Book bloggers, generally speaking, have quite a bit in common. It’s why we get along so famously. We love books, as you’d assume. We fangirl. Sometimes we have no words to describe how good a book is, and sometimes we can’t shut up about a book. And a lot of times, we get annoyed with ratings in general.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of gripes one can find when summing an entire novel up in one of only five numbers. For example:
- One person’s 3 stars is another person’s 4.5. This is hard to navigate unless you know the reviewer personally. Some people are more lenient, some people are harsher, and that’s why the actual words of the review are so important.
- It’s easy for random people to throw up completely arbitrary numbers. I assume there aren’t a ton of people who are willing to sit down and write a plethora of fake book reviews to pad numbers. I do assume that there are quite a few people who would click a button, either to pad or detract from the overall rating.
- Rating is hard. Seriously, how do you even decide? I have posted about whether you use your head or your heart, whether your mood affects the whole rating thing, if I am too easy of a rater, and the fact that I simply cannot handle a five-star system. So clearly, this has caused me concern in the past.
- An author’s mom, best friend, dog walker, mailman, server at the Olive Garden, and whoever else can give a book glowing ratings (and reviews)- especially before anyone unbiased has had a chance to decide if they like it. This absolutely can skew ratings, especially early ratings. How can we really trust a rating- positive or negative- when we don’t know the motive behind them?
- We become a bit reliant on them. Be honest: what do you do when you see a book on your TBR that has a 3.08 rating? If you’re like me, you cringe, and then second guess wanting to read it. The reverse is also true: If I see a book that I had no interest in suddenly popping up with a 4.8 rating, well, consider me curious! This isn’t a deciding factor, of course, but it does have influence.
So that said, I have heard a lot of people talking about wanting to do away with the ratings in general, and just post the reviews. To be honest, it sounded appealing to me too. I love when people do a simpler system, like Cynthia @ Bingeing on Books who uses the “Buy, Borrow, Skip” system. Still gets the point across, but without struggling over the actual number.
But there ARE reasons to rate numerically too.
- Wouldn’t I still have to give a Goodreads and/or Amazon rating too? They don’t care if I would buy it or borrow it. And Amazon makes you give a number. So even if on the blog there’s not a number system, everywhere else would need to have one. Which means I’d still be pulling my hair out over stars, so why not just do it from the start?
- I’m broke. I assume a lot of you don’t have all the money to buy books either, right? We wish we did, but alas, I presume that none of us won the PowerBall, or you sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting around reading my blog. So we really have no choice to be picky about what we buy. I have no shame admitting that I have been in the bookstore, grabbed my phone, and checked a book out on Goodreads before spending
mysomeone else’s hard earned money. - They mean something, whether we like it or not. Yes, this is the same basic idea as in the “con” section- we become reliant on them during our bookish decision process. That said, we need some way to pare down our TBR. Maybe you were kind of interested in a book, but then… holy one stars, Batman! Maybe you aren’t as interested anymore. Maybe even makes you realize that you were never that interested to begin with.
- It’s kind of part of the process, no? When I decided to review books, I kind of assumed that rating comes with reviewing. They’re buddies. No one wants a peanut butter sandwich without the jelly, right? (If you do, shhh that’s weird, peanut butter is too sticky alone.) I find that if I read a review without some semblance of rating (be in numerical, a word, etc.) that I come away without a solid idea of the bottom line. I like a bottom line. I NEED a bottom line.
I don’t really want to play translator or philosopher or some other nonsense to figure out whether someone liked a book, basically. Just a quick yes or no will do. - It’s a really good way to flail (or curse) about a book. What feels better than slapping that five-star rating on your new favorite book? Or honestly, as vindicated as being done and just giving the hellish book a one star?
- Real ratings can help to override nonsensical or padded ones. I hate people who rate books before they even exist. Someone should probably slap those people- especially when the author pops in to be like “yeah, I haven’t even written this yet”. Like no, stop that.
Giving your actual review based on oh, I don’t know, having read the damn thing makes that weird random stuff mean less.
So. Let’s talk! A few questions, and a poll!
1.Do you use numerical ratings on your blog? If not, do you use another system?
2. Do star ratings mean much to you?
3. How honest and/or trustworthy do you find ratings in general to be- not just from bloggers, but from the general public?
And a Poll!
