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Monday, May 16, 2016

Ramblings from the Stacks - Reviews and Ratings



















I don't remember the first review I wrote.  It was probably on Amazon in the early days where you could find a book review by Harriet Klausner on basically every single book that existed (it was always 5 stars).  After that came Paperbackswap and Goodreads and finally here.  Early on all I knew was I wanted a place to say what I thought about a book I had read.

There's something about writing down what I think about a book that helps it stay with me longer.  I remember it a little clearer and begin to realize more what will make a good read for me.  When I don't I forget a lot of books instantly and in fact have read a book then picked it up again a year or two later and read 3/4 of it before I realized I had already read it.  It's one thing to realize 20 or 30 pages in but 300?  Even though I liked the book that did lower my opinion of it a bit!

Which brings me to the next thing - Ratings.  Before I started reviewing here I didn't think much about what ratings mean.  Amazon, Goodreads, and pretty much everywhere else use the star method so when I first started writing reviews in my own space I did too.  But I got to thinking.  What does 3 stars really mean?  What does 4?  If I read a book that I enjoy but doesn't stick with me at all should it really get the same rating that a book that I really hated in parts and really loved in others?  I tried doing half stars for 3 and 4 stars as that's where most of the books I read land but that didn't quite take.  I pondered a few things - letter grades, getting rid of a rating all together, a one sentence review instead of a rating with a longer review at the end.  And then as usual I thought of something simple.  Simple always seems to be better!

I got rid of the official ranking system and any kind of structure and boiled it down to one thing - what do I say when I finish the book?  My new ratings are - Not For Me, It's Okay, It's Good, It's Great, or I Loved It.   I don't have reasons or parameters but when I finish a book the first thing I think is "What did I think of it?"  and my answer is my rating.  What do you think?  What thought process do you use to assign a rating?

And my final subject today is about books with low rankings.  I think we all agree that honesty is the best policy when it comes to what we thought of a book and that means sometimes a book has to get a low rating.  I don't mind posting a negative review here but sometimes I feel a little more uncomfortable posting it on Goodreads or Amazon.  I'm not quite sure what the deal is there but I had a cozy mystery not too long ago that was just all right and I'm still stalling on posting the review to Amazon.  How do you act when you have a negative review in terms of other social media?  Are you the same no matter what or do you have different procedures?

I'm cutting off the ramblings here though I could go on for hours!  It's so easy for me to fall down the rabbit hole on this subject!

20 comments:

  1. I like the ramblings, so go on as long as you'd like. Yes, ratings is a weird game--many books I've really liked but I know they are not for some. And I always feel guilty when I rate 3 stars, but why? That does mean I liked it---just didn't love it. I don't ever rate on Amazon and I'm not sure why. I always like the reviewers who are honest but kind (if it is negative). Love the books in your stacks---have a nice day!

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  2. I don't use any kind of rating on my own reviews - I try to summarize the books in a single sentence at the end of my first paragraph and then the full review follows. I agree with all that you said about the limits of rating & over-simplification. I do include a rating when I post a link to my full review on Goodreads, since that is part of their system. And I stay away from posting my reviews on Amazon all together!

    Great discussion! Enjoy your books this week -

    Sue

    Book By Book

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  3. Ratings are very subjective. After years of posting places that require a star rating...I still hesitate some on my ratings. I don't know that I have any answers to it, I just go with my gut sometimes. I've always found that writing the review will often help me decide for sure what the rating should be.

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  4. Ratings are definitely tough. I don't have guidelines when I rate a book. I just think about how I feel about it over all. Sometimes it's based on if this book will stick with me. Sometimes it's more of "yes I liked this book, but I doubt I will ever think about it again."

    I have no problem whatsoever posting negative reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. I always explain what didn't work for me, so people understand, though. I know when I'm looking into something, whether it's a book or something else, I always read some negative reviews and positive reviews.

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  5. I totally get your rating system and like it a lot. I do the stars and totally need half stars myself so I get mad when I have to post on GRs and Amazon. I don't necessarily base it on whether a book will stay with me r not - more on how I feel after I read it. I don't feel bad about posting negative reviews on GRs or Amazon I just tend not to have a lot negative reviews if that makes sense. Great discussion!

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  6. I'm a half-star user...I actually rate my books out of ten to give myself a little more wiggle room! And I get feeling icky about putting a negative review out there on a big service, I feel the same way, but I know that when I'm looking at books to buy I do look at reviews and I'd certainly appreciate the heads up that a book might not be anything special. It still feels bad, though, especially if it's an author I otherwise like!

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  7. Nice subject. It is hard to know what to do about ratings, I don't use them but often I wish I did. They're just so subjective I just end up posting my thoughts without really thinking of a rating- although on Goodreads I'm forced to rate. :) And I always go back and wonder about those lol. I agree though, reviewing a book definitely helps me think about it in different ways and helps it to stick with me longer.In fact I often want to talk spoilers like I discussed recently, but I think I have a solution to that with discussion posts/ spoiler warnings.

    Negative reviews are funny, everyone handles differently but for me I don't mind saying this book wasn't for me or I didn't like this or that but it might be ok for the right reader- but if I thoroughly disliked a book and my review would be very negative I just don't review it. But I have that luxury because I don't comit to ARC reviews and stuff, not everyone has that leeway.

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  8. When it comes to ratings all I really do need to see is if you liked it or not. :) So I like your rating system. :)

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  9. Great post. I use a ratings system, but very often I think of not using one. It's so hard to decide how to do these reviews.I keep trying to come up with other ways of doing them.

