I’ve been reading books all my life but as years go by, I noticed how my reading horizons gotten wider considering how sure I was before that I will live and die just reading suspense/mystery books (excluding tagalog romance novels, hehe). Well, that’s not what I’m going to talk about today (*wink) but I’m curious how others determine their book ratings. How do you decide to give a book one, two, three etc. stars? Do you have a criteria or do you just go with your gut reaction?
I always believe that I’m so easy to please and I’m not usually picky too (unless my mood starts to intervene), but it strike me as unusual why it always takes me a lot of convincing to give a book five stars rating while others can easily do it. I guess I’m just stingy when it comes to books?, haha.
Five stars
I noticed that I give this rating to books which meets all the following criteria:
- Plot movement – with the amount of books being publish everyday, I don’t really mind if the plot is not original. I want a story that will take me inside the book and loving how it moves. I’m usually a dialog reader so I hate it when a story had to trudge through a bunch of blah, blah, blah and then nothing. I want a story that is very easy to read and will keep me engage.
- Good Entertainment – whatever genre would that be, a good entertainment (whether how short or how long it is) is a must have for me. I don’t read for my health (will, unless it’s a health magazine?, haha) but I read because I enjoy getting lost in between pages. I want a story to drag me out of my real life and take me away, whether in a place like Wonderland or even in the Underworld.
- Characters – even if the plot is great, if the characters are meh, then say goodbye for the five stars rating. I always think that the plot and the characters come hand in hand and if they don’t coordinate well, your reading will never be worthwhile.
- Writing style – I always consider the first chapter as one of the most important part of the book. If I’m not into the style of writing, then without second thoughts, I’ll definitely put it down and that’s really bad. You see, I easily get moody when that happens and my only cure is a good romance story. So if you notice that I’ve been reading quite a number of romance books lately, then you’ll already get an idea why *wink.
- Thought provoking – if I am still thinking about this book one week later and I find it hard to read another book, then I’m obviously suffering from a severe book hangover. That’s really bad for blog posting schedule but I really love it when a book do that to me.
- Worldly relevance – books just like movies are ofcourse fictional works (excluding biographies or based on true events), but I always consider a book great if it has impact on people. I do love HEA but if it’s unrealistic, then forget about it because I will never buy that. I could give an exceptions for fantasy stories once in a while though.
- The ending – unless it’s in series, I always want the ending really an ending. It doesn’t need to be an HEA (but I still wish it is, hehe), what I mean is that all loose ends should have been close and no questions left unanswered.
Four stars
This rating is for books that was enjoyable but I find some few things that needs to improve or if there’s something lacking.
Three stars
This is for books that gave me a neutral reaction – wasn’t that impressive but still able to catch my attention and enjoyed half of it. I still consider three stars a good rating.
Two stars
This rating is often for books that are lacking in many areas – writing, characterization, and/or problematic plot lines. I don’t consider these books as outright hate, but I wouldn’t say I really like them either.
One star
I think all of us have the same definition of books with this kind of rating eh? I may have publish book reviews here in the blog that I have given two stars rating as there’s some moments that I like in them but I’ll definitely never post those that I have given a one star rating (gladly I only have a few of them so far).
There are also some times when I rated a book with a half star, it could be because of the following:
- if it’s from my favorite author
- if there’s a character in the story that I really like (or worse, I’m obsessed with haha)
- if the ending was so so good
- if the cover looks great
So, what about you? How do you rate books?
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