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I rely on ratings a lot. Okay, let me rephrase that: I rely on reviews mostly whether to add a book to my TBR and whether to bump it up, but at the last moment I always check Goodreads to see the general consensus. And I think it’s been a long time since I bought a book with average rating below 3.5 OR with more than a couple 2-star reviews from bloggers I know. I do like the buy/borrow/skip method, though! And GAH WHY to rating books before they even exist! The worst thing is when the book now has 1 star and there’s no way to change it until ARCs or something? Just why?!? But on the whole I think ratings are honest, just that they are inevitably an arbitrary system.
Totally agree with you! And YES- when someone rates in a one star before it is even a thing, the poor author just has to sit there looking at the one star, knowing they didn’t do a thing to deserve it, and basically take the high road and not respond, which must be SO frustrating!
And I am with you- if some of the reviewers I trust tell me “NO, Shannon, you will HATE this book”… then I am probably passing too!
Ughhh this is actually a fantastic discussion post, Shannon! I do prefer having numerical ratings, though I see why some people prefer other systems. I do dislike the fact that numerical ratings have such a strong effect on my decision on whether or not I even want to read a book.
Aw thank you, dear!! I feel you- it’s hard to separate them when you actually think about wanting to read a book- but they also save you from some really bad books! It’s a struggle for sure!
I do like my ratings. I think it’s the science-y part of my brain coming into play so I like numbers for everything (I relied a lot on numbers when studying Biology). I will look at Goodreads occasionally to see how books have been rated if it’s an older book, but I don’t do this for arcs. I really don’t understand why people rate books long before they are released – I mean what’s the point, they could end up hating it for all they know.
Great discussion!
Oh, I totally agree with you- WHY do people rate books that they don’t know anything about? I mean, giving a book 5 stars before you have read it just sounds like jinxing yourself, and rating a book one star for no actual reason just seems evil! I do agree, I like to have a numerical breakdown too- because there’s usually a big difference between say, a one and a two star book! Thanks so much 😀
I use 5 stars rating system on my blog. I don’t think rating influencing my choice of books, since I usually read by mood and summary. Actually, I enjoy reading 1 star ratings on goodreads, because well, sometimes they’re entertaining! I know, I’m a bad person. But the point is as much as I use numbers as my rating system, I don’t actually care about them. But I also like creative rating system like buy/borrow/skip thing. It’s cute and creative! 🙂
I never read summaries, which is probably part of my problem, honestly! I like to go in as blind as possible, so it’s hard to judge. And girl, you are NOT alone- one star reviews are SO entertaining! You can like, see the rage in the reviewer’s eyes bwhahaha. I like the creative ones too. I go back and forth, because it could be quite fun, but then I also worry that I would NEED the numbers in my life 😉
I use a five stars rating on my blog but I don’t actually use it to decide if I want to buy it/borrow it/skip it, my deciding factors would be the the cover+title+the summary, I don’t care if they are 1 star books or 5 star books (’cause I don’t usually see it beforehand). But I do use ratings to express my feelings towards those books, although it would be nice to have half a star rating.
Half stars are SO necessary! I need them in my life, and I don’t understand why we can’t have them on other sites like Goodreads or Amazon. Sometimes they make a big difference! I do admit that if a book has a LOT of bad reviews from trusted reviewers, I am much more likely to pass on it- and vice versa for 5 stars.
Omg I hate hate HAAAAATE when there are star ratings on books that aren’t published for years yet. like ARC ratings obviously are fine. But there are ratings for The Raven King up on goodreads and it’s not getting ARCs. So you know something is up. *glares at goodreads* And I saw ratings for a 2017 book the other day and DANGIT why do people like to ruin things? Grr.
ahem
Back to the topic at hand.
I LOVE RATINGS <3 I agree they're tricky little beasts. And everyone's versions are a little different, which is confusing? But I need them to give me the overall opinion.
YES! Exactly, yes, so much yes! I was looking at this book that is coming out in 2018, and it has FOUR ratings- a one star, a five star, and two 3 stars. What even!?
And yes, I know what you mean, they ARE all different. But like, with reviewers who I know well, I feel like I know what their ratings mean to me, if that makes sense? Like, when I read your reviews, and then see your rating, it means something to me. I know where you stand, and I feel like I know where you stand in comparison to me. But like, random reviewer? Not a freaking clue.
