Books I Rated Too Low

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[@merphynapier42]

In my last video like this, I got an overwhelming number of comments saying ya'll like when reviews are fully subjective. I really like the way I review books and do still want to consider the quality of the book along with my enjoyment of it, but I think this month, I'll try to skew my ratings a little closer to my enjoyment so the star ratings better reflect that if I feel conflicted. BUT, I still had a lot of fun with these videos when I made them and still want to post this one 😀

[@hussienabass3073]

Is Brandon Sanderson books are easy to read for non English speakers as their first language?

[@michaelxz1305]

@@hussienabass3073 must be... apparently he's even a superstar in arab countries.. he talks about it in one of his videos, lots of arabs in those white dresses (don't know what that style of clothing is called but you know, like saudis wear) in one of the gulf countries were lined up just for him with stacks of books to sign. So probably they were arabic translations and not actual english copies I'm guessing.

[@nicoluna1532]

​@@hussienabass3073 Have no problem reading Brandon Sanderson in English and it's not my first language. Probably depends on your language skill though. I'm good with anything written in the last 200 years or so, but I confess older stuff like Shakespeare still gives me some trouble. :)

[@hussienabass3073]

@@nicoluna1532 Thank you very much

[@hussienabass3073]

@@michaelxz1305 Thank you but we dont have translation to his books yet

[@frogggirl2]

The point of a review is that it's yours review and represents your opinion. There is no objective book opinion - it's all subjective. Books don't quote-unquote deserve anything, nor do authors. I do think that people who follow your channel deserve your honest opinion and that is best represented by a rating reflecting your enjoyment of a book.

[@witchf4ce310]

But how is anyone gonna rate a book thinking “I didn’t enjoy this book but I know many other people will so I’ll rate it higher” ? 😄 you can only go off of your own experience reading the book, not others. There are many books that had themes I normally wouldn’t like but I ended up really enjoying, it would feel very odd to then rate them lower because they’re not technically the best/my taste... F.e The Mortal Instruments is kind of a trashy but addictive series to a lot of people and many give the books high ratings because they really enjoy them. I don’t see how it’s weird to give a book 2 stars or even 1 star if you really didn’t enjoy it but many others will ^^ but to each their own!

[@Vickynger]

but i think theres merit in asking yourself, "hm, what was the author going for with this book? and how well did they achieve that?" and then judging a book by that and leaving your own enjoyment out of it.

[@Omegaroth666]

I love the cover of Dune you displayed. So cool.

[@fatimaachnine1318]

Honestly, at the end of the day, I will only read books that I find that I personally like.

[@Maxificent]

How about giving each book a separate rating for personal enjoyment and "objective" quality, then average those two ratings to get your overall rating?

[@Blenny91]

I used to read a lot and then I stopped my hobby for years. I've discovered Your channel recently and it inspired me to pick up books and read for fun again. Thank You so much! (Also, great video :) )

[@eduardoo31]

Same! Since I started watching Merphy (and also a few other booktubers) a few months ago I dove right back into this habit I hadn't cultivated for years. I've read over 20 books this year, and for me that is a LOT since I'm a grad student and I don't really have much free time, so I'm super happy.

[@Blenny91]

That's great, congrats!

[@littermentart]

I rate my books based on my enjoyment, because I see the rating as a way to recommend it to the people who follows me. And I wouldn't recommend a book I didn't like. But I have noticed that I'm bad at give books 1 or 5 stars. It feels like such a statement, that I hated it or found it to be the best book ever. But I'm trying to be more bold with my rating..

