Star Rating System discussion

[April]

I recently read a comment someone wrote on there rating of a book as 3 stars and that for her that was like a grade "C". For me 3 stars me means I really liked the book and would recommend it to others, 4 starts mean I loved the book and it felt it was unique in someway. I rarely rate a book 5 stars but when I do it means I feel it is exceptional and touched me in someway. Since the star rating system seems to be subjective I wanted to know how do you determined how to rate a book?

[Christie]

For me 1 star is a book I either didn't finish or I had to force myself to finish it. 2 stars is a book that isn't bad and I didn't have to force myself to finish it but I didn't find that enjoyable or it had many glaring problems (flat characters, bad writing, grammatical errors, historical inaccuracy, bad plot etc.). 3 stars is a book I liked, but wasn't blown away by. Sometimes these books have a few problems with them but the overall story or my enjoyment make up for it. 4 stars are books that blow me away, books I cannot put down. I don't give out a lot of 5 stars. The difference between a 4 star book and 5 star book has to do with how likely it is that I would want to re-read the book. If I definitely want to read the book again at some point I will give it 5 stars. I try to go with the goodreads definitions of the star ratings: 1 (Didn't like it), 2 (It was Ok), 3 (liked it), 4 (really liked it), 5 (Loved it).

To go with the grading analogy:
1 star=F
2 stars = D or C
3 stars = B
4 stars = A
5 stars = A+

As my grad school professors keep telling me, a B is a perfectly good grade. :-)

[April]

Thanks for posting your thoughts! Your grading analogy is similar to how I feel.

[Amber]

I am in similar agreement with both of you ladies. I don't feel a three star book is a fail. It rates more like a B-/C+ for me, a book I read and enjoyed, but just wasn't crazy about. A two star is a C-/D+; wouldn't recommend it or reread it, but held my interest long enough to finish it. 4 Stars are A-/B+; great reads that I'll reread and recommend. 5 Stars is an A+ for me; it's a grade I don't pass out easily. It has to meet lots of criteria to make the grade, but they are those books that will always have a treasured spot on my permanent bookshelves (physical or digital)