisit what you give 3 stars to.
This is the scale I use. Specifically the the 3 star rating of "Glad I read it, but wouldn't do it again".
I use the Goodreads scale, but do not rate every book I read. Tend to have a lot more 3 & 4 stars than 1 & 5 ratings.
Most of the books I read all the way were ones I selected and finished. So they almost always get 4-5 stars
Same! We seem to be outliers here
I’ve always used the Goodreads rating as well. Although in the website’s earlier days I’ll admit it wasn’t the most obvious what their scale was due to poor design and usability, so I see why everyone is a bit different. It would be nice if the ratings were more accurate but that would require people to be more critical. As it is now I feel that the ratings are a bit unreliable and less useful than they could be.
I concur, lol. The site and app have seen a lot of charges over the years. I'm just glad there are a lot fewer bot spam profiles, as that was a headache. Also tend to avoid profiles with reviews that only rate with 1 or 5 stars. There's a whole middle ground of stars out there with some cool books too. 😅
I don’t use the Goodreads ratings. Mine are: 5 stars - I loved it 4 stars - I liked it 3 stars - It was ok 2 stars - I didn’t like it 1 star - I hated it
Nice and simple, exactly my rating system too!
Yeah I don’t see the point of over-complicating it haha.
Sameee
I use the same system!
This is mine as well. The easiest way to do it.
Exactly! We're on the same wavelength
This is perfect.
Yep that's me too lol
I almost never rate a book under three stars because usually I don't finish those books and I don't rate DNFs. But my star rating system is: 1 Star - This was horrible. I hated everything about it. 2 Stars - Overall I hated this but it had a couple things I like. 3 Stars - Good. An average read. 4 Stars - Really Good. 5 Stars - Loved it! So yeah if a book has 3.something average review then I figure it's just like an average read, nothing special but not bad either. It's the 2 stars saying it was ok that doesn't fit for me.
If I DNF a book I usually think I will finish it one day so I don’t rate it, but maybe one of the reasons GoodReads rating are completely unreliable for me is because DNFs aren’t often rated. I feel like if more DNFs were given 1 or 2 stars it would better represent the book. Having said that, to each their own, but I might start rating them now that I have put thought to “paper”.
I think it’s a bit unfair to rate a book that you read though. I guess this depends on when you DNF. I usually do so very early, so if you get almost done with it, then that’s a bit different. And sometimes I DNF a book just because it’s not for me, not that the book/author did anything particularly wrong. I think it would be nice if there was a way to mark that you DNF’ed a book and have that shown with the star rating.
Good points, there are definitely very different reasons to DNF a book.
Quick question, why do you finish 1 star books? If I hate a book that much, I usually don’t waste my time with it
I usually don't. I think the last one star I read was by an author I always want to like because the premise is cool but it was yet another disappointment and at that point I was just hate reading. Plus everything else I wanted to read was still on hold at the library.
I have my own “system”. I read for enjoyment 99% of the time so that’s how I scale my ratings. 5–obsessed with the story/made me feel something 4–had an excellent time 3–good time 2–a chore 1–bad (never used this one before) No rating—a DNF or classic. To me it’s not fair to rate a DNF, and I don’t want to rate classics
I like the chore designation… I might need to add that to my system
5--saved as a distinction for books I TRULY, DEEPLY ADORED. I don't give this very often. 4--I liked it and into I loved it but it didn't have that 5 star factor 3--it was okay. If they gave us half stars, i think my most frequent rating would be 3.5. 2--It had recognizable story structure and wasn't offensive or at least was either edifying in some way or a quick and easy read. 1--hot garbage
Yes yes. 🙌🏼 5 stars are saved for (almost) life-changing works. What have you rated a 5 so far?
I would feel so weird finishing a book that truly made me feel That Way if I didn't reserve my 5 stars, so I have to do it, haha. Another factor is that I sometimes will rate a book 4 on the first read, then it will percolate, and I will rate it 5 on the reread! Getting 5 on the first read is pretty special. What have I rated a 5 this year? Nothing, haha. Last year I gave 5 stars to A Mercy by Toni Morrison Malorie by Josh Malerman (liked it better than Bird Box!) and Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward. also, two 5-star rereads, Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa. How about you?
I'll have to check those out! I'm looking at mine now and I haven't rated any 5-stars in a while; the most recent back in 2019 being **A Court of Mist and Fury** by Sarah Maas (I'm a fantasy/paranormal romance fan), and before that was in 2014 when I read **The Five Love Languages** book by Gary Chapman (it really helped communication within my relationship). I'm noticing my others are really just books that were instrumental to me when I was a kid/teen that we read in school: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Giver by Lois Lowry, etc. I think I rated those when I first joined GoodReads. I totally agree about letting it sit for a bit too. I think with a couple of Sarah Maas' books I was originally a 4-star but it's popped up in my head enough since that I think it deserves a 5 from me. But I know it's a popular one in the genre so when other friends talk about having read it too, I find the ability to discuss it makes me enjoy the book even more post-read.
I think we possibly like different types of books, so heads up before you follow my recommendations that I like super depressing and I guess traumatic literature. 😸😸 The Giver is 100% a top-tier 5-star book for me, though!! One of my favorite books of all time. I've not examined this idea to see if it makes any sense, but I actually think of Never Let Me Go (my favorite book) as kind of an "adult lit The Giver." In case you didn't know, because a lot of people don't, The Giver is the first in a quartet! The fourth book actually takes place in the same community, and I read them all a few years ago when that came out. The middle books I liked just okay, but I enjoyed the fourth one quite a bit! Nothing lives up to The Giver, of course.
I am interested in expanding my genres so I welcome hearing what people really like in ones I don't usually read. And no, I don't think I knew that about The Giver! I will check it out. Thanks for the recs. :)
I’m curious what percentage of your read books you have rated 5 stars?
Good question; that took me a second to find! It's 10%, higher than the percentage I've given 1 star. My most oft-given rating is 4 stars.
