You guys, I know we all like Goodreads, but am I the only one that gets stressed out by the pressure to rate things? The unfilled stars stare back at me, somehow begging to be gold. If I happen to give a new read four stars, should I revisit that last four-star book because it really wasn't as good as the new read? Will my friends, who happen to be more generous star givers, know I did like the book if I only give it three stars?
The ways in which I love, like or hate things are nuanced and often more subtle than a simple 1-5 can portray. I was listening to the Book Fight podcast the other day and heard them equate three stars to a 'meh'. Argh! I'm a fairly tough scorer in all that I do. I give three stars to books that I like (four=so good, five=OMGSOAWESOME). Less than 30% of the books that I've read make it above a three, and yet, there are some pretty damn good books that make it to three stars.
Perhaps it's because a small part of my job is ranking and scoring grant proposals, but I sometimes feel compelled to develop a set of criteria by which to judge all of my reads and come up with equitable scores. Ridiculous! Maybe I'm just a dork. No one else does this, right? Also, while I'm ranting, why can't I give partial stars? You don't want to know how many times I've tried to click half a star just to see if it will work.
How do you rate books? Do you give fours and fives with ease?
Goodreads does need 1/2 stars. I usually rate it right after I've finished the book and I'm often so excited about it that it gets a 4 or a 5. 3 means I liked it, but it didn't blow me away and below 3 is a dis in my rating system.
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