Friday, December 16, 2011

To Rate or Not to Rate: That is the question

I have been ponder this question for a while now, so I decided to ask my beloved readers their opinion. 
Right now, I just right reviews about the book and give my opinion on it, without spoilers. When I post the reviews to Goodreads, or Amazon, I use the star rating system, but not on my blog. I am just curious, if this makes me reviews hard to understand or if it makes them fall into only two groups, Good, and Bad. Currently, I have been lucky enough not to come across a book I did not like, yet. 

So, I am just curious would it be easier if I use a rating system, or should I just keep doing reviews the way I am doing them now? 

Leave me a comment and weigh in on the question, and I will use everyone's options to help me make the decision. 

Also, if I do a rating system, any opinions on the type of system? I have been trying to come up with something that ties into my blog but my brain doesn't want to work. Some of the ones I have seen are stars, lips, cupcakes, and hearts. 

Sorry, this is just kind of a curious ramble to see what people think, and as always THANK YOU for stopping by!!


5 comments:

Unknown said...

I have this same problem right now. For some reason, I hate ratings. I hate how 3* on GoodReads is "I liked it" and on Amazon it's "It's okay". That's two totally different thoughts. What do you do? I tried the rating system on mine, but have slacked off b/c I keep forgetting. I may go back to it, or not . *shrugs*
You could use a system like Story Siren. I think it's "Borrow, Buy, & Buy One For Everyone You Know" , that may be a little off, I'm paraphrasing.
Short Story, do what you want, it's your blog!

Unknown said...

I currently rate but I'm considering changing that. Every book is different for the every one. Why would my 5 star books be that of for everyone else? If you like a book should that not be enough?

Mad Scientist @ Steampunkery & Book Reviews

Kelly said...

As a reader, I love the rating system. I know I write a lot of reviews that might come across like the book isn't worth reading, but it's just me being nit-picky, and my actual rating might be a 3 or a 4. I think as long as you clearly define what the rating means to you, then providing a rating makes it easier for us readers to understand if your review was meant in a more positive (liked it) or negative (didn't like it) way.

Also, if you look at my reviews, while I've really enjoyed several books, in almost 3 months I've only given out 5 stars THREE times! I find it really helps me sort out those books I loved, vs those books I felt good about while reading, but knew I wouldn't remember down the road.

And lastly, I love ratings as a blogger - I find it gives my readers a very clear indication of how I felt about the book, and if they have read some of my other reviews and have agreed, they can almost safely assume that if I rate a book as a 1 or a 2 star, they may feel the same.

As for which scale to use, I prefer the star system. I limited myself to 1-5 stars, and I have noticed it's limitations at times when a book really didn't deserve a 4, but a 3 seemed too low. But I also find it helps keep the intentions behind the rating clear and simple.

Hope any of this helps in your decision process!

Kelly
Radiant Shadows

Amy said...

I started off not doing ratings, then I started doing them. Now that I am getting used to the whole book blogging thing, I kind of don't like doing it. It means different things on different sites. I think as long as you express what you like or don't like in a book in your review, star ratings aren't necessary. Your feelings about a book come out in a review.

Raine said...

I'm really not particular with the ratings since I think it'll come out in the review just as mentioned above. Whether it's there or not, it doesn't affect me when I visit blogs. I think a rating sort of summarizes everything in the end I guess after you read the book. :D I hope that made sense. I stick to a 5-star rating since everything else is, well, (in some cases) yet you don't hear a 10-star hotel? :D Looking at your banner blog, if you decide to add rating image, the crystal ball on the girl's hand can be one idea. If you'll be going for let's say 5 stars, it'll be five crystal balls for you. :D That's one option Good luck! Happy Holidays.

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