[@tulekahju]

I get the concept of rating something higher, because you think someone else may like it if it's their sort of book. However, in practice if that book isn't what you typically enjoy and you end up only thinking its okay, or disliking it entirely I don't see how you may rate it higher just in case this books will be perfect for that audience. Even an objective rating is still a subjective take on it. For instance you typically don't like a floral prose, but you know that there are people who do enjoy it; However, people don't like a floral prose just because it's floral they're able to connect with it when done 'correctly'... how can someone who doesn't enjoy a floral prose know when its done effectively? On the other hand if a reader follows another reader who has similar taste when it comes to a floral prose than their subjective opinion on it is rather valuable information for them, because they know that that reader connects with that prose in a similar fashion that they do vs. someone who doesn't enjoy it but rates it high just because they're aware that someone out there may like it. That's why I prefer reviews to mention what they liked and disliked about a book rather than them rating on what they *think* another person who may be more suited for it would rate it. Granted, I've read books that weren't for me and suggest them to others that I think may like it given their taste, but I always tell them what it is that I didn't like but why I think they may. That way they may come to their own conclusions, because they'd know their taste better than me. P.S. That being said... I love these type of videos it's mildly amusing to listen to you struggle with a conundrum that you subjected yourself to, LoL. P.S.S. Random thought that popped into my head... imagine someone rating a book they loved low just because they know people out there would hate it. I imagine someone starting off with 'I loved this book it's a 4-5/5 star book for me but I know people will despise certain aspects of it so I'll give it 2/5 stars!', LoL.

[@LittleJoSleep]

*not about that insta-love life* When Merphy starts selling merch that'll be on a shirt, and I'm here for it. 🙌😂

[@hajarel70]

Merph we don't care about the stars, all what I personally take into consideration is the review or what you say about the book!

[@Omegaroth666]

I definitely agree here. Stars are nice and can be a good starting point when we're deeply conflicted, but the true value comes from your thoughts and feelings regarding the story, writing, characters and overall execution. Stars can't tell us those things.

[@bicho6313]

All the qualms u had with these books sound like valid points tho (e.g. distant writing/telling not showing, unnecessarily flowery and awkward writing, insta-love, romanticized toxic relationships). Why do u feel like they're still "objectively" quality books? Like with Dune. You liked the idea, not the execution. If an idea is not well executed then isn't the book just not quality? Some ppl might still enjoy the book, but wouldn't that have more to do with their own subjective reading needs?

[@Vickynger]

but just because the author uses an omniscient pov which distances the reader doesnt mean its badly executed. having a distanced writing style is not a sign of a bad book imo

[@bicho6313]

@@Vickynger I've never read Dune so i dont have an opinion on that. The point is that Murphy and many other ppl have taken issue with the distant effect the writing has while u and many other ppl didnt because different ppl have different reading needs and different books fulfill those needs differently. So saying a book is objectively good is like saying the ppl who like it r right and the ppl who dont r wrong. What makes those ppl right? Its like the person is saying their reading needs r not as valuable or valid as other ppls.

[@KateMaccio]

I picked up Dune to read more classic sci-fi and was completely surprised by how much I love it. I have to give people that warning, the story is amazing but the story telling isn’t for everyone. Fingers crossed for film adaptation, it looks promising 🤞🏻

[@michaelxz1305]

don't understand how anyone cannot enjoy dune, it's the #1 scifi book by a mile for a reason. It always tops the list. giving it a 3 is sacrilegious

[@KateMaccio]

Michael Xz I won’t judge because I hear nothing but praise for Name of the Wind and I couldn’t stand it 🙈🙈

[@monferno71]

Really love these videos, they really show the struggle of rating books and I relate so much to this!

[@justcosmika7843]

hahaha I love listening to your reactions to Nevernight! I absolutely love this book everything you hated I loved and that's one of the things I love about reading is the different experiences we all can have reading the same thing ;)

[@angelaurdaneta4097]

I have noticed that you sometimes annotate books and I was wondering how that works for you when you switch formats and if you had a video on that and if not if you would do a video on how you annotate books. I am really curious about it, thanks!

[@hnhamblin]

I feel like I have similar experience with Dune. I really struggled to connect with or read the book. I started with Audibook but couldn't keep track of what was going on. So i picked up the physical book, but reading was going super slow. Ultimately I listened and read at the same time, which helped, but my inability to read or get into the book significantly lowered my enjoyment of the story being told.