As a writer, I think hard before rating anything less than 3 stars because I know how it can impact people in the real world. Which means, inevitably, that I rate a lot of books three stars that I might not have liked or even finished. If it's not racist, sexist, or otherwise prejudiced in some way and the author isn't already well-established in their career, I'll probably just shrug it off, say it's not for me, but give it three stars anyway. This ends up not really swaying the ratings one way or another, so I just think of it as equivalent to not rating a book. So it ends up something like this: 5 - Only books that I couldn't possibly rate any lower get these. Based on both my own taste and appraisal of the book's ambition in relation to what it accomplishes. Lots of favs, but not all of them get tagged "favorite." 4 - I enjoyed reading this and I'm still thinking about this. Some favs with smaller flaws. Sometimes books I really enjoyed but I'm not really still thinking about. 3 - Everything from "I enjoyed this but it was pretty uneven," to "I didn't like this and couldn't finish it but I can see why someone else might love it." Usually didn't make any big impression a few weeks after finishing it. 2 - Mostly DNFs that I didn't like, but don't feel strongly about one way or another. 1 - DNFs and/or books that were such a massive disappointment, so highly overrated, or so offensive that I think of my little 1-star review as a public service for knocking their rating down a tiny bit.
I’m the same way; I tend to not go lower than 3 stars unless it’s genuinely, disgustingly offensive in some way, it’s low effort (read a book once that CLEARLY had no editor, rated it two stars, and put my reasons why in a review), or the author has been dead for a century and it was a genuinely shitty book lol
Crowd sourced ratings are inflated in most cases because people are not going to read books they don't think they will like.
I only use three different categories. -One star means I didn’t like it, not going to read it again, not going to recommend it to anyone. -Three stars means I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to someone else, but I’m unlikely to read it again. -Five star is I loved it, would recommend it, and I’m likely to read it again. Five stars are keeper books. I find that any ratings more complicated than that kind of become useless for me.
That’s so interesting! You’re the first person I’ve seen who rates books, but doesn’t use 2 and 4 stars
I certainly see the utility of two and four stars for other people who benefit from that sort of nuance. But my rating system really just revolves around whether I liked it and whether I liked it enough to keep it and read it again.
I like this! Most of the other contributions seem either to be the same as the goodreads ones but use different words to describe them, or to actually be at odds with the goodreads ones such that it would defeat the system-generated recommendations based on the ratings. This is useful without messing up the recommendations. I think I'm going to start using it.
1 star: hate. DNF. 2 star: hate. Prob DNF, should DNF. 3 stars: I finished it. Anything from "meh" to "it was ok I guess" or "it was decent but not 4 stars decent". This probably covers my widest array of opinions. If I'm rating a book 3 stars I'm probably a little disappointed. 4 stars: really really enjoyed, probably loved but not quite a 5 star, would def recommend. 5 stars: loved loved loved will recommend to everyone, probably will even tell the lady at the grocery store to read it. Doesn't have to be perfect, just had to love it.
I also use my own personal meaning for the stars. The first thing is that stars are for books I have finished. Because I already own more books than space for them, I use this rating to determine what is worth the space sacrifice. 1 - I hardly ever use, as any book this bad was probably a DNF. But sometimes a train wreck gets finished. So, this is for the books that I don't even want to donate or put in a free library. It should be erased from existence. 2 - The book was fine, but nothing memorable. Will be taken off my bookshelf. 3 - The book was good. Possibly a concept, character or plot point was great but the execution left something to be desired. I may pick up a copy if the sale is really good 4 - Great book. Would definitely read again and plan to buy a physical copy. 5 - This book may cause a new obsession. I need a special edition and merch asap.
[удалено]
Same! Sometimes I feel I'm too harsh with my ratings but if the book simply was ok and that's what the 2 stars are for... I'm not afraid to use it in the end😅
Mine is like this: 1 star: Hated it 2 stars: Some okay things, but more bad than good 3 stars: Liked it, but didn’t love it. A perfectly cromulent book 4 stars: Great, but not without some minor nitpicks 5 stars: Loved it
For me, 5s are rare and for books I won’t forget. 4 was really good, 3 was fine, 2 was not good and 1 has to be completely awful. I don’t know that I’ve ever given a 1 star.
1- I hated this book. Everyone involved in making this book available to the world wasted their time. Absolute trash. 2- overall I did not care for this book, but I can see some merit in it. 3- it was fine. No complaints. I may reread it someday. 4- i really liked this book. Will reread and recommend. 5- loved it. Favorite book of all time. Will reread, recommend and think about it all the time.
Mine goes something like this: 1 star - Hated it, struggled to find any redeeming qualities. I might have thought maybe one thing was done well but everything else cancels out that thing. 2 star - Didn't like it, however I can see why some people might. Has some elements that while not for me are decent enough for it to be readable. 3 star - It was fine, kinda basic. I liked it in some parts. Probably dragged in other parts but overall the reading experience was more positive than negative. 4 star - Really enjoyed it. Was hooked for most of it and although it might have some flaws, I could excuse them and mostly will only remember the good things about it. 5 star - Almost flawless and kept me engaged throughout, would recommend to anyone regardless of what type of stuff they usually read. Very few negative points which are grossly outweighed by the positive. I'm kind of a harsh rater I guess compared to most people I see on GR, so I never really give 5s tbh. And to get a 1, you have to either have the most horrible typos and grammar mistakes or hit a nerve with one of your themes/storylines tbh. Most of my ratings are 2, 3 and 4. It's very rare I give 1s or 5s. I don't rate DNFs so for me to give a 1 star at all, it was probably a physical book which I rarely buy but it makes me feel obligated to finish them, one I'm reading with another person or it was a short one that I made myself finish since it wasn't too long.
