Three Stars, Anyone?
I've seen a lot of authors bemoaning three star ratings on Goodreads lately, as if it were a bad thing. And I'm thinking, what? I thought three stars was a good rating. I routinely give three stars to books that I like, because that's what it says when you hover over three stars:
[image error] I like it.
So, if I've offended any of my author friends with a three star rating, please rest assured I mean it as a positive review. Three stars is kind of my default rating. I don't bother rating (or even finishing) books I don't like. Four stars go to books that have something special about them that I especially like. Five stars are reserved for books destined to be my all-time favorites. Ender's Game, Lord of the Rings ... you understand.
It's so hard to boil down how you feel about a book into a number between 1 and 5. That's why I don't particularly like Goodreads, actually.
What do you think? What kind of books do you give three or four or five stars to? Would you be offended with a three star rating?
[image error] I like it.
So, if I've offended any of my author friends with a three star rating, please rest assured I mean it as a positive review. Three stars is kind of my default rating. I don't bother rating (or even finishing) books I don't like. Four stars go to books that have something special about them that I especially like. Five stars are reserved for books destined to be my all-time favorites. Ender's Game, Lord of the Rings ... you understand.
It's so hard to boil down how you feel about a book into a number between 1 and 5. That's why I don't particularly like Goodreads, actually.
What do you think? What kind of books do you give three or four or five stars to? Would you be offended with a three star rating?
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J.
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Oct 14, 2011 07:37PM
I have to go with the "when in Rome" saying here. As an author, I know how hard it is to write a book, so a book has to be pretty bad for me to grade it low--a 1 or 2. If you are hearing authors bemoan a "3" it's because I think most people treat the grading scale more along the lines of 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F. Regardless of what the rating system says here (or on any website for that matter) I think that is what people default back to. In other words, they see a 3 being more equal to a "C" grade than a "I liked it." At least that is what I've heard from fellow authors. Plus, if you look at most books on goodreads, few hover around the "3" range (from what I've seen) so I tend to think that most people grade it on an "A, B, C. . ." scale.
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I hadn't thought of it that way. It would be kind of a bummer to look at it like that. I still intend it as a good rating, though. Thanks for the comment. =)
![[image error]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QEwNGcFLtvM/TpiHk5lr4NI/AAAAAAAABtE/jS3FyFJVM0Q/s1600/3-stars.jpg){kind=link}