[@miosnikzycia2913]

Hey there! I interned at my local newspaper and wrote a feature on Stephanie Mirro, a new author from my hometown, who published the first book in her Immortal Relic series. I know you probably have a lot of books to get to, but I think it'd be sick if you could get to "Birth of the Bacchae" at some point and do a review video. It sounds like something you'd like to read also

[@patrickskramstad1485]

The wonderful aspect of a rating system is the more honest ratings the work of art gets the more likely the truth is revealed. If everyone is honest with their ratings people will be confident whether or not they want to try it. If someone tends to agree with your taste.... it is important to be honest. Don't sweat the double take. Some will love some will hate.... that's the consequence of judgments. I noticed your taste change and that's OK too. I respect your judgment because I understand your taste. I am fully aware of the differences our opinions. I am more aggressive... less shy... more blunt but still understanding as you are. Be true let others find themselves with you to guide them.

[@ericapaulk7231]

Ok so Nevernight couldn't finish. The bones of the story was so interesting and the opening so full and crazy hooked me right in. The blood the gore didn't think I would like so much as I did. Downside it was painfully slow. There were so many side notes and stories as you were saying. I really wanted to love this book strong unpredictable heroines are my favorite.

[@saintable22]

Merph! Have you read the Thursday Next series? I think you would really appreciate it.

[@JashanaC]

I feel like I need to do a video discussing this very thing! I'm SO stingy with my effing 5 star reads... but there are some books I rated 4 or 4.5 stars, that later I'm like, "No! I effing LOVED that book! I rave about it constantly!" :D I really need to get on The Upworld... !

[@Hadrian1616]

In your dooblydoo you should write: Don't recommend any books with assassin training academies, no insta-love, etc... That should help. Love your channel.

[@margarets2924]

I’m wondering if this is a booktuber issue in the general sense because you take into account the followers who ‘rely’ on your rating and opinion. Booksandlala talked about this in her video where she didn’t rate books for a month.

[@CozyReaderKelly]

I just recently DNF’d PS I Still Love You. I thought To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was fun, but I didn’t need the drama that followed. So will you (or anyone) spoil the end for me? I want to know who she ends up with, but I don’t want to read the rest of the trilogy.

[@NaytGaming]

Whats the outro song?

[@stephenmalovski313]

There's only one rating for Merph's videos! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@BobGrimminger]

As I commented on a previous video mentioning Dune, I think it is supposed to come off as a story someone is telling, that is part of the frame narrative. Each chapter starts with an epigraph from princess Irulan BECAUSE she is telling us the story. But, I understand if you don't like that style

[@gloriasneverendingtbr]

I tried reading Dune a couple of months ago and I ended up dnfing it... i could not get into it, maybe one day i will give it another go, maybe 😅

[@lacichung3517]

Merph, I need help! I've been invited to a book club with the women at my gym and I'm so excited to have real life book friends, BUT they read contemporary and adult fiction, and I read pretty much only Fantasy. Can you recommend me some books that would be enjoyable for them and me? I'd like to recommend something to the group that could bridge our interests, something not intimidating but with a little magical or fantastical elements to give them a taste and see if it's something we could dive more into! Please help me :) Thanks!

[@Zechs00GT]

Dune is fantastic, but I also watched the 80s film a lot when I was a kid. (The film is truly 2 stars).

[@NoMereRanger73]

I’d say one book that I really wanted to like, but ended up giving two stars, was “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” I thought the main girl was really passive and the story consisted more of dialogue *about* the Pimpernel than actually seeing what he’s up to. My respect for “Old Timey Swashbuckling Books” (Like The Count Of Monte Cristo) is about 4.5 Stars. But this one just didn’t do it for me at the time I read it. :) Great video, by the way! You’re awesome. :)

[@paulallen8304]

I generally agree with most of your opinions. I have even picked up books based on your recommendations. I say keep rating books the way you do and trust that your viewers will understand their own tastes enough to read (or not) as they please.

[@williambartlett9917]

I watch your videos cuz I like your opinion and your take on things. I’d say stick to your personal ratings! Love it

[@tywinislitandeddard9988]

Sorry I'm new to this channel but what's the contemporary genre?

