How I Rate Books and Why 3 Stars Isn't Bad | BOOK CHAT

[@16SF]

Yes! I agree so much with you! My personal scale is: 5 stars: New fav. book (it doesn't mean it's flawless, I just love with so much) 4 stars: Great book with a few things that could be better 3 stars: Overall fun book but not exactly memorable. 2 stars: Disappointing books that had some potential (or good things) 1 star: only for books that are downright insulting

[@kamanonickname]

This is how I rate books

[@Kirgaby]

SAME

[@Imaginetheday1967]

5 - loved it (I gushed); 4 - really liked it; 3 - liked it; 2 - didn't like it (small rant); 1 - hated it (huge rant) I read a cozy mystery series that I do enjoy, but I've given almost every book in the series 3 stars. I still plan to keep reading it. It's fun. Not great, not terribly memorable, but fun.

[@deidredenney832]

I read a lot of cozy mysteries too.

[@Good-ol-Jaz]

For my rating system: *5 Stars* - Absolutely loved it, one of my new favs. Found little to no flaws during my reading experience. *4 Stars* - It was great. Found only a few flaws but didn't stop it from being a positive reading experience. *3 Stars* - Average. Neither a wholly positive or negative experience, with roughly equal amounts of flaws and praise. *2 Stars* - Disappointing. Few good highlights but weren't frequent or enough to cover up the bad/the flaws. *1 Star* - Big yikes. Found little to no upsides during my reading experience.

[@ReadLoveListen]

I agree that a rating of 3 ✨ isn’t bad at all. I think that your rating scale is very fair. My rating scale is based on how the book makes me feel. I read for fun. 5 ✨ means that i loved it..it’s the best thing ever or I enjoyed it so much that I’d buy it or read it again. 4 ✨ means that I really liked the book and the writing was excellent. 3 ✨ means that I liked the book and would most likely read from this author again or that it was just a decent cozy read. 2 ✨ means that it was okay but I probably wouldn’t read any other books from this author or series. 1 ⭐️ means that I hated it or it just wasn’t my type of book.

[@peachakai]

Read Love Listen I love the way you put these into words! I agree wholeheartedly!

[@ReadLoveListen]

Ashley Ketchum that’s totally awesome! Thanks glad someone thinks the same.

[@aster_3188]

Yeah, but 2.5 is not in the middle, since you don't give 0 star ratings, the scale is from 1 to 5, therefore the middle is exactly 3

[@Sky-fz7ku]

I get what you are saying. I DNF books occasionally, so I’d consider that a 0 or no star rating. Because you can’t really rate a book that you haven’t finished (unless maybe you read like 90-99% of the book) I’d say if you are someone who never DNFs books then 3 as a middle makes sense, or if you just don’t do half start ratings (I don’t really)

[@JJ367]

See this is how I see it too. I see the numbers as a scale rather than their numerical value. So for me a 2.5 is below average. A three is in the middle.

[@RobotMaria]

Thank you! I was so annoyed when she said that in the video. 3 is the middle, there's no way around that on a 1-5 scale (which is the scale Goodreads uses). Thinking of a DNF book as 0 stars on a scale of 1-5 is mathematically illogical.

[@arp711]

I don't want to bag on anyone, but I do think some of the "3 stars is a bad rating" thing comes largely from the YA corners of Booktube and such, where people tend to be verrrrry generous with their ratings. You watch a wrap-up where they read, say, 8 books in a month (all YA and maybe a Sanderson tossed in) and they give, like....5 or 6 of them 5 stars. There's a tendency there to give any book that was enjoyable 5 stars, and hardly anything gets even a 3, let alone anything lower. And that's fine if that's how they wanna do it, but it does then make it seem like 3 stars is super low, when the vast majority of their ratings are 4 and 5.

[@maud375]

I agree so so much. It's really disheartening.

[@masha1683]

Yeah I agree. It even kind of affects how I rate books because I’m used to seeing that and I want to try to be less generous with my ratings

[@AButifulNerdyNightmare]

I do mine a bit different. I have a reason for each star. ⭐️ world building ⭐️ character development ⭐️ relationships ⭐️ creativity/storyline ⭐️ feeling/excitement level It either gets a star, no star or half a star for each category. Then I just add them up and that’s my rating.

