stars I have decided that rating books (with 5 stars or whatever other arbitrary numbering system you choose) is no longer for me. There are a few reasons for this and if you are interested in my why…keep reading.

I have been pondering this for quite some time. Why do we rate or rank books? Everyone feels so differently about books and reasonates with books in their own way. Why does my rating mean anything?

I suppose if you follow the books I read and your ideas line up well with mine, you might enjoy this. But books can be so personal. You may love a book right now that you may have hated a year ago, or next year. So it’s ahrd for me to assume that what I felt about a book at the time I read it is an accurate rating or one for others. And I don’t know that I have been being consistent with my rankings. I really need three. Didn’t like it, it was ok and loved it. That’s more what I tend to follow. But then the 3-5 stars can get muddled in my head as to which is really best.

stars

Another reason is because of something I read from an author. Writing a book is such a greuling process. And these books are their babies. They have put so much time and effort into them and then to have someone (especially another author…which is NOT me) rank it or review it poorly can be a really hard thing for them. This author, in particular, didn’t ever want to a give a poor rating, even if she didn’t love the book, because she knew what goes into writing and publishing and getting a book out there for people to read.

It also was becoming stressful for me. Why keep doing something for the very few people who look at my ratings or instagram posts if it is stressing me out. It isn’t worth it for me or for them. I will still say something about the book, which will probably give you a clue as to whether I liked it or not, but no more stars.

stars

This is something I may come back to at some point. And I haven’t given up on them completely in Goodreads yet because I feel like that is how I remember how I felt about that book. Especially when someone asks me what I thought and I have to try to remember, which becomes increasingly more difficult as I get older and have been consuming so many books.

Andi

header Ponder This:

  • Do you rank or rate your books?
  • Do you use a 5 star system? Or something else?
  • Do you like when people give ratings?
  • What could be done in place or in lieu of a rating system?