[@JonesP224]

It means it takes place in our time

[@thehappyduck9761]

Love you!❤

[@WhitneyDahlin]

I think you should give a star rating for your enjoyment and a star rating for technical execution and list both of those ratings in your reviews and then average what both of those ratings are to get the final rating. That way your enjoyment/taste is taken into account, the authors technical work is taken into account and anyone who reads your reviews can see right away what your enjoyment and if you would recommend that book or not. Because you are absolutely right that your enjoyment matters toward the rating and that the authors technical writing matters towards the rating. That seems the fairest way to review books.

[@nocturnus009]

For both the Nevernight Chronical & Dune I wonder if, for the people that will connect best with the prose, it's best served by reading passages & thinking about what is can be pulled from the text. Especially after everything Emily Cait mentioned in her video about intertextuality. Ironically, I read A LOT of Dune in Nevernight. I am aware the Author makes connections to The Princess Bride (1987). I know think that is more a statement of knowing the audience & how little the intended audience might feel about Dune.

[@BobbiReads]

I’m being lazy and not going through your comments to see if someone said this already but I figured you’d find this amusing! Jay Kristoff completely makes fun of his writing style in the Nevernight trilogy in Darkdawn. He literally calls himself a wanker for doing footnotes. I laughed out loud while reading it and I love an author that can make fun of himself. 😂

[@erichansen2860]

I'm glad the response was overwhelming in favor of subjectivity. You do you. We come to hear your take, not be reminded of how "important" or "popular" a work is. If I care, I know that already. And authors like Herbert and Martin get plenty of props, they'll be fine. Honesty is what I want.

[@jasondavis6600]

Hey thanks for all of your quality videos, it makes life great

[@cybersketcher1130]

Is there a translated version of Dune.

[@vamps_rock]

The rating and review (R&R) of any form of artistic media, which is totally subjective, is always an interesting topic for discussion. IMO R&R's of particularly fiction books should only ever be subjective and a combination of _your_ personal level of enjoyment and how well _you_ think it was written. Feedback should be about how we feel (with our hearts) not think (with our heads) and is down to our individual perception of each part of the narrative; taking into account that we don't all think alike. 10 different people can read the exact same copy of the exact same book and can have at least 10 different opinions about it because even individually we can even have warring opinions about its content. And whilst I appreciate that quality of writing is actually a thing, that can mean different things to different people. Also, sometimes the things that make for a difficult read (bad grammar or problematic content for example) can be ignored somewhat if the story and the characters just swept you away and the things that make a book enjoyable (plot and characters for example) can be lost if the prose is dull and lifeless. When I read a book, I rate it on both my personal experience with the story and how well I thought it was executed. These include things like _did I like the plot, the tropes, the characters, the action, the excitement factor, the knowledge it has to share, the messages and themes, reveals, plot twists, the ending_ and _were there any grammatical errors, typos, formatting issues, was the language basic, flowery, dry, was the dialogue realistic_ ... a never-ending litany of things run through my mind once I've finished reading and am considering putting my thoughts out there (on Goodreads mainly) and whether or not to simply rate and go or to leave more info about my thoughts (positive or negative) by writing even just as little as single a sentence review. All this to say that at the end of the day I will not rate something high that I didn't enjoy or appreciate or was entertained by purely because it was a 'literary masterpiece with a unique use of language' (for example), and will not rate something low that I loved just because it _wasn't_ a literary masterpiece with a unique use of language. And I don't believe anyone should. TFS :)

[@g.chatterjee2296]

To all the boys I loved before got 1 star from me. Wish I could have given it a zero. Dnfd the series. Same with Anna and the French kiss and the stupid series. :X So I rated too high obviously.

[@MeMySkirtandI]

I think splitting the middle is fine for rating. I take your reviews seriously, but am more interested in why you liked it than that you liked it. We have similar but not identical tastes. Sometimes when you say I love it because X. My reaction is “Well, I hate X” and avoid accordingly.

[@AnneEWilliamson]

I had the exact some reaction to Dune! I could appreciate the cleverness of the world, but I just did not connect to the writing style or characters. It took me forever to read and I almost DNFed it.

[@JohnBradford14]

If you ever wanna re-read Dune again, perhaps do so either whilst listening to the 2007 audiobook or having watched the Steven Lynch movie. Maybe even both.

