Are Book Ratings Useful or are they Meaningless?

[@ethanmacdonald7859]

I only ever look at 1 star reviews. Typically I get interested in books independently of any reviews. I look at the bad reviews to see if there are any common themes that I would consider to be off putting. I look at other reviews after I read a book to see if I had some of the same takeaways as others or if they caught something I missed.

[@dlasis]

I actually do the same. I sweep the 1 and 2 star reviews and see if those are the common annoyance that make me DNF a book. I'd then proceed with the 5-4 star reviews to see if the hype matches my mood to read such story or genre.

[@NerdyKathi]

I have a similar approach. I don't read reviews before I read the book.

[@NerdyKathi]

That's a good way to see if the book will appeal to you.

[@jennf1881]

@@ethanmacdonald7859 That’s really interesting. I always go for the middle of the road reviews, operating under the assumption I’m getting balance. I may have to give those low ratings a read.

[@NerdyKathi]

I think it's good to get a range though I generally ignore 5 star reviews.

[@RedFuryBooks]

A great video, Kathi! I agree with all of this (aside from our rating systems being very different of course). Jimmy briefly went to a rating system that I consider at times with ratings like "Recommended without reservation," "Recommended for the right reader," etc., which I found interesting and less reductive than a star numeric rating. But those numeric ratings are a great shorthand for those that follow our reviews. Always interesting to ponder - thanks for the video!

[@NerdyKathi]

Thanks Josh. 😊 I agree with you about numeric ratings being a good shorthand but descriptors are on the whole probably more indicative of how we found a book. I like Jimmy's idea as well. Something to think upon. Thanks for watching.

[@athena144]

I agree, I'm always interested primarily in how a reviewer arrived at their conclusion / rating. Thanks for addressing this bookwormy topic !

[@NerdyKathi]

Reasons are critical for me. Glad you enjoyed the video. 😊

[@goonies4616]

When it comes to sci-fi and fantasy I go straight for the one star reviews, Brandon Sanderson fans have taught me to do so! I think the majority of five star reviews tend to be from young readers because they've never been exposed to anything better...perhaps never read contemporary lit. they've almost been conditioned and comfortable with reading books from these writers and think the world of them

[@NerdyKathi]

Perhaps Goodreads for example has generally a younger membership? That will obviously skew the ratings. And I agree younger readers may naturally have less reading experience compared to older readers. Besides our tastes do change with time. Thank you for sharing.

[@christianblair8663]

@@NerdyKathi Goodreads has a rather ''toxic positivity'' culture and there's not a lot of middle ground. It's reviewers tend to be very vocal and juvenile, to the point it feels a little funny at times just reading the extreme use of emojis to express their ideas lol but yeah, I tend to completely ignore the ratings and focus more on the ''3 star'' reviews because those are usually honest. I've seen people rate generic fantasy like Eragon 5 out of 5 when while not necessarily a bad book, it's definitely not one of the best of all time. And my biggest pet peeve is people rating 1 out of 5 and DNF their books because of some minor nitpick. Now that I find disrespectful to the author.

[@NerdyKathi]

I have to agree that I don't think it's fair to an author to rate the book if you have DNF'd it. 3 star ratings can be more useful sometimes more than 1 or 5 star ratings. Thank you for sharing.

[@Paromita_M]

Very nice discussion. I concur with all the points. I too score out of 10 and its mainly for my personal record so I remember at a quick glance what I thought of a book, whether to reread it, etc. Ratings from other people are helpful if I check a few of their reviews, otherwise its a number without context as you said.

[@NerdyKathi]

Thank you Paromita. So few of us score out of 10 these days. Context is important.

[@Coleton2573]

Excellent video. I agree with all of your thoughts about ratings and how subjective and fluid they are. I think you should try out the word rating system for a while. You can always switch back to numerical if you want to.

[@NerdyKathi]

Thank you Coleton. 🥰 I'm going to start the new system for the next year. Let's see if I like it.