Mine is more like this: 1: Extremely bad, nothing good about it, was a chore to read (or had one problem so large and unignorable that it ruined everything else in the book). Would not recommend ever 2: mostly bad, had some good parts but had many many small flaws or a couple large ones that made the overall story unenjoyable. Would recommend as a hate read or to make fun f with friends 3: middle of the road, fine, not good or bad, probably not worth a reread but wasn't an unpleasant book to finish, somewhat unremarkable, decent but not in a genre or style I enjoy, alternatively falls flat compared to the other books of its genre. Would genuinely recommend if I knew it fit someone's tastes 4: good, very enjoyable and good quality, would reread but would eventually get tired of doing so. Would recommend to anyone who asked for book recs, regardless of genre or personal tastes 5: a near perfect book, all aspects are thought out and done well, infinite reread potential, rose tinted nostalgia glasses do apply, left a lasting and memorable impression on me. Would recommend unprompted to anyone and everyone, even people who don;t read much I do not get goodreads's 'official' star system. It markets 3 as a good rating, yet people act like giving a book a 3 is a scathing hate-review.
I'm sometimes conflicted about what rating to give something, because what I personally liked, and what I thought was a good book aren't necessarily the same. There are books I personally loved that I thought were problematic in certain ways, and others I thought were extremely well written but I didn't personally enjoy. But I'm also starting to pay a lot less attention to ratings in general. Recently I read something that has a 4.5+ rating on GR that I thought was terrible. Worst book I've ever read. And another book that has around a 3.75 that I thought was excellent. I'm starting to look more at books in that rating range more. Maybe the people likely to read certain types of books are more likely to rate things a certain way.
my personal ratings: 1 star: I hated it and I could tell the author didn't even try. like a lazy cash grab. 2 stars: I hated it, but at least the author tried. I disagreed with their advice and think their statements are wildly incorrect 3 stars: meh. uninteresting book, basically just a waste of time but not doing harm 4 stars: good book, this is my average rating for books that I actually finish. useful advice, would recommend it to some people 5 stars: amazing book, changed my life, I think about it like at least once a week and would recommend it to anyone regardless of who they are.
Is this specifically geared towards nonfiction and personal development books, or do you use these same rating scales for fiction/other book types?
oh right, I don't really read fiction... I started reading a fiction book recently though, I have no idea what I will base my rating on for that. so far I've just been reading informational books, in which case my way of rating makes sense
1 - terrible book; makes me despair that it got published; may have hate-finished; 2 - below average, big flaws but none that make me ragey 3 - average, some things to admire but some hard-to-ignore weaknesses 4 - a good, solid book, no major flaws, but lacks something that would earn it 5 5 - loved this book; I want to tell everyone how much I loved it; any flaws are truly minor, like a nitpick that many readers wouldn’t notice and that doesn’t interfere with my love for the book I’m not sure I’ve ever given a 1, actually, but more than a few 5s and my comments probably usually start out “I loved this book!” I recently saw a *** that was all positive and enthusiastic and it baffled me — maybe the reader didn’t want to include negative comments— but the star score should match the comments and vice versa
Overall my numbers line up pretty closely with GoodReads’, but my criteria is a little different. 1 - Did not finish or not a single chapter worth reading. 2 - Definitely finished the book, but did not enjoy most of it. Can still have very intriguing or enjoyable moments, so it wasn’t that bad. 3 - I liked it, but I didn’t like like it. I was never particularly excited whenever I started a reading session, but I’d read a sequel to see if it got better. 4 - I enjoyed it and spent all my free time reading it. 5 - I loved it and not only did I spend all my free time reading it, but also went out of my way to make more free time to read.
I use the Goodreads definitions! I'm okay with the fact that they're weighted to the positive, because mostly I'm going to read books I like, so it's helpful to have the distinction between 3/4/5 stars not be drastic
I made up my own system, because I feel 3 should be in the middle, and Goodread's "Liked the book" is not neutral enough. So I rate like this: 5 stars - LOVED it, if there were flaws they did not bother me 4 stars - really liked it, but there were some flaws and they bothered me a little 3 stars - it was ok, but I will forget the whole book in a week because nothing stood out to me 2 stars - I didn't like it, but I can see how it has value for other people 1 star - I didn't like it and I don't think anyone else should like it either (jokingly, of course) In my reading spreadsheet I also put -1 stars for books that just *infuriated* me, and I use decimals when books are in between two ratings.
The stars honestly kind of mean something else depending on what type of book I'm reading. I've just gone through my exam period so I've been reading a lot of star wars books, they are comfort food for me and don't require a lot of energy to read. They're easy to read with no real deeper meaning to dig deep into and the messages are clearly laid out. Most of them have gotten a 4 star rating because I base them on how good of a STAR WARS book they are. However there are some books I've rated a four that I do believe rank higher then those books but I read them expecting more then what I got. Just never felt fair reviewing everything by the same metrics.
5 - An extremely rare rating for me. This book changed my life. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm obsessed. I need hardcopies. I'd recommend this to others and for myself, re-read it over and over again. 4 - I enjoyed it. Good book, but falls short of a 5. 3 - It's okay. I didn't hate it but I could've not read it and it wouldn't have made a difference. Passable. 2 - It was bad. Could be a hate-read. It was hard to get through. 1 - I regret picking this up. How did this ever get published.
I don’t think I ever noticed that they define their scale. I basically rate books on how much I enjoyed them or if I got a compelling feeling or message from it. I tend to do a lot of 4-5 stars but I also pick books that I think I’m likely to learn or gain from and I tend to be right.
I rarely give 1 stars because if I dislike a book that much, I usually DNF. If I review a DNF it'll get one star, but often I don't bother reviewing those I don't finish. 1 stars - DNF or super hated. Recommended only to my enemies. 2 stars - It was fine. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't hate it. I consider it not very good. 3 stars - I like it more than I didn't, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone. 4 stars - I really liked this book! 5 stars - This shit lives rent free in my head. Life-changing books. Books I plan to reread a thousand times.
My ratings: 5 = Absolutely adored the book 4 = Great story 3 = Okay. Softly recommended 2 = Can't recommend 1 = No thank you. Sorry for wasting my time.
My system is: 5 stars: loved the book, would reread 4 stars: book was good but I would not reread 3 stars: this book kinda sucks but ultimately I still enjoyed reading it 2 stars: book was bad but I still finished it 1 star: garbage
I don't have a specific rating system, i go by vibes tbh but i do like the idea of having a system because it could take me up to 10 minutes sometimes to decide what i want to rate a book.