[@thiacross69]

The only book I personally like in this video is Nevernight. I just love descriptive writing for some reason lol

[@Blair68cpa]

just finished Dune. I agree it was a very good book (in your Retrospect). But it was sort of a "distant" writing style you're correct.

[@dpier6]

I feel like I am very hard on mystery/thrillers. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the genre, but for some reason my standards are higher than other genres for what makes one “good” 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@mateopanetta6645]

I was wondering why couldn't you present in your reviews two separate scores. One for quality and enjoyment for the other. That way you may still "objectively" judge the book while letting your audience know about your personal taste. Anyway, that's just an idea. Love your videos! Good luck further on:)

[@imperatrice211]

Totally agree with you on Dune, I love the story but I just hated the writing plus it is soooooo slow, it's crazy x) I don't think there is such a thing as a too low rating, I always give my honest opinion so if I didn't like a book, I'm not going to give it 3 stars even though liking a book doesn't necessarily mean that I enjoyed it, for me at least :)

[@murraymacaulay5715]

I don't know if this has been suggested already but who says you have to give a single rating? Give a duo rating for your reviews, one you can call objective / technical and the other one you can call subjective / personal or variations there of. If you insist on a single rating you can still do the duo rating but then base you final rating on the average of the two.

[@AndYouWillBeWithMe]

I totally get where this feeling. I recently started reading the walking dead comics and they are really good... For comics. So they can easily be 4-5 stars. But they are nowhere as good as some of my favorite novels. I decided to stick in the 3-4 star range, and I don't know how to feel about that.

[@erraticonteuse]

It sounds to me like you rated them lower *just* because they're comics, which is massively unfair. Do you ever say "yeah, this movie is *really* good, but in general I like TV shows more, so I'll give the movie three stars because it's not a TV show"? Comics and prose are different mediums (even more different than TV and movies, tbh), and they should be judged accordingly. If you're automatically docking points from comics for *being* comics, then frankly you might as well not read them at all.

[@AndYouWillBeWithMe]

@@erraticonteuse well, your final statement is kinda rude, as I do enjoy them, but my enjoyment level for books is higher than comics, so in a sense, it does feel like I am docking points just because they are comics, but on the other sense, it is also an accurate representation of my enjoyment levels

[@erraticonteuse]

@@AndYouWillBeWithMe I apologize, it wasn't meant to be rude, I'm just truly frustrated with a common thread I see all over the bookish internet that while people have essentially embraced comics as reading material, they still regard them as prose's lesser cousin. But to paraphrase Einstein, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, you'll spend your whole life thinking it's inferior. Because you said that judging them on their own you'd give TWD comics 4 or 5 stars, it seems to me like you're impressed by how well the fish swims, but for some reason insist on comparing it to tree-climbing. Aside from both being ink-on-paper storytelling mediums, comics and prose actually have very little in common. Their storytelling techniques and devices are totally different. And unlike prose, comics theory and narratology doesn't get taught in schools. If you consistently do not enjoy comics as much as prose, have you ever asked yourself why? Have you considered that maybe you have some blindspots about how comics work? I would venture a guess that a lot of the base level enjoyment you get from prose stems from the almost unconscious understanding you have of how prose works, because you spent years being taught that. And I contend that you might enjoy comics more, equivalent to how much you enjoy prose even, if you understood how they work. Have you read Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"?

[@williambartlett9917]

Great video! You’re so easy to watch :)

[@Stephie_Jeffery]

I gave catcher in the rye one star. Maybe it should be higher, I don't know lol all I know is I would have DNf'd if I did that at the time. Hated everything haha. Also, Down to the Dirt. Gave two stars, this one I know should be higher, the author did a good job showing an addict's life and thought process and everything. But I hated the MC and most of the other characters too. Another one that I should have DNF'd but I pushed through for my sister who really liked it. I probably would have given it one, but the book wasn't bad, objectively, so I bumped it up to two. Should still be higher but I'm leaving it at two 😊

[@danecobain]

I think Dune is one that grows on you over time as well!

