Poll

Copying & pasting into "Babelfish" or "Google translate" is a cinch. Half stars vary greatly from and do not equal 10 pure numbers but I appreciate the vote, Rachael!

Half stars seem indecisive and do not give us much leeway on a 5-star scale. Think of it: 2.5 is still terrible and there is no such thing as 5.5. All we would achieve is slight wiggle room in 3.5 and 4.5 stars. Imagine being able to differentiate books and novels we like better from a good, solid 6 to 10 stars! You see?

honestly, from a marketing perspective it'd be a kinda bad idea cause ppl would be more indecisive and at one point ppl would demand for .25 stars, etc.

and im currently fine with rounding up/down or just writing it in a review tbh

For the love of God - PLEASE GIVE US THE HALFSIES!

If any of you have the wine app Vivino, you should check out their star system. It is freaking awesome. Spin your finger around the dial and land anywhere you want between 0-5. Best ever.

yes yes yes yes yes

I think having 1/2 Star added would be really helpful. Love to see GR add it.

YES DEFINITELY

The fact over 2.5k said yes is telling

I’ve been saying this for years! We either need half stars or a rating scale from 1 to 10. Maybe half stars is less confusing though.
I’d also like if they could include a 0 star rating for the books that are so bad they don’t even deserve 1 star!

I have to round up my stars and then I always start off reviews by saying what the real rating is and it’s a pain because it shows on my shelf as 3 stars but I know I really rate it as 3.5

Lyndac wrote: "I like the 1/2 star idea and would also like an indifferent or DNF. I don't think it is always fair to give 1 or 2 stars to something I couldn't finish just because it did not interest me. It may s..."

You can make your own DNF shelf. That’s what I have. You just make it like a regular shelf and then edit the shelf settings to make it an exclusive shelf so it’s other on your read shelf, to read shelf, or DNF shelf. Then you can add it to your DNF shelf and not rate it anything at all.

Lee wrote: "Please, please don't.

The simple star rating system at Goodreads is one of the best on the internet and one of its major draws.

By setting the "two star" level at "OK", i.e. I'm indifferent, ther..."

Yeah logistically it would be difficult and goodreads has so many other problems that they could fix instead of implementing a new half star rating system that would potentially create more problems.

As you can see from the poll, a LOT of people want it. We can all dream but it’ll probably never happen!

Probably other reading tracker websites have it and a lot of readers already do it by adding a note like more like 3.5 stars than 4 or something like that in their review. It wouldnt affect me too much. I rarely do half stars like that.
But if they want people to stay/join Goodreads then they probably should impliment this half star thing to keep up with the competition.

Half stars would be awesome! I often use half stars in my own ratings, but have to decide to round up or down here on goodreads.

Curious if this feedback is actually being read by Goodreads admin?

I know right, this entire rating system feels so unfair without the option of half stars.

Half stars are not great. It turns a 5 point rating system into a ten point system. Other apps I use, such as letterboxd, already have the complication that most people can't explain the difference between a 3.5 and a 4 or a 7 and an 8. 5 star systems are good enough. If anything, I think there is more room to debate a 3 star system than 10 star.

I definitely feel like the majority of Goodreads members want this change implemented. So many reviews that I rate will state, for example, "rounded up to 2.5 stars" or "rounded down to 3.5 stars."

While I do understand where people are coming from who object, it just seems like this is something people have wanted for awhile now and that Goodreads would at least entertain the idea of doing. Unless they have done so, and I just missed it?

Sometimes it really feels like you're cheating the author/book (good or bad, depending on whether you're rounding up or down) - I don't know, for example, giving three stars to a book you really enjoyed might feel a bit harsh to you, while giving it four stars might feel as though you're overrating it. It's not really fun to have to decide between either option, lol.

I just feel like 1-5 is a bit too limited when it comes to books. I think people will also have a likelihood to rate lower or "round down" if they've just rated a few books rather high, and vice-versa. Although, I suppose that would still happen even if the rating system was expanded to allow half stars.

I am honestly thinking of quitting Goodreads just because it's so hard to rate in this rigid system.

Yessss and quarters too

And for that matter, do away with the useless words attached to them when you hover over them! I don't rate on their system! I don't know anyone who does. My system ranges from 1 - hated it and probably DNFed it because I hated it, but if I finished it, I will literally never shut up about hating it (lookin' at you, Shatter Me) and 5 - this lives in the head rent free and I've made at least 2 of my friends read it so that we could discuss the finer points. With a half-point system I'd probably give the 0.5 to I hated it so much I DNFed it and there'd be more room for nuance

Yes! Goodreads should add half stars! (And maybe 0 stars, cause some books deserve that 🤭)