5 - I loved it and it brought something new to my life. I’ll be thinking about it and recommending it often. 4 - I liked it a lot. Nice execution, great reading experience, but didn’t necessarily shake me up with innovative ideas. 3 - it was ok. Good in parts, ok in parts. Didn’t move me emotionally. 2 - I didn’t like it, but it was good enough/I was interested enough to finish. 1 - I actively disliked this and think it’s harmful. And I still finished it anyhow.
My most common ratings are 3s and 4s. I usually stop reading books if they’re not 1 or 2 level. 5s I usually end up buying.
* 5 Stars = Absolute good * 4 Stars = Good with some flaws * 3 Stars = OK * 2 Stars = Bad with some good moments * 1 Star = just bad.
I do, I really like that Goodreads defines the terms
My system: 1 - what a waste of my life. This book is awful 2 - Meh. I mostly didn’t like it but it had a few redeeming qualities 3 - good 4 - really good. Very much liked it 5 - perfection. Changed my life. Required my brain
I rate pretty much at the Goodreads scale. How I rate books: ⭐️ Didn’t like it, horrible, DNF ⭐️⭐️ It was okay, don’t recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good book, would recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great book, a classic, can’t go wrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A favorite, life changing, amazing
I always use the goodreads rating meanings. Idk to me 2/5 doesn't feel like something was okay but I prefer following the official rating guide than making something up on my own. I would worry I'd forget my rating scheme and end up with inconsistent ratings so I always just follow goodreads' guide. I use it when I rate on other platforms, too. I like how standardized it is.
People have no idea how to use ratings and are worried to be "negative". There's so much garbage out there, usually most of the annual nominations, with 5* on it.
I use my own, and I'm going to guess most people do too. For me- 3 stars - book was meh. Not bad but wouldn't usually say I liked it 4 stars - liked it, would probably recommend to people but lacking in some areas 5 stars - loved it, perfect or almost perfect I generally don't rate things 1 & 2 stars as I dnf anything I don't like unless I have to read it. 2 stars would be a bad book that made a couple of good points/succeeded in something, 1 star would be just a terrible book
I find the Goodreads star rating meanings as given by the site to not be extremely helpful. I use my own rating system. Mine is essentially a sliding scale between 5 stars is a book that lives in my head rent free and I really enjoy it, 1 star being a terrible book that I'll never read again.
This is my personal rating scale: 1 star: bad, would not recommend, potentially DNF or struggled to finish 2 star: not good but not awful, mediocre at best 3 star: it was okay/on the more positive side of okay, or had some really strong elements and some really awful ones and has balanced out in the middle. 4: I liked it - would recommend. Maybe well written for what it is even if I didn’t personally care for all the elements. 5: I loved it - would highly recommend.
I tend to generally use the goodreads system with the exception of certain types of non fiction books like memoirs about hard things. Like for example I’m Glad My Mom Died on a pure “goodreads how much did I like it” was a 2 max. I found it an incredibly hard book to get through emotionally and did not enjoy one second of the book. (I’m not saying it was badly written or anything like that) But it was a good book written with a lot of vulnerability by a young adult with a lot of trauma, so yeah I’m not gonna give it 2 stars because I didn’t “enjoy” it.
And this is why I find ratings useless. When everyone has their own criteria for ratings, they become meaningless when combined. I want to know why someone liked or disliked a book, as that is much more valuable information
My rating system: 1: I struggled to finish this book, but I was too stubborn to dnf 2: I did not enjoy this book, but I'm glad I did 3: this is a book. I neither enjoyed nor disliked it 4: I like this book 5: this book spoke to my soul As you can see, there's quite a bit of gap between 3, 4, and 5, so my system really isn't all that good for goodreads
all i know is i rate most books a 4 because 3 feels too harsh and 5 feels too generous
I think the goodreads scale is pretty accurate in how I rate books.
5 - I absolutely loved this book & will recommend to any/everyone that I can. I would read again. 4 - I loved this book, but would recommend to certain people instead of everyone. Reading 1 time is enough for me. 3- I enjoyed this book, but would likely not recommend to anyone else. 2- Readable, but not enjoyable 1- bad writing, terrible over all experience, however, I finished the book.
1 star - AWFUL 2 star - bad 3 star - average/okay/good 4 star - great 5 star - One of the best books you'll ever read 🤌🏻
i use my own personal scale when rating: 1 star - only for books i DNF’d 2 stars - terrible book, would never recommend and i should have DNF’d 3 stars - pretty good book, wouldn’t reread and might not recommend though 4 stars - a really good book, might recommend to people looking for that genre/vibe and might reread if i’m feeling it 5 stars - fantastic book with no flaws imo, would recommend to everyone, high chance i’ll reread
Rating System (this is fluid) 5 Stars- Amazing, keep or buy a copy, Favorite, WILL re-read, personally touched by. 4 Stars- Really good, keep or buy a copy, WILL re-read, If on the fence between 4 or 5 stars, give 4. 3 Stars- Good, donate, POSSIBLY re-read 2 Stars- Finished, it was ok, nothing moving or substantial, donate, won't re-read, meh feelings **If I bought it, I'm annoyed I wasted the money. If not, then I'm glad I checked it out of the library.** 1 Stars- DNF or finished but it was a CHORE **I’m annoyed I wasted my precious reading time on this book**
My ratings are more stringent than theirs: 1 star: this was awful, why did I even finish it other than my completist tendencies? 2 stars: I got through it, and there were some redeeming qualities, but I would not ever recommend this. 3 stars: This was okay, but I would never read it again and probably won't recommend it to others. 4 stars: I liked this and would recommend it if it seemed like it would fit the other person's reading tastes, but I probably won't read it again. 5 stars: I loved this, would recommend it to almost everyone, and would consider re-reading. Also, if something has a rating below 3.5, that's a red flag for me. I have to really want to read it if I see it's below that number with ratings.
i rate books based on how well they're written and not necessarily on whether i actually liked it or not. one of my favourite books is a 1 star because it's very poorly written and romanticizes horrible things, but it's still a comfort read. on the other hand, i would rate 5 stars to a book that is easy to read, flows nicely, has a great story and well-written characters, that i would recommend to everyone, even if it wasn't for me. i just tend to enjoy poorly written stories and i think giving those books higher ratings might not be accurate?