[@phix27]

I LOVED the “to all the boys” series, so if you want to donate those copies to me... I would not say no. With annotations too! Lol

[@SirZeu]

i don't see the problem with rating a book lower because its not the kind of book you enjoy as long as you do say that its not the kind that you enjoy. sometimes i read book that are not in my favorite category ( i read mostly fantasy and scifi) i have read auto-biography in the past and while i did enjoy the book because it was of people i liked. i can't rate them 4-5 stars because this type of book just don't click with me. IMO as long as you say something akin to: i was recommended this book after reading it its not my type. this might affect my rating.

[@olivethunderbird]

I have not read Dune but I had the same experience recently with "just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor. The story was so good but I could not connect with the characters. I want to love it but I just didn't

[@gurbanimahajan3337]

Heyy! Love your vedios!

[@maartjedegroot9598]

Currently reading Always and Forever, Lara Jean and want to give it 1,5 stars. I think Lara Jean is awful en egocentric, it’s boring and way too fluffy. I loved Nevernight. I skipped the footnotes though

[@cakt1991]

I don’t think it matters what you think the book the book “deserves,” rating wise. I personally look at the content of the review over the star rating, because I know star ratings mean different things to different people. And I think there are ways to sell people on a book with a one- or two-star rating if your review lists things you don’t like, but it may work for someone else. An indie author recently used a one-star review for an ad, because her book was a fantasy romance, and the reviewer apparently didn’t know that, and said something along the lines of “too much romance!” 😂 And another romance author recently talked about how she got the gold standard for romance reviews: “too much sex!” Some people might balk at that, but many romance readers may pick it up. So, I wouldn’t worry about rating anything “too low” (too high, maybe, but not too low), if it meets what you feel was your thoughts on the book. You’re always objective enough in your reviews that your taste comes through, and I think people can decide based more off that as opposed to your star rating.

[@russtin1]

I read The White Plague by Herbert and felt the same way. It was an interesting story in an unpleasant style.

[@ZaraVelaris]

Sometimes I read books that are too slow, and I don't enjoy them that much ,but I am obliged to rate them higher because they have good writing , excellent concept , also because I feel the writer wanted to deliver an important message .

[@oriannamatos2760]

I didn't like the love interest in ToAllTheBoys(...) either. That story should be just 1 single book, she dealing with all the sended letters and... done. Would have been fun and light, but noooo, bring it on the drama jajaja. Well, I didn't read the last one (it came too many years after I read the first two and I wasn't interested anymore), but a lot of people like them and felt warm and all that, so I guess they are just ok.

[@figmantis]

I'm very relaxed with my "ratings" - I rate books for myself so I can see what I've enjoyed and what I haven't and that's where my interest in ratings end. I have zero interest in the ratings of others, in the rating that a book has or how someone decides their ratings. I enjoy when people talk about the books they read and what they think of them, that's something I feel you can converse about whether you agree or not with each others opinions. When I'm picking a new book, I read the synopsis and if it interests me, I add it to my TBR, I never look at the rating the book has, I never look at reviews, I just read it. Books that I guess could fall into the "too low" rating for me might be: The Ocean at the End of the Lane - 1 star. Boring. The Song of Achilles - 1 star. So, so boring. Despised the protagonist. The Trials of Morrigan Crow - 2 star. Such a disappointment. That's just based on what I see others rate. They way I see it, you're not going to ruin the world because you didn't like a book.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I still haven’t read nevernight oof

[@pamelastephens73]

When I was in college (many, many years ago), our essays received two grades. I think that one was composition and one was creativity. Why not give two ratings for books - one for enjoyment and one for the author?

[@jessicacann6169]

I used to not be as conflicted about my ratings until my husband mentioned that I shouldn't give a book a star rating based on my enjoyment of the book alone.

[@bicho6313]

why not? what else r u supposed to consider?

[@jessicacann6169]

@@bicho6313 If the book is actually written well. Sometimes a book just isn't for me and that's fine. But does that mean it's actually a bad book? I very rarely give out 2 stars or lower though.

