Wednesday, August 17, 2016

How I Rate Books


When I started reviewing books on this blog, I spent a bit of time determining what each rating meant for me. To refresh your memory, here is what I came up with: 

One Star—Ick

Two Stars—Meh

Three Stars—Good

Four Stars—Great

Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

Along the way, I’ve given out a few half stars, but I don’t like including them in the scale, because I don’t like resorting to splitting the difference when I’m conflicted between ratings. Usually, when I’m that torn, it’s because I haven’t managed to dig out a certain defining thought from the back of my brain, and I end up regretting using a half star. (But I don’t judge you if you use half stars. My head is weird, that’s all.) 

While I’ve covered my rating system in the past, I haven’t talked much about how I rate books, and since this topic has been on my mind a lot, we’re going to discuss it today. 

The Quality of the Writing. This one is the most clear-cut for me, which is why I’ve decided to tackle it first. Now, of course, writing is subjective. A passage I consider particularly well-executed might seem clunky to another reader. That’s okay. But as I have my own private tastes and my own private set of guidelines for what makes for good writing, this will reflect on the ratings I give. In other words, I might give a story fewer stars if it has a great premise and a lot of heart but distractingly bad prose. 

The issue with using this as a guideline is that it is not infallible. I have read several books that were well-written, according to my standards, that I ended up giving low star ratings because they didn’t click with me, for whatever reason. It can be tempting to look at a book objectively and think, “Well the writing is good enough to deserve five stars, even though the story wasn’t my cup of coffee.” And I do take that into account, because I want my ratings to reflect on the quality of the writing. Yet I also know that there are people (even if only a handful) who pay attention to how I rate books because they share similar tastes, and I don’t want to mislead anybody into reading something I didn’t actually enjoy, no matter how good the writing. 

Truth/Honesty. One thing you may or may not have picked up on, if you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, is the fact that I am almost obsessive about whether or not stories tell the truth about the world, or humanity, or whatever. (For example, on Monday I discussed my issues with the pretty lie at the end of Shakespeare’s THE WINTER’S TALE.) If a story is poorly-written and would warrant three stars on those grounds, but happens to tell the truth about something, no matter how unpleasant that truth might be, I am likely to at least consider giving it another star. 

Message. If I agree with a book’s message, I am obviously going to factor that in when I decide the rating. Even if I disagree, but I find the book is good food for thought, I may give more stars. And on the reverse side, if I disagree with what the book is saying (as with Socrates' stance on fiction in THE REPUBLIC), I am more likely to dock stars. 

Premise. If a book has a great premise that really draws me in and gets my imagination going, even if it is poorly-written, I am likely to be a little more favorable. For instance, BATTLE ROYALE isn’t particularly well-written (in my opinion), but the premise is to die for. That being said, I don’t usually end up giving books like BATTLE ROYALE five stars (see my initial point). 

Emotions. Not everyone responds to emotional stimuli in the same way, obviously, and a person’s emotional response to a story is not necessarily a reflection on the quality of the book itself. When I first read MOCKINGJAY right after it came out, I did not like it. I just wasn’t at a good place in my head, which meant I wasn't able to appreciate the series conclusion for what it was. If I had rated it then, I would have given it one or two stars and felt justified in doing so. However, when I did get around to rereading it last year, I found that I lovedllvedloved it, and I ended up giving it five stars. The tricky part about this is that it doesn’t feel fair to rate a book according to my feelings, since feelings aren’t the most reliable gauge of quality. But feelings are also important, as I have to remind myself. And it’s my rating, so I’m allowed to do what I like. If a book makes me feel something, that deserves recognition. Go book. 

Nostalgia. And finally, we come to the most unreliable part, which also happens to be my favorite. Outside factors are difficult to control. You could pick up a book you would love under ordinary circumstances, only to spend the entire time you read it trying to ignore your annoying sibling or your parents arguing or something equally unpleasant. This could taint your experience with the book, and thus your final opinion. Conversely, events could conspire to create an environment in which you fall head-over-heels for a book you would ordinarily have disliked. 

I have a lot of favorite books, as you probably know, and all of them have fond memories of some sort attached to them. Sometimes, when I reread them, I find they aren’t as well-written or as well-plotted or as well-executed as I remember. Sometimes I find I no longer agree with the ideologies presented. And sometimes this is even enough to bring the rating down a star or two, depending on the book. 