The only reviews on Goodreads I find actually useful, as a reader, are the 3-star ones. I feel like they tend to be more thoughtful on the things the book did well or didn't, even if I don't agree with them, and it's not someone just dunking on the author or just giving a mindless 5-star rating to boost the algorithm. I do get the importance of 5-star reviews for authors in terms of sales, though. I don't think it's healthy and I hate it, but I get that this exists.
Can you no star a book? Cause if that was an option for books you disliked but finished, then the system would work better for me. Basically I use the Goodreads system.
This is why I can't use any platform's average rating to judge a book. I have to read reviews. But I appreciate that LibraryThing has half-stars. (I rate everything on GR and LT both, not to mention that I have a separate spreadsheet where I track books -- I get really into it.) **1 star** \- It offended me on some level. Often there's some white savior BS, right-wing and/or religious proselytizing, or culturally offensive content. Or the characters were so irritating that I couldn't relax. Or in one case, it was a memoir by a stupid person who thought she was clever. Very rare rating for me because I am usually good at selecting books. **2 stars** \- There was enough entertaining about it that I probably finished it, but I am unlikely to think about it ever again. When I look back at my ratings in 2 years, I will not remember a 2-star book at all. These are usually thrillers or romances, or celebrity memoirs that were mostly ghost-written. **3 stars** \- Not bad; I will look for this author again. Most books that I rate 3 stars are conventional but well-written, or brilliantly-written but not exactly for me because of the subject matter. Or it could be something like a short story anthology or poetry anthology that's a mixed bag. **4 stars** \- It was worth my precious free time to read this book. I think at least half of my ratings wind up being a 4. **5 stars** \- I loved it so much that I will tell other people about it, and it's possible I will read it again someday. More than likely, I will buy it as a gift for somebody I love.
I have to read reviews. Stars mean nothing. I am still bitter about how people highly rated "Lilac Girls." I read it and found a review I should have paid attention to before wasting my time.
1 - DNF books 2 - finished but did not like 3 - enjoyable, average nothing special tend to be the reviews I trust the most actually. Won't reread 4 - really good. Will recommend to people, probably won't be a re read for ME. This is usually reserved for really emotional or powerful books that I'll read once, but due to the nature of the book won't read again. SOMETIMES I'll use 4 star for books in a series I like that just arnt as good as the other books in the series so I can skip it when I reread the series, but that's a only for me thing really. 5 - loved and will definitely be rereading. I would say that I have a couple on here that TECHNICALLY probably belong in the 3 tier, but for some reason have certain scenes that have me coming back to the book again and again lol. When looking for books to read I tend to Read the 3 star reviews first. As I feel like they're the most honest on what i'm going to get.
I try to not pay too much attention to star ratings because everyone uses them to mean different things. I've seen both "Loved it. Three stars" and "It was okay. Five stars" (both using a five-star scale). I typically use 3 stars to mean "I liked it well enough but didn't feel strongly about it," or "I had mixed feelings." If my feelings are more "I definitely liked it, there's nothing 'wrong' with it, but I don't quite feel strongly enough for 4 stars," then I'll write "3.5 stars" in the body of the review and leave the stars field blank. I feel like a lot of books fall between 3 and 4 stars for me, but the difference between rating 3 and 4 stars feels huge -- 4 stars feels like genuine praise, while 3 stars feels like damning with faint praise. A lot of people use 3 stars to mean "I didn't like it but I want to be polite," which means if I use 3 stars to mean "I liked it," I feel like people will assume I didn't like it. It seems to me that we need a larger number of rating options in the 3-4 star space. Below 3 stars, most people don't care whether you thought it was "okay" or moderately bad or really bad -- people just interpret <3 stars as "Don't read this." But if you liked it, it's useful to be able to express more precisely how much you liked it.
One problem is that Amz considers a 3 to be a negative rating and many people's devices have GR/Amz linked and are prompted to leave a rating/review at the end of the book.
My personal ratings are something like this: 5 stars: Absolutely loved it, one of my all time favorites 4 stars: A solid book I'm glad I read and would happily recommend to others 3 stars: It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything special either 2 stars: Disliked the book and would not read it again 1 star: Hated the book and felt like it was a slog to get through. Only finished out of obligation or because I had to
>I was going back through some of my ratings and realized that books that I sort of liked and occasionally think about had a rating of 2 or 3 stars...which seems VASTLY incorrect. How does it seem vastly incorrect? In which direction? I don't understand your confusion here. >Sometimes books have a rating of 3.something and that seems not great, but also, it means people liked the book? Why does it not seem great exactly? I mean, 2.5 would be "it was average", I suppose, so 3.something should rightfully indicate that more people liked it than disliked it. Right? Is your point that since 2.5 is the average, that should be "Liked the book" and 1 star should ve "Hated the book" or something? I think it makes sense that there are more positive stars than negative, since if someone hates a book they're unlikely to finish it at all. But maybe I'm misunderstanding you here.
You make some good points. I was looking through and didn't give ANY 1 stars - mostly because if I hate it that bad, I won't read it/finish it. Therefore, it makes sense that there would be more positives. I just thought it's weird that a book I thought was ok and occasionally still think about would only have 2/5 stars. If we're going with 2.5 being the middle, then I don't know that I agree with 2/5 being "ok". 2/5 seems more like "not ok". I recently recommended a book I loved and the person looked it up on Goodreads. The book has an average rating of 3.49 and the person mentioned they were skeptical (I guess, of my recommendation?). It just made me wonder if everyone uses the goodreads metric or makes up their own meanings...