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  10. I like how you ask yourself what you think of the book when you're finished. How the book makes us feel, and our thoughts about it should dictate what we write in a review.

    Yes, I do put ratings on my books...habit from posting on Amazon and Goodreads, I guess. But I try to write why I like or don't like a book when I attach those labels, and maybe that's how I subjectively decide.

    I started reviewing on Amazon in 2008, back when we had a profile page with Amazon Friends! It was fun, but then too many trolls showed up, and negativity prevailed for a while. Changes happened, but gradually. Now I don't really enjoy going there, but feel compelled to post reviews on Amazon...again, habit?

    Thanks for your post.

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  11. I was all "who the heck is Harriet Klausner?", so I Googled her. Wow, she kicked review butt. lol. I think my first like, real attempt at reviews was on Shelfari many years ago, then GR.

    I don't even rate on my blog anymore, and I hate doing it on GR most of the time. My rating fluctuate a lot of the time.

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  12. I remember Harriet Klausner. She loved every book and really just spit back the blurb and called it a review. I think that star ratings are hard. I use them but sometimes take forever to settle on a rating. I post all of my reviews on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Goodreads, and LibraryThing. The only time I don't post everywhere is when I don't finish the book. I don't tag the author when I post links on social media because that just seems rude. Great post!


    Carole @ Carole's Random Life

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  13. I use half stars and follow Goodreads and Amazon star ratings If you hover over them it gives meaning similar to yours ok, I like it etc. I save 5's for books I would reread if that makes sense I started reviewing books on B&N forums, then Goodreads before beginning my blog.

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  14. More recently I've found myself changing a rating a few weeks after I've finished the book. I may have loved it upon finishing but as I let it digest I've found problems I had with it. So that go me thinking that maybe I should really hold off rating a book for at least 24 hours. Let it sit with me. Obviously I can always change it. But yea. I'm not sure. I think a lot of books that I give 4 or 5 star too should probably have lower ratings. Actually what really had me saying this was last year after I devoured Queen of Shadows(Throne of Glass #4). I was so caught up in the story and my love for that series that as soon as I finished it I took to goodreads to rate it and write a glowing review. And than I had time to think. I went over the book in my mind and realized that I actually really hated the book. A LOT happened that pissed me off. So here I have this glowing review and I'm kind of a liar. Surprisingly I haven't taken it down yet. But I plan on re-reading the book before the next one comes out in September. So I'll write a proper review then. Haha! #longstory #sorry
    And I have no problem posting my negative reviews anywhere I post reviews. It's my honest opinion so I'm going to give it.

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  15. You bring up some good points, Katherine. I like your idea of creating your own rating system rather than using the stars like everyone else.

    Like Brittany, I've sometimes had my ratings change over time. A little distance from the glow of finishing the book, a little time to think about it critically instead of just reacting, often leads to a lower rating by 1/2 to a whole star. Occasionally, it's also gone the other way, and a book that would have gotten a 3 ends up being a 4 by the time I'm done thinking about it.

    I've sometimes felt hesitant about posting a review, if it was only "meh" or I had real problems with the book. But in the end, I think that as long as I've been fair and honest without being cruel, it's reasonable to post the review anywhere, not just on my blog.

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  16. I do feel like authors (or their publishers) check Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble more often so your bad review is more likely to catch their attention. But then I've had authors respond to my bad reviews on both Goodreads and my blog!

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  17. I didn't want to use Ratings when I first started my blog, but I'm doing it because I cross-post. Is it possible to post on Amazon and Goodreads without selecting a rating?

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  18. I love your blog rating system and I have toyed with the idea of a non-numerical system on my blog in tne past, but I only review what I consider really good (four star) and stellar (five star) on the blog, so it isn't really necessary for me. My take on low rating books on Amazon and Goodreads is this. I don't rate based on my "personal" feelings about a book. If there was too much romance for me, but it was a normal amount for that genre I don't subtract for it, for example. I don't like Murder Mysteries, but if I had to review one, my rating would be based on how well it was written and how well tne story succeeded in within its genre and classification. My personal loathing of Murder Mysteries should have no bearing on the book. I really hate it when I see a two star rating a 21 year old has put on a fantastic Children's chapter book because it was too "childish" for them, or seeing a Middle Grade get a bad rating because some teenager thought there wasn't enough kissing in it. To me a bad rating should reflect a warning to a reader that if they enjoy that particular genre, or classification (for example YA) the book might be a waste of their time or money. Or if they are looking at it for a child it might have stereotypes, inappropriate mature content, or just be wrtten in a way that would be boring to kids that age. There have been many Middle Grades I have enjoyed as an adult reader, but storywise totally failed as MGs. Ha ha. So if I were you, I would look at bad ratings as warnings that readers like me appreciate, letting them know that they might want to borrow it from the library instead of buying it, or they might not want to give it to their 12 year old because it has sexual descriptions in it. :)

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  19. I'm with you about posting negative reviews on sites other than my blog. I think it's partly because I don't want to dissuade people from reading a book just because it wasn't my particular cup of tea, and also maybe because I'm worried the author might see it and have hurt feelings... or something like that?

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  20. I stopped rating not that long after I started blogging because of a lot of the reasons you mention. It just didn't feel right with me so I do something very similar by saying how I feel. I do seem to always need to apologise when the book isn't for me.

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