[@bjminton2698]

I totally agree with you! Opinions about books are meaningless unless I know the reading tastes of the person giving the "rating". And I also can think a very good book is not necessarily an enjoyable one and the reverse, a very fun to read book is not always a well written book. For example, I love the Stephanie Plum series! Are they great books? No, but they are often exactly what I want to read. I guess books need 2 ratings - one for entertainment/readability value (those books you don't want to put down) and one for the long-range worthiness and quality of writing of the book. I started a database of my reads about 35 years ago. My ratings are F, F-G, G, G-VG, VG, VG-EX and EX. There are very few EXs because IMHO, there are very few perfect books. And, most of those were given earlier in the life of the database when I had read fewer books. The ratings only mean something to me. My ratings don't always age well either. Often, months down the road, I cannot remember much about a book that I thought was very good when I read it. And some of the lower scoring ones stick with me. I've also learned that after reading more than 3000 books in my life, I am harder to impress.🙂 You pick out good subjects for discussion.

[@NerdyKathi]

It is so true that a great book is not always an enjoyable one or vice versa. I'm firmly of the belief that not every book is for every reader. Sometimes I just want trashy or easy books not great ones. Agreed on Stephanie Plum. Perhaps 2 ratings would work or ideally the reviewer shares the basis of their review. Had to add that yes, the more you read the harder you are to impress. Thank you so much for sharing. I love hearing your thoughts on these topics.

[@Tetsujin-28]

Good reads: With ratings you have to take into account that 50% of all ratings are just copy/paste of the blurb. The other thing is a number of reviews are favorable because the publisher sent the books. I'm interested in all the reviews since some are delusional (mentioning things they loved that didn't happen) . outright spoilers (why I wait until I've finished the book to look over reviews) or non-reviews (More than a few posted that "this isn't a review" (Murakami's latest). KZbinrs that I respect and have recommended great books I'll stick with ,but ratings are fast food hit. Great content.

[@NerdyKathi]

I have to admit some Goodreads reviews are hilarious. Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@rebecca.reader]

Great video! I do find ratings useful to an extent, but also take them with a pinch of salt..especially on the Internet. I would never let a low rating stop me reading a book, but I will be bearing it in mind, if half way through, I'm not enjoying it. Same goes for high ratings. Like you, I respect reviews where we are told why the reviewer liked or disliked a book.

[@NerdyKathi]

A low rating will not deter me from trying a book, nor a high one convince me to read it. Especially as I generally avoid reviews before reading a book. Thank you for sharing. 😊

[@Johanna_reads]

Great video, Kathi! I no longer rate books. I find the process reductive, unreliable, and an overall headache for me. If all books were extremely cookie-cutter and formulaic, it might make sense, but I love that books can have different aims and resonate in various ways for different readers even within the same subgenre. While no review is perfect or objective, the language of an in-depth written or spoken review can more accurately convey a book's intention and reader's experience.

[@NerdyKathi]

I have to agree that ratings in themselves can be a headache and unreliable. They're good as shorthand but I want the long answer. Thank you so much for watching. ❤️

[@jennf1881]

I struggle with ratings because mine are so fluid. I read the Three Body Problem a couple years ago and found it meh, but six months later i couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I now hold it in high regard. Anymore, I will often wait three months before I rate a book.

[@NerdyKathi]

It’s so interesting how our opinions can change over time. I think it's wise to wait before rating a book. Now I want to read Three Body Problem. 😅

[@Madam_Vader_Reads]

I think reevaluating the rating to excellent, good, etc. I, too, often feel differently about ratings after I sit and reflect. I believe the excellent, etc., would be more accurate and stand the test of time.

[@NerdyKathi]

I might start this new rating system for the next 12 months and see how I feel about it.

[@spartaguswoodall3062]

I don't give much credit to ratings. In my bookclub we rate the books we've read so I keep simple. 5-Excellent, 4-Good, 3-OK, 2-Bad, 1-Terrible. I don't compare books and I don't do half points. I just think was that book good, ok, bad etc.

[@NerdyKathi]

Simple is definitely my preference. I like your system of rating.

