For the book reviews on this blog I use a five star system, similar to Goodreads. I try to use half-stars only occasionally in my book reviews, because I enjoy being forced to think hard about it and try to fit a book in at one level or the other without resorting to the "crutch" of a half-star. I'm certainly not ruling out an expanded use of half-stars at some point (sometimes we all need crutches), it's just something I'm trying to do at the moment. If it doesn't work, it'll change. So 'nuff said, here's the star system:
1 Star - Hated it. Utterly without redeeming value. Never given a 1 Star review and hope I never will.
2 Stars - Didn't like it, but some value to be gained or something of interest. Others will like it more.
3 Stars - A good book, glad I read it, but not a completely exceptional read. This is the biggest, and an extremely broad, category. Many books will fit here. Most of my book reviews should be 3 Stars.
4 Stars - Truly enjoyed it. An exceptional book with rare and superior qualities, but some flaws.
5 Stars - A classic. Enjoyable, challenging, enlightening. Made an emotional and intellectual connection, with only the most minor flaws.
As noted, this system tilts toward the middle in what should be a classic bell curve, except I hope not to read any 1 Star books and to read many 5 Star books. The 3 Stars books range from "just barely liked it" to "wow, this was almost great." I'm also completely aware of the subjectivity of all this, but that's the name of the game. On any given day my opinion of a book can change -- maybe I do need those half-stars! But I also rate books compared to other books of the author and genre. To see my discussion on that, please see my post on "book review relativity."
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