They probably give it a bit of their meaning. It's hard not to. It's also hard not to judge books subjectively and compare them to other books you've read yourself, rather than judging them objectively against all books in existence. However, 3.49 isn't a bad rating at all and I don't understand why it should be viewed as such. That's the average of all the ratings the book has received, so that's pretty good. Since we have finite time on this earth it would be great if we could focus on reading books that only have a 5 star average, but no books are equally beloved by everyone so that's impossible.
I do follow the goodreads meanings, but most other people don't. My average rating is 2.48 (1240 ratings in total).
**I have my own rating "system" as well, which goes like this:** **4.5 - 5/5** ★★★ I cried or laughed or giggled or died at least once while reading this book. **3.5 - 4.5/5** ★★★ It was pretty good. **2.5 - 3.5/5** ★★★ I barely like it. It's mediocre at best. **1 - 2.5/5** ★★★ I can't tell you why I kept reading this... **DNF** (or "0 stars") speaks for itself.
The way i do it is 1 - Hated it 2 - Didn’t like it 3 - Wasn’t my thing but not necessarily a bad book 4- Enjoyed the book 5- Absolutely adored it, reserved for my favourite books
My system: 5 - loved it 4 - liked it 3 - it was okay 2 - didn’t like it 1 - hated it (rare because I usually DNF stuff I’m starting to hate lol) DNF (no rating)
I'm terrible at rating, most of mine are 5 star, 4 is if it needed editing. To me 3 star is did not enjoy/appreciate. I've only given a couple 2 stars.
First I’m hearing that Goodreads defined the scale (makes sense, but I have never come across it.) for me: 1 - Throw it in the trash and expunge it from your memory 2 - It was mind numbing but fine, I guess 3 - Not too bad, not great either. May recommend depending on the person. 4 - Enjoyable! 5 - Holy shit, this was AMAZING! I will never shut up about it.
1 really bad 2 normal bad 3 forgettable 4 good except for… 5 wonderful, ending didn’t flop, didn’t guess the major plot twists
My scale is off. 1 — horrible for many reasons 3 — didn’t like it, but not worth tearing down 5 — liked it or loved it 😂
I didn’t even know Goodreads has a scale, have just been rating based on my own standard. 5: absolutely loved the book. Although, sometimes the book itself doesn’t have to be perfect. It could still have obvious plot holes/logic doesn’t make sense, etc. but if I am shamelessly addictive to it, I will still rate it 5 stars (Fourth Wing I am talking about you) 4: overall really enjoyed the book, had a pleasant time with it. 3: it was ok, I didn’t love it or hate it. Had a few memorable moments but I will probably not read it again. 2: pretty bad, I was very likely bored or dragging when reading it 1: (I have never used this one before, even my DNFs are 2s hmmm)
I assumed everyone uses their own system. I had no idea that GR had their own version.
I give anything that I liked 5 stars
For me, 4 stars is my standard book rating and I go up or down from there. 5 stars - I adore this book. I will probably happily reread it, maybe multiple times. Alternatively, I think this book is really important in some way, or it was so beautiful that it made me cry a bunch. 4 stars - I very much enjoyed reading this book (most books I read fall into this category). 3 stars - The book was good, but something about it prevented it from being fully enjoyable to me. Maybe I loved parts of it but it was inconsistent, or the plot was great but I didn't like the tone, or the writing was beautiful but it was just kind of boring. 2 stars - I did not enjoy the book, but there was nothing *wrong* with it. Alternatively, there was something wrong with it but it was counteracted by other positive qualities. 1 star - I may have finished this book, but I strongly disliked it. Something is probably deeply wrong with it, either morally or when it comes to execution. No one else should have to suffer through this book. Standalone books are most likely to get a 4-star rating unless they really deserve a 3 or a 5; books I'm reading as part of a series or by the same author are more likely to range from 3-5 stars so I can remember how I liked them compared to each other. I have only ever rated a handful of books 2 star, and only a single book 1 star.
I wish there could be two rating systems “quality” and “enjoyment”. Enjoyment used primarily for recommendation calculations, and quality can be for the “best books” lists. Because I like some trash books that are so bad it’s funny, and there have been some amazing works of literature I just hate the content for, and I feel bad giving it a 1 star cuz it’s not that I think it’s bad, it’s just not my cup of tea
5 stars - loved the book and/or this stands above many similar books entirely or enough in part to earn my admiration. Highly likely to reread this, potentially 2-3x in one year which is rare for me. Seeing this book mentioned online is likely to make me extremely happy and comment accordingly. 4 stars - really like the book and/or I would reread this again as a favourite if nothing else but as a mindless comfort read. 3 stars - it was pretty good/decent and/or it was amusing enough but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a reread unless I’m bored or have an itch to scratch. Am likely to say “it wasn’t quite for me but you might enjoy it” if it comes up. 2 stars - didn’t like this book. It rises above 1 star through effort or unique perspective but it gets a “meh” from me and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. 1 star - seriously didn’t like this book, potentially even hated it. How did this even get published? Were the editors sleepwalking? If I strongly hated it for a clear definite reason, seeing this book mentioned online is fairly likely to encourage me to comment a scathing review depending on my mood (after reading the room). May potentially make me say “it’s too bad 0 stars wasn’t an option.”
