Steph C answers “As I interact with other readers in book...”

Penny asked this question about We Need New Names:

As I interact with other readers in book clubs and online, am finding it interesting how many readers want to rate a book highly for just one or two positive attributes. A 4 or 5 star book should get just about everything perfect. This book got a few things very right, but alot of other things were below average. Wondering why it's so hard for us readers to be "critical" in the best sense of the word?

Steph C I would not consider myself a literary critic. I always hated English class despite having been a prolific reader since my childhood. I've probably re…moreI would not consider myself a literary critic. I always hated English class despite having been a prolific reader since my childhood. I've probably read somewhere close to 1000 books in my 30 years, having tracked nearly 550 since Grade 7. That was just to provide a bit of context. I basically rate a book based on how much I enjoyed it, whether it moved me, whether the characters resonated with me. I have employed a 5 star system in my own recordings. Since Good Reads doesn't allow half stars this has proven challenging. Basically this is my system:
5 stars - one of the best books I've read. I will usually get 0-2 5 star books under my belt per year. I remember them and could list them in my top books of all time.
4.5 stars - I thoroughly enjoyed it, the characters resonated with me, I didn't want to put it down.
4 stars - I enjoyed the book. It had a captivating story line. The characters were engaging.
3.5 stars - The book was fine. I finished it. But my life is fine haven't not read it.
3 stars - I read the book but it didn't particularly resonate with me or had flaws.
Anything below that I basically don't finish because I have better things to do and better books to read than something that gets below 3/5 stars. (less)

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Penny Thanks for the thoughtful response. Agree with your system. Would that others would be so analytic.
Aug 28, 2017 01:43PM · flag

Steph C Yup I'm an analytical person! Have always tracked and quantified and qualified things. Good Reads is a book nerd's dreams. Obviously we can't standard ...more
Aug 28, 2017 04:19PM · flag

Mike I don't know whether we agree about books, but this is pretty much my scale. I give very few 5 star ratings. And a lot of 4 stars (I've gotten good at ...more
Dec 04, 2017 04:39PM · flag

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We Need New Names

by NoViolet Bulawayo

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