But here’s the thing, if I’ve fallen in love with a book, really truly fallen in love with a book, I hate taking its five-star badge away, even if I realize later on that it doesn’t quite merit that distinction. I have a self-destructive streak in me, a part of me that tries to rob me of the few things that bring me heaps of happiness. That is why, for several years, I would shelve books midway through even when I was really enjoying them. To deny that something has given me great happiness in favor of a more logical, objective approach is to rob myself of one more happy memory. 

When I love something, it’s only half involuntary. The other half of the time, I make the choice to love, because love is a choice. So when I have chosen to love a story, I will choose to love it despite its flaws unless something is able to convince me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that that story is no longer worthy of my love (this has not happened to me yet, but it has with many fans of THE MISTS OF AVALON, so you can never be too sure). This might mean I end up giving a higher star rating to a book that I wouldn’t necessarily rate the same way if I were reading it for the first time now. I think that’s okay. I think that’s my prerogative, to give dignity to my childhood self by valuing something the little girl in me valued. 

Does this mean my ratings are subjective? Yes, of course it does. All ratings are subjective. Does this mean people won’t always like the books I give five stars, even though they typically like what I like? Sure. I can’t please everyone. I shouldn’t try. Does this mean my ratings are set in stone? No. I allow myself to go back and lower or raise ratings if my thoughts change over time. But after much consideration, I have realized that letting myself rate a book what I want to rate it is the most honest option in this situation, regardless of anything else. So that is what I will continue to do. 


What about you, my little coffee beans? What is your rating system? What factors determine how you rate a book? Have you reread a childhood book, only to find you don't love it anymore? 

10 comments:

  1. Omg my star-rating levels are THE SAME AS YOURS!! *hi fives* I always go "meh" for 3-stars, but I've met so many people who go "good" for 3-stars.๐Ÿ˜‚ It's very confusing haha. Ahem. But I also like the list of things that you consider when rating a book. ME TOO. Although I tend to firstly just go on how the book made me feel. I feel so guilty when a book is like really well written and has nothing visibly "wrong" with it, but it's just not my kind of book. I just reviewed These Shallow Graves last week and it was like a fine book! Really well written! But just not...for me. Eeep. Reading is so subjective omg.

    So for me it's feels first, and then how much I liked the characters/writing. I also consider uniqueness of the plot and sometimes the message (although often I don't actually notice the message๐Ÿ˜‚) but it's almost always the characters who are the winning (or losing) factor for me.

    (And I think it's 100% fair to rate books just on feelings.๐Ÿ˜‚ LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO BE FEELSY. And I'm very pleased you liked Mockingjay the second time!!)

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    1. *high gives you* It's like we're twins! It is quite freeing to rate a book what I feel like I want to rate it, regardless of my logic says. So I can relate. And yeah, I too feel guilty when a well-written book just doesn't click with me.

      (100% fair is right. *nods* I too am pleased. I need to reread the whole trilogy again, because dang. :D)

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  2. I don't think I've ever put this much thought into a star rating! There are times, though, that I definitely see some of your factors influencing my rating or making me doubt my rating, especially premise. If a book has an amazing premise but ends up disappointing me, I usually want to rate it higher than I think it really deserves.

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    1. Yup, that's me, thinking excessively about random things. :P It's hard to decide which factors should win out in the end when deciding a rating. :P

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  3. I actually have a similar rating scheme to you. Except 3 is okay for me but 3 and a half is good. I always like to add halves xD

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    1. Ooh, we must be secret twins. *nods* It's the only explanation. I'm glad you like using halves. I wish I wasn't so weirdly uncomfortable with them.

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  4. Star ratings are so. . . difficult. Everyone uses them differently and there are some people who don't give low ratings simply because they don't like to give low ratings, even if they think the book should have a low rating. :/
    I do like your scale though! I also like all the things you take into consideration. Usually, I'm just lazy. If I don't have a definite star rating already in mind, I just don't give it one.

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    1. They are. Especially because they don't mean the same thing across the board.
      Thank you! I can get lazy about ratings too. :P Sometimes it's easier just not to put anything down.

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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  5. I don't think I am nearly so nice as you in my own reviews! I generally reserve two stars for books that I didn't really like and I didn't really know why and I don't really want to think about it because it was gross. Three stars wasn't bad but I also don't care. Four stars tends to be where it's at. *nods* It's a good thing to think through this sometimes, because sometimes our ratings can be very arbitrary within their already subjective state, but the former can make understanding a little harder. :P

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    1. :P I must needs pretend to be nice to hide fact that I am a very cynical person. XD Your system is cool though, and it really fits with your personality, I think. That last sentence sums it up perfectly. *high fives you*

      Thank you for commenting! :)

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