[@bicho6313]

@@jessicacann6169 but isnt good writing subjective tho? We all have different reading needs so how can u know a book is good if u dont like it? Its not like theres an objective checklist out there that tells u what is "good writing" or a good book. Its all just opinions. Even literary critics r just ppl with opinions and particular reading needs. When ppl say a book is objectively good it sounds like its a book that is either lauded by important ppl or a majority. But every ones opinions r valid because there r different books for different needs, like genre and literary, they satisfy different needs.

[@nicoluna1532]

I personally don't really pick books simply cause someone gave it a 4 or 5 star review. Not sure how much influence booktubers really have. Even if you give a book a 2 or 3 star review, if it sounds interesting too me I still might give it a go. Have enjoyed reading books that weren't really that well written objectively, but I liked the story and the charaters so I still had a good time. I mostly watch reviews about books I've already finished reading, to see what other ppl think about it. Did they love or hate the same things I did, stuff like that. Wouldn't really overthink how you rate a book, the 1-5 star system is pretty pointless anyway.

[@leadinglady]

I rated Nevernight 3 stars and feel it was too high. I wish I rated it 2. I agree, it def doesn't deserve a 2. Probably doesn't deserve a 3, it's probably more a 4. Do I still absolutely hate it? Yes! Haha.

[@shadowblackheart7556]

Ultimately, it is your choice how you rate books, so yeah, do how you want to, of course. :)

[@ade7582]

I gave Dune 5 stars, for a person who is her 1st language isnt english I do feel the writing style isnt for everyone and its so f ing long and sometimes overwhelming for my brain but I really really love the plot and the story

[@nikkinique25]

Radio Silence. rated it 3 stars... but I guess my 17 year old self would have loved it more.. lol.. I'm 27 now..

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I don’t like Peter either. She should have picked john Ambrose. I didn’t enjoy the romance in the other two except for when they introduced John. I like her friendship with gen and her journey to adult hood and picking the college she had a connection with. The romance was just wish fulfillment. It was cute in the first book, but I was pissed off with peter in the other 2 books. He do treat her like crap.

[@outi3852]

I don't think your rating system is weird, because I do the same 😁 And though art is in a way subjective, I don't think it's only that. I'm sure we all know ppl who aren't good at singing (=me), drawing, painting etc, regardless of style, and I think that's true for books and writing too. I might think a book is well written, but still dislike it because of something like too much romance for my taste. And like you, I think it would be unfair to rate it 1 or 2 just because of that, since it's not a bad book, it just wasn't for me. All in all, no matter what rating system ppl use, I wish they would tell in their reviews what they liked & disliked, not just that "this was great / I hated this". I've found books I enjoy when someone has told what they didn't like in a book, but that just happens to be my cup of tea.

[@oana-mariauliu5828]

I've already told you I've been rating everything too low lately. :p If something is merely pleasant, but not memorable, I'll give it two stars. From three to five: the books I may remember - according to their degree of complexity, to their style, and to my connection to the characters.

[@RonieDoll]

Dune! Really, is hard to get into. I watched the movie first. Not knowing about the book. Read the book in my early twenties. I read all of the series. It was interesting. About climate change and the economics connected to it. From a Author doing water experiments. So good! #IAWThoughts

[@Bookdragon11]

Thanks for telling us this 😃.

[@YTLawnGnome]

I will never be able to finish Dune!

[@bluecadet4309]

I think one thing that puts people off of Dune is how slow of a read it can be. The overwhelming complexity of the Dune universe, plus, as you said, the detachment that Herbert writes with has a lot to do with it. Everyone I've talked to (including myself) says it took them forever to get through Dune, but that they generally enjoyed it. Herbert gave the world a wonderful thing, but I'll be the first to admit that it definitely ain't for everyone.

[@inagrace4]

couldn't you start rating them using two separate scales? like one for your personal enjoyment and one for how good you think the book was objectively? so like, "this book gets a 3 star for my personal enjoyment, but 4.5 stars for objective quality." that way maybe viewers who don't share your exact reading taste would know if books are good or not, and vice versa. love your videos!!

