Stars in My Eyes

One day, while browsing through books I'd read and pondering a re-read, I noticed something a little...off. While my 4 and 5 star reads were pretty consistent, I noticed 3 stars tended to run the gamut from books that were "Ok" to books that had positives but I'd never read again. Obviously these reviews have taken place over a stretch of time and my review approach has changed. I'd like to think I'm more consistent with my reviews now than I was, but to truly be consistent, I'm going to write up a general guideline for when a book falls into a star category. In addition to be listed here, it will be saved on a sidebar.

Star rating system as of November 2011:

1 star - A work with minimal or no positive qualities, a 1-star rating indicates that I had to struggle hard to finish it and most likely skimmed large portions. Would probably be considered "did not finish" if I ever didn't finish books!

2 stars - Works earn 2 stars when they have strong points, but those are outweighed by the weaknesses. May involve skimming sections, lack of interest in characters/plot, or bad writing. Would not re-read.

3 stars - A work with good points and bad points that didn't particularly impress me, but was overall enjoyable. While not high on my list, would potentially re-read.

4 stars - Strong works with a one or two flaws normally earns 4 stars. The flaws normally fall into the "It didn't grab me" category, although pacing, singular unbelievable events, or other weaknesses will bump it down as well.

5 stars - Perfect or practically perfect, a work with this star rating not only earns strong marks in writing, plot, and characters, it also is emotionally moving. Minor weaknesses due to preference, minor pet peeves, or other inconsequentials are permitted if few in number.

I think the main differences will appear in the 2 and 3 star ratings. I always tended to not give out many scores below 3 stars, but I think that's unfair to the higher end 3 stars. Hopefully the review itself will clarify the rating. Also, hopefully this will allow me to be more consistent with my star usage!