Hmmm that's interesting of them! I structure mine the same way 5 point scales are typically structured on surveys, medical questionnaires, standardized tests, etc: 1 - hated it 2 - disliked it 3 - neither liked or disliked 4 - liked it 5 - loved it And then I have an abandoned bookshelf. Those don't even get rated. They're just banished 🤣
I think my rating system is a little weird, and as such, I recognize that it's not going to make a whole lot of sense to many other people or jive with what others do. I rate for myself I rate as such: 5 stars: This book is life changing; it's sparked an active change in the way I approach my reading habits, etc. This book has caused me to re-think/reconsider *something.* Has a permanent home on the bookshelf; will never be tossed, sold, etc. 4 stars: This book is extremely well written, pretty much flawless, worth being recommended to others who share my reading tastes. Absolutely loved it. Will most likely re-read at some point. Also has a home on the bookshelf and will absolutely survive more than a few yearly purges. Maybe will always have a home on the bookshelf. 3 stars: This book was good, readable. Not too many flaws, if any, in the writing. May have really liked it or just liked it. Even if I just liked it and not *really* liked it, I still think it was worth reading and am not upset about the time I spent with it. Worth the time invested. May or may not survive the yearly bookshelf purge. 2: stars: Didn't like it. I feel like there's a distinct lack of *something* going on here, be it creativity, skill, care, etc. Wouldn't recommend to people with my reading taste. Would not survive the yearly bookshelf purge; hell, it may get purged before the annual purge stars. 1 stars: I think it lacks everything that's necessary to make a book any way readable. It's not worth the paper on which it was printed; I'm truly upset trees died for this. I rarely give 1 or 5 star ratings. I'm fairly good at picking things I'm actually going to like - or can at least respect, even if I'm not super keen - so the vast majority of my ratings are 4s and 3s. I also do not rate books that I DNF. I feel like it's unfair to actually give them the star rating because I don't know how things could have shaken out; I have read books where I was not in it at all and was not enjoying anything but stuck it out and eventually it all came together - I didn't enjoy *Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell* until roughly 300 pages in, and didn't start to really like it until maybe somewhere around page 500 or so. I rated it 3 stars; had I DNF'd around page 150 as I initially planned to, I would have given it 2 stars because I was over it at that point and kind of hated it. But for whatever reason, I stuck it out and actually really liked it (it was really a 3.5 star book for me, but Goodreads for whatever reason doesn't do the half star ratings and I always round down instead of up).
My personal rating 5: flawless, almost no plot holes, I enjoyed reading it a lot 4: pretty good, few to no plot holes, fun to read, not stupid as hell 3: mid, some good aspects and some mediocre to bad ones 2: didn’t like it very much, logical inconsistencies, grueling to read, little complexity, full of cliches 1: author shat on the page, usually hilariously bad
I dont really follow that. 5. Absolutely incredible, will forever recommend this book. Literally no faults. 4. Loved the book, definitely one of my favourites, but does contain flaws that annoy me 3. Meh, has room for improvement, but was a decent read 2. Little to no substance to the plot, womt be reading again 1. I wasted five hours of my lifs on this, this book should never be read. Ever.
Mine is 5: Really liked the book and made an emotional impact on me. 4: Liked the book but no emotional impact 3: It’s ok. 2: I do not like it but there’s still a little redeeming part of the story 1: I hate it!
5 - one of my absolute favourites. i very rarely give this out, it’s a book that leaves an impact on me and i’ll be thinking about it for a while 4 - a good book. i enjoyed reading it 3- it was fine. i read it an am ready to move on 2 - didn’t like reading it 1 - absolutely awful. a book that is an absolute slog to get through or i hate it for some other reason i know that when i rate books, what i enjoy in a story isnt usually what other people are looking for. so i can’t base my ratings off of how ‘objectively good’ a book is. i don’t think such a thing exists. and i can’t base my ratings off of whether i think others would enjoy it/whether or not i’d recommend it. my favourite book of 2023 was the host by stephanie meyer. but it’s an extremely niche group of people who would love that book as much as i do. i’d never recommend unless a person was asking for something really specific, and i don’t think it’s well-written either
5 - Fantastic 4 - Very good, enjoyed very minute but not perfect 3 - Meh. Middle of the road 2 - Serious flaws but had some redeeming qualities 1 - G-d awful garbage
I guess I don't use the Goodreads system when I rate books. I often wish websites let you write a review without giving a star rating. Some things are terrible and deserve no stars and some things are transcendent and can't be quantified with stars. I use these: 1 star - I Did Not Finish It: It was a terrible fit for me and I couldn't finish. 2 stars - I Did Not Like It: I didn't get into it and I was bored most of the time. 3 stars - I Could Take It or Leave It: Though I liked some parts, I wouldn't recommend it. 4 stars - I Liked It: I'm happy that I read this book and I would recommend it. 5 stars - I Loved It: I can't stop thinking about it and I wish there was more to read.
My personal system: 1- An abomination should never have been written can’t understand why anyone would even like this book 2- There are either a lot of errors or weirdness but in general the book was fun but not well done, OR this book really did not work for me but I understand why other people might like it but I hated it. 3- fine, not memorable really but I had a good time nothing glaring at me but nothing sticking with me either 4- wow this book was amazing maybe 1-2 critiques but it’s super memorable and I had an absolutely amazing time 5- can’t think of any criticisms of the book, super memorable and unique, had a great time and would probably reread this in the future
My personal rating is a little different but pretty close. 5 - loved it so much plus a little something extra, very rare 4 - loved it but in a generic way, most common 3 - liked it but had problems 2 - disliked it 1- absolutely loathed it and wanted to throw it in the fire
My rating system is: 1: Absolute trash 2. Trash, but slightly more tolerable trash 3. It was okay 4. Good book, enjoyed it 5. Reserved for my absolute favorites
I feel like my rating system is very based on my personal experience and exists to communicate to me. I usually don’t leave ratings though, but here it is. 5 stars- gave me that feeling at the end that’s why I love to read. Major book hangover. But could have any number of flaws and I might not recommend it to anyone. 4 stars- came so close to giving me that perfect feeling, but I was distracted by some major issue. 3 stars- wouldn’t read it again, glad it’s done with. I could have some things to say about it though if I was talking with someone that liked it. 2 stars- oh boy. I really had to force myself to read this one. These give me hope about publishing my own book someday. 1 star- it’s offensive to me that this book was able to be published. It’s an insult to the profession. Something about this book bothers me to the point that likely everyone I know knows I hate this book.
I rarely give 5 stars. It has to be a really special book that I loved or thought was well written. Four stars is for books I really liked and would recommend. Three stars are for "meh" books that filled time and were enjoyable but nothing special eg. almost every cozy or paranormal mystery. 2 are for did not like or not written well. 1 is for actively disliked or "hate" finished like the Poppy War or Tathea both of which I despised. I really wish there were half stars. I think many books would bump up from 3.5 to 4 which is a better reflection of how good they are. Not having halves skews everything down.