I like ratings, but wish there was a sliding scale. Sometimes the rating is between 2 or 3, or 3 or 4, etc. I also weigh the ratings of particular people more than that of the masses. I follow certain bloggers and readers for a reason — we seem to be like-minded in our reading tastes. I don’t tend to check reviews until AFTER I read a book (I like to see if I agree or disagree), but the rating may help me select my next read or one-click. I also look at it for what it is – someone’s opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion (I just wish some people were a little less harsh in how they presented it)
YES! Which is why I am a HUGE fan of half stars (clocks) even though they are a bear to make 😉 I am the same way- I weigh certain trusted reviewers/bloggers more than others for sure! I don;t read reviews until after I read the book too, UNLESS I wasn’t planning on reading the book or was super on the fence and needed to know a few things. And like you, I always open reviews of books I am planning on reading- just to see what the rating is! Then later, I will go back and check it out!
I love the star system – only if half stars are allowed 🙂 I use it to help me sum up my feelings of a book if that makes sense. I do like when there is some sort of system (love Cynthia’s too!) because if there isn’t sometimes it really isn’t clear. Which I know it should be by the actual review and what not but sometimes it isn’t. I do hear what you are saying with the cons though. And I never understood why books on goodreads had ratings when they weren’t you know finished. So annoying!! But overall yeah I like numerical ratings 🙂
YESS half stars can make ALL the difference! Why can’t Goodreads and Amazon and such just get some damn half stars? It isn’t hard!
And you are so right- sometimes it isn’t clear by the review- or at least, not clear ENOUGH. And sometimes I like to just briefly check out someone’s rating before reading the book myself and then go back to the review when I am done. And I can’t do that if they don’t give me anything to work with 😉
There are two things I hate about false ratings, one being the people who seem to get over excited and fling stars left right and centre. It’s like they’re planning a baby’s life before they’ve even met it, sheesh. But the other is when the author’s rate their own book five stars . . . like, what are you doing? That’s just a bit fat no Mr. I Want A Higher Rating. Grr. That being said I don’t think I’d survive without a star ratings, it’s like some weird OCD catharsis to rate all your read books and then look at them and smile lovingly at your 5-starers . . . I just try not to let the stars sway my decision too much as to whether I read it (although sometimes low ratings but a good sounding blurb make me all determined, like WATCH me love this book!).
BWHAHAH I LOVE that example!! So much yes! You cannot love a book you haven’t read, it cannot be a thing!
And I SO agree- I need the stars! I need to have some kind of scale by which to place books in an order, and to see how my reading has been going! I also try not to get TOO worked up about them, but if I do see a book with a SUPER low rating, I am going to be wary for sure!
My biggest frustration with the numerical ratings is that everyone uses them differently. For some people, anything below 3.5 stars is BAD NO OH GOD DON’T TOUCH THAT, but I follow the Goodreads system, and only the 1 star rating represents “I don’t like it.” It’s a little unbalanced, but it makes sense to me, and trying to keep track of what star rating means what for who gets really confusing.
So I always read the review if I am intrigued by the book, but I wouldn’t want to go without the numbers either. They’re really good, like you mentioned, for calibrating for my own interest.
Yes, yes that is so true! The Goodreads system doesn’t exactly work for me because I need a “wow I hated this deplorable piece of rubbish” number 😉 But after that, I think I fall in line pretty well. Two is an “I didn’t like it more than I liked it”, and a 3 is “I liked it more than I didn’t” (2.5, of course, being completely apathetic hahah) So I am totally with you- a 3.5 means it was pretty good! I have had people comment, saying “Aw, so sorry you didn’t like this” for a 3 star review where I DID list quite a few positives. So who even knows?
I couldn’t go without the numbers either 😉
I can kind of see why the “deplorable rubbish” number doesn’t exist (love over hate, positivity over negativity seems to be a theme) so I just dump evertyhing I didn’t like into the 1-star. Or DNF it, and let it rot a little in its own unrated corner.
For me, those differentiations are fascinating as well, because the 2 stars “it’s okay” translates to me less as “dislike” (which “didn’t like isn’t properly synonymous to, but made me think of it) and more as apathy. For me, it’s a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of particular interest, a very thorough “meh.”
And I can’t help but wonder how thoroughly people read reviews in the case you mentioned–and if they read the review thoroughly, to what degree the number influences their perspective and understanding of that review.