26th
Nov
Nov
When I first started my blog in March 2014. I didn’t use
a rating scale. To really know what I thought about a book you needed to read
my review. But on other book blogs and review sites I saw that a lot of book
bloggers and reviewers did use rating scales. So from January 2015 I decided to start
using my own rating scale. And now I use my rating scale for all my reviews.
This is the rating scale I use:
I like to add rating scales to books I really really
loved. I mean come on.. a 5 star rating looks great!! But when I liked a book
but didn’t ‘love’ it, and I give if it a 3 star rating for example, I’m a
little afraid people think the book wasn’t good at all.
loved. I mean come on.. a 5 star rating looks great!! But when I liked a book
but didn’t ‘love’ it, and I give if it a 3 star rating for example, I’m a
little afraid people think the book wasn’t good at all.
The other problem I have with using rating scales is that
when you use other rating scales like for example on Goodreads and Amazon, they
use different criteria. I always need to give a book a star more on Amazon
because I think their criteria for three star books is very different to my own
rating criteria.
when you use other rating scales like for example on Goodreads and Amazon, they
use different criteria. I always need to give a book a star more on Amazon
because I think their criteria for three star books is very different to my own
rating criteria.
So I was wondering what your thoughts are about rating
scales? Use them or not? And do YOU use them for reviewing a book?
Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
I always use my own rating scale criteria when submitting reviews on other sites, so if I give it 3 stars in my rating system I use the 3 star rating everywhere else too. But indeed they all use different criteria.
And while I describe a 3 star rating as okay, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy a book. Sure I had some issues with the book, but still enjoyed it and often will continue the series. I think the 3 star rating is the hardest one.
I still use a rating scale, just so people can get a quick view of how much I enjoyed the book, but I think my review tells a lot more about what I did and didn't enjoy. A rating just seems so simple to sum up all your thoughts and feelings about a book. So I can also see why people would decide not to use them.
I totally agree about the 3 star rating being the hardest one. 3 stars just doesn't sound very good, but when I give a book a 3 star rating I definitely liked the book. I just hope people still read my review when they see the rating.