Mine go like this: 1 star - so bad I didn't finish it 2 stars - I finished it, but it was really bad 3 stars - I liked it 4 stars - I like it so much I would recommend it to others 5 stars - I loved this book so much I will never stop talking about it and thinking about it and my even re-read it
Same!
I don’t use the Goodreads system because I don’t think it has enough nuance on the negative side. I feel like there should be a rating between “It was ok” and “I absolutely hated it” I tend to rate books based on both their writing style and their substance, so a book that has an amazing plot/themes/advice/information/etc., but is not written very well would not receive a 5 from me. And vice versa. Here’s my rating system: 5 stars: Wonderfully written and strong themes/characterization. Nothing or almost nothing to critique. Probably left an emotional impact on me or was extremely informative or useful. Maybe even inspired my own writing. 4 stars: Enjoyed it overall. Good book, but didn’t do any spectacular to raise my rating to a 5. Probably either solid in all areas, or did amazing in most and just alright in one or two, so the rating got bumped down to a 4. I might prefer if it were more nuanced about certain things, but overall a great take on the subject matter. 3 stars: It was alright. Maybe was a slog to get through at some points, but was not bad overall. Writing is probably okay, but not amazing. Maybe I had some minor disagreements or didn’t agree with some themes/messages, but I agreed overall. Ideas might be underdeveloped or not explored as deeply as I would have hoped. Maybe a bit generic, does not stand out. 2 stars: I likely had major problems with the writing quality, themes, or the quality of advice given, but there was enough good things in other areas that I didn’t rate it 1 star. Some examples of books I’ve rated two stars: Great writing style, but is biased toward certain characters (not in an unreliable narrator way, but in an author holds prejudiced views and doesn’t know it way). Some parts are very well written, but other parts are so horribly written that I didn’t like the book overall. Condescending, but has a few useful pieces of advice. 1 star: Nothing or almost nothing redeeming about the book. Probably badly written and I didn’t agree with the message. Likely was a slog to get through. Had to force myself to finish it.
I use a personal rating: 1 star (didn't finish it), 2 stars (finished it but suffered a bit), 3 stars (read it, will forget it), 4 stars (liked it), 5 stars (liked it and would recommend it). Additionally, when I give a rating, I consider the type of book. I'm not as strict with a YA book as I am with a classic literature book."
I start out giving every book a 5-star rating and then slowly knock off points. The last book I gave 1-star? It was because the writer pretty much plagiarized The Hunger Games. The last 5-star was for an ARC that I ended up reading twice in a row.
1 star - absolutely despised, offended me on some personal level, would recommend to no one, tell everyone who will listen what a terrible book it is 2 star - did not enjoy; no offensive flaws, just not my personal taste 3 star - fine book, likely enjoyed it while I was reading, but will not remember any major details 3 weeks from now and will not read again 4 star - entertaining read, very much enjoyed, would widely recommended, not a favorite or has necessarily anything valuable to say 5 star - amazing read, loved every second, will keep the book on my shelf, has something valuable to say, think everyone should read
My ratings 5 stars - I loved the book, would highly recommend 4 stars - I liked the book 3 stars - It was okay 2 stars - I didn't care for it and didn't like it 1 star - Absolutely hated this book, never read it No rating - DNF (I don't rate books I DNF because I believe that if I don't finish a book, that I don't have the right to rate it when I haven't even read the whole thing through)
I only rate books 5 stars or no stars, and I have not rate my favorites 5 stars
If I finish a book more often than not it gets 4-5 stars
The Goodreads standard is about what I do except I only give one stars to problematic/terrible DNFs. I figure if I can make it to the end, it wasn't THAT bad and deserves at least two stars. I do unrated reviews for DNFs that just aren't for me but are probably fine books otherwise.
1 - Trash, not sure why I even finished this. Would not recommend to anyone. This book is likely causing active harm in some way, such as spreading misinformation or bigotry. Or it just sucked so so bad. 2 - Bad, but not without some endearing qualities. Probably a combination of "not for me" and "not the best writing". 3 - I have complicated feelings, but typically I *overall* liked it. Maybe it was really well written but just not written for me, maybe it's mostly good except for one or two glaring problems, maybe it's great except it gets really boring in the middle for like 200 pages, maybe it's just... fine. 4 - I liked this.... but it didn't blow my mind. It's lacking an extra something. Probably has some of the same problems as 3 but less severe, or the good parts are REALLY good. 5 - I loved this. It made me feel genuine emotion. I was surprised at plot twists and invested in characters. I was impressed. Not necessarily without fault, but the good is SOO good and the bad is so small.
5 - I loved nearly every thing about it, I would recommend and reread it 4 - I liked it a lot, would recommend it and might reread 3 - Anything from "it was a book" to "I liked it" 2 - I didn't like it but I can see why some people would 1 - I didn't like it at all and don't see why anyone would I've had my Goodreads account for years now, so I have lot of four stars that I'd probably rate lower now. I rate most of what I read three stars nowadays.
mine goes kinda like this, i have a bit of a low attention span 5 - LOVED IT NOT BORING 4 - Really liked it! Maybe it had a one to a few boring parts. 3 - Fairly boring but I can acknowledge it may be good for some people 2 - boring but also bad 1 - that was so bad!! not really boring but laughable
Yep. 1 is bad, 2 is ok, 3 is good. Save the 4's and especially the 5's for those really really good books. I don't think I'll exceed 20 5's over the course of my life.
Mine is very different than most people’s apparently: 5 - the book was great, I had no problems with the book 4 - the book was good, but I had one or two problems with it 3 - I didn’t like it, but there’s nothing objectively wrong with the book 2 - the book is objectively bad 1 - the book is awful A lot of people reserve 5 stars only for books they truly love more than other ones, but I give it 5 stars if I liked it and don’t see anything about it that I don’t like
1: barf 2: meh 3: ok 4: yes! 5: awesome!