[@JJ367]

AbutifulNightmare I like that! Really unique!

[@AButifulNerdyNightmare]

Thanks. I just figure there are so many aspects that go into a story, it’s easier to keep track of it all that way. Of course Contemporary may be a little different because there isn’t as much world building. So many times I have gone purely on my personal excitement or preference to a story and end up overlooking how much an author actually did with it. I still give myself that last star that I cane give or not due to personal feelings. I just want to give a fair assessment as much as possible.

[@bmcdermott]

I love this - I might start using it because I find myself giving out way too generous ratings😂

[@keenjanene]

5 - I LOVED IT. 4 - I liked it. 3- It was fine. 2 - I didn’t like it. 1 - I HATED it.

[@mundodelectura8785]

Me

[@danisbooks9237]

For me... 5 Stars- Absolutely loved it (Going on my Favs list) 4 Stars- It was really good 3 Stars- It was pretty average 2 Stars- It was alright 1 Star- Didn't like it at all

[@chrisisbookinit]

Yesss! 3 stars for me is usually I didn’t love it, but it was still pretty fun and I had a good time reading it. No idea how it became a negative thing where you rate a book 3 stars and everyone just like gasps in horror.

[@pixelatedDream]

A 3 star read for me is "Meh" I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It was "Okay".

[@Neverrgreen]

Same!

[@EmFinch]

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS. I rate my books just how goodreads has it set up: 5 Star: Loved it 4 Star: Really Liked it 3 Star: Liked it 2 Star: It was okay 1 Star: Didn't like it. That rating system just makes the most sense to me. For instance, a 3 Star book I just read was Kiss of Deception. For a lot of people that's five star book, and I can see why, but personally the tropes and writing style and heavy romance weren't my thing. I am interested enough to continue on with the series, though. *Shrug*. People get way too bent out of shape over these things LOL

[@nadnadnadnad7133]

Speaking of the bell curve and (accurately) choosing books we know we're going to like, I think people's general average rating tends to be higher than 3 or 3.5 stars, which is why we think of 3-star books as "below average".

[@beautifulrocker93]

5 - loved it, new favourite, I give my highest recommendation 4 - enjoyed it, possible fav, I'll give recommendation 3 - decent bit could have been better, I'll recommend if the book fits the request but will note my rating and thoughts 2 - disappointing, won't recommend 1 - dumpster fire I usually find my rating of a book by averaging out my ratings for themes like plot, characters, writing, world building etc

[@ilcosmodijess]

Same thought here! I rate books in a bunch of different ways but generally speaking a 3 stars books are average books: they are good, but not a "boom" book. Maybe to me is easier because I rate based on a school system. In Italy we get grades on a 10 scale where 6 is sufficient (60%), so to me if 5 is 10 (my perfection in book form) 3 is 6, so it is like a D in American school 😅 I don't know if it makes sense, but basically is 5stars is 9-10 or A, 4stars is 7-8 or B, 3stars is 6 or D, 2stars is 4-5 or E(?), 1stars is 2-3 or F (books I've hated) 😅

[@knigoholik9946]

YES, someone said it! It's so strange that when a book is being liked it should be 5 or no less than 4 stars. My go to rating for books i enjoyed is 3 stars, like if you have the same taste you will really, really like my 3 stars rated books. I'm still trying and overthinking the rating system but for now I mostly agree with Goodreads: 5 - I liked it so much; loved it; it got me good!; 4 - so good, just that smidge of something that was lacking, the take on this was not my thing; but it is arguably a great book; 3 - I enjoyed the heck out of this one; so entertaining; could have had more plot or less drama, but I had mostly the best of times; 2 - it was okay; average; you can read or skip it in my opp. if ths or that isn't your thing; the execution was poor; 1 - I disliked/hated this book; do not recommend; it was severely disappointing;

[@KirstyWardBooks]

For me: 5 - amazing, all time favourite! 4 - excellent 3 - good but many flaws, or no flaws but very good and just not my cup of tea 2 - not great, many issues 1 - I struggled to get through and I’m now wondering why I bothered I feel like I’ve gone the opposite way to you. I used to rate a lot harsher before joining Booktube. Or maybe I’m just better at knowing what I love now? Either way, I seem to give out a lot more 