Friday, July 3, 2015

Stars, glitter and rating stuff: I really need my own

First question my friend, L, asked me about was my star rating on Goodreads.  She noticed I used one star on one author she thought I liked.  I said - it was what fit for my personal rating system.

See, Goodreads, Nook, Amazon, and GoogleBooks all have stars.  Unfortunately, the stars mean different things on different sites.  And because I have a touch of OCD with these things, I feel that all my stars must match across the sites.  Which one is my gold standard? Goodreads.  Not only does it closely match what I believe to be representative to my grading standard, but I am not limited by the other sites if the book does not exist there.  This is what Goodreads stars mean to me:

One Star: 
GR = did not like it
Karen = I read it, not great or really bad. I won't read it ever again.
Two Stars:
GR = it was ok      
Karen = it was okay. I won't read again, unless super bored.
Three Stars:
GR = liked it          
Karen = liked it. I might read again or will finish the series/serial.
Four Stars:
GR = really liked it
Karen = really liked it.Will finish series/serial. Re-read high.
Five Stars:
GR = loved it        
Karen = loved it. Will re-read in future especially if series/serial.

Notice that I don't have a DNF rating?  That's because I never 'do not finish'.  I have finished every book I've read. Do not doubt me. I can hear your thoughts across cyber space. I give every author a chance to redeem themselves until "The End".  Also, refer to my first post on this blog.

I AM A FAST READER. I can do a 300 page book in 4 hours.  Now, give me a poor written, bad spelling, editing non-existant book, I'll do a skim read.  In the 7th grade, I was already a fast reader.  I read all of Agatha Christie with my Mom and she'd quiz me. She is the proof I read and comprehended. (Also L can vouch) Back to 7th grade, I get the chance of an elective.  What do I choose for the reading class: Speed Reading. Oh yeah, easy A for me.  But, I did learn how to speed read better, more efficiently. There you have it; a speed reading demon.  So, back to the former paragraph - Yes, I finish every book.

I do try within the review to do the portion of a star part. Some books I LOVED - they get 5 stars. Some I loved, but not as much as I LOVED so they get a quarter/half/three quarters of a star.  The star designation on the sites suck because I can't do that.  I guess you'll need to trudge through my reviews then.

Please comment on your rating system.  How did you come up with it? 

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