[@AikiraBeats]

I prefer the movie for to all the boys I loved before now I really wished she would've stayed single after that cabin incident cause he was mad wrong for doing that.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I don't think you should ever feel bad for not giving a book 4 stars if you didn't like it. If you think it still has merit, 3 stars is perfectly fine. If you think it has problems, 1 or 2 stars depending on how bad it is.

[@MaryAmongStories]

I don't think I'd like Dune at all 😅

[@neeciT]

When I read out of my usual genre I don’t rate the book because I’m not the audience for it but my usual genre I give an honest review.

[@weirdbutgoodweird]

to be fair, all characters in Dune are very... alien, they almost come off as sociopaths. it's very much a product of the trends of its times, in terms of the super-human trope as well. so it easily comes off as "distant". it's a good book, maybe great even, but to a modern palate it does have a very odd taste, which can be refreshing but also off-putting

[@erraticonteuse]

I'm gonna contradict all the other comments here and say, good on you for not rating books way lower just because they're just not for you. Nothing irritates me more than reading a one- or two-star review that just says something like "I don't like this genre" or "I couldn't get into this YA book (I'm 42)" without any further elaboration on what they didn't like about *that* book. It's perfectly fine, imho, to give a YA book 2-3 stars and say "I'm long past relating to this kind of high school drama" or "I don't usually read fantasy because I find all the characters and their weird names and all the different rules of the world overwhelming, and this book is no different", because there are high schoolers who don't want to read about high school drama, and fantasy fans who prefer smaller stories with less intense worldbuilding. Basically, any rating or review that faults a book purely for its premise is wasting everyone's time, which is what so many 1- or 2-star reviews boil down to, in my experience.

[@taylor_green_9]

Keeping the books because you still laugh at your own notes on how much you hate the character is such a Slytherclaw thing to do

[@slytherinslioness]

TLDR: if a book doesn’t do it for you, don’t rate it higher because it does it for someone else. And vice versa. Ok. What is fair to the author is a true review of how you feel about the story and the writing. If an author is reading a review, they want to know the cons as well as the pros; constructive criticism is how people grow and improve. Reviews are NATURALLY subjective. You can include objective views in a rating, but they’ll always end up skewing subjective. You shouldn’t feel like you need to be nice to the author if you honestly didn’t enjoy a story. I feel like a review from an influencer like you should be completely honest and for you and your audience. We watch and follow you because we like the same things or because we trust your opinion. If you’re rating things differently because you feel bad about how it reflects on the author, that’s not fair to you or to us. These two videos drove me crazy because you felt the need to keep defending yourself. If you feel the need to do that, you probably shouldn’t have rated them too high or low in the first place. Just rate them. Don’t stress. Also, I know several people who have read Dune and despised it. It’s not necessarily a 4 or 5 start book from an objective viewpoint.

[@johane.turbib.8108]

It might be a different time when you're reading this but "Good Morning World"

[@georgeheingartner6995]

Tell me of your home world, Usul...

[@avsambart]

My quick unhelpful two cents: If you feel the book doesn't deserve a 3 star then I dont think you should be giving it a 3 star. What you feel it deserves is always part of your opinion, but that's just what I think.

[@rebeccamccreary8530]

"I keep them because my annotations are very funny...I like to flip open and remember how much I hated these characters...I should just get rid of them." Does this mean it's time to stop hate-watching Twilight?

[@thewhiskybowman]

Why not just give all future reviews 2 ratings, a quality rating and an enjoyment rating.

[@danbuter]

A "well written" book that is boring is a bad book.

[@Vickynger]

but then again, not every book that is exciting to read is a good book. ive read literary fiction that i slogged through but at the end i got something out of it that i wouldnt have from a rompy, enjoyable genre book.

[@SunriseFireberry]

Booktuber I rate high. T minus 38.7K

[@AshtheViking]

I would think your rating would be based off your enjoyment solely and then you can expand on pros and cons in the review. You can't communicate everything in a star rating. Changing your rating based on that fact that it could be a good book for others seems disingenuous to me. Too people-pleasing.

[@chriswright9096]

Dune is a viable story, but poorly written. I think your earlier verdict was spot on.