[@michaelibk418]

I don’t trust ratings anymore. I am a huge Audiobook listener and collector too. I still buy physical media CDs in this case. I have some series i buy for years. Couple of years ago there were about 20 to 30 reviews on Amazon for a new Episode, ratings were mixed from 1 to 5 Stars. Reviews were plausible for me. Now there are several hundreds! of reviews under each new release wich 95 Percent 5 Star ratings. I mean it’s obvious that those are fake reviews. I don’t read them anymore which is kind of sad because i appreciated the work of serious reviews and not because i only agreed with them, I like different opinions if they make sense to me and even a very critical review with the lowest rating could catch my interest too read that book. Now i am only read into the book at my local bookstore or a sample online to chose it or not, some booktubers with similar taste are the second source and I trust their rating system, most of the time it works.

[@NerdyKathi]

Yes ratings are sometimes very suspect. Like you I prefer ratings from people whose opinion I trust. Samples are also an excellent way to gauge if we are going to like something. Thanks Michael. ❤

[@AardashSeetal-Parsad-j2t]

Do you think that your decision not to ever give ten stars makes your review system slightly illogical?

[@NerdyKathi]

No. Nor do I see how that decision is illogical.

[@craftyhobbit7623]

I find that ratings are only ever really useful in terms of grammar, formatting, editing and (in the terms of non-fiction, especially,) factual, research and plagiarism issues. Other things, like the story, the plot, characters, character diversity, enjoyment in regards to world building , the mood of the reader at the time that they read the book (sometimes what's going on in your life can impact how much you enjoy a book, or whether you can get into it or not can be a factor) are pretty much down to the reader and it's important to consider these aspects separately as everyone has their own preferences, likes and dislikes. There has to be something really problematic on a deep level for a dislike of a book because of the characters, plot, etc to be universally valid - other times, you just have to accept that the book isn't for you, but other people might like it.

[@NerdyKathi]

I agree completely about our mood affecting how we perceive the book we are reading. If there are many reviews pointing to similar flaws in a book they are generally correct but that won't necessarily bother all readers. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@Debsbooks]

I never read reviews or get put off reading a book with low stars. Everyone is different and will like different things. I prefer booktube videos about what someone is going to read, I have no interest in what they thought of a book or dnfs etc.

[@NerdyKathi]

Oh I agree that a review won't put me off reading a book. I prefer to make up my own mind. I should have mentioned in the video that I only read reviews after I've read the book.

[@shawnlinnehan7349]

I find them meaningless as it’s totally subjective. I don’t put much stock into what strangers say about anything. The reviews on Booktube are also not usually honest. There are some creators that rank most books they read 5’s. That’s just disingenuous. That actually means all the books you’re reading are just average and that means 3 stars. If everything is a 5, then that rating becomes meaningless. I log what I have read on Goodreads just to have a list. Out of 600 books, I have only ranked 30 a 5 star. 5 stars should mean one of the greatest books you have ever read.

[@NerdyKathi]

I disagree with most of the points you've made. It is an exaggeration to state that reviews on Booktube are generally not honest. It may apply to a small proportion of reviews but not most. Nor do I agree with your statement that it's disingenuous for creators to rate most books a 5. Some people genuinely enjoy most of the books they read or they don't discuss the books they don't like. For either reason it does not make their ratings meaningless. Whilst you have your own preferred system of rating it is not the only one that has value.

[@ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣΚΑΝΑΒΟΣ-β9π]

I rate the books that I read with the chess symbols who used for the moves in chess. For example: !! means that the book is excellent ! the book is good !? the book is interesting ?! It's not interesting for me, but maybe has an interesting for someone else. ? It's not worth for me ?? That's a bad book.

[@NerdyKathi]

I like your rating system. 😊 I agree that a book I don't like may be interesting to someone else.

[@ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣΚΑΝΑΒΟΣ-β9π]

❤​@@NerdyKathi

[@beach_lion]

Never give 10s? Don't DNFs Hold this L, respectfully. (If you don't hold this L, you will miss out on the arbitrary sense of completion)

[@NerdyKathi]

I'm not sure what your point is. What is a failure? To match your preferences? Each to their own.