Reading should be enjoyable.

Occasionally, I'm forced to read something I hate. Recently, I read a book where the craft was severely lacking. I read it anyway because it answered a burning question I had so well that I was satisfied with the experience despite the dragging in the middle, the utterly horrifying grammatical errors, and the present tense narration which I don't prefer.

I finished that book and am looking forward to more by the author. I secretly hope he improves his writing skills, but it won't matter to me as long as he explores an issue that's really important to me in a way that's really helpful. I gave him five stars for the book because I want to see more from him.

I don't review books I don't finish. I don't finish books that I can't give 4 or 5 stars, but I occasionally get fooled right up to the end and give 3 stars when it's warranted.

In the digital age, I'm gravitating back to the experience of browsing the shelves of a brick and mortar book store. It's always a bonus if there's a comfortable chair to sit in while I sample the first fifty pages to see if it's worth the 15+ bucks I'm going to have to shell out to take it home and finish it.

The thrill of discovering a book like that is priceless. A book like that deserves a rave review with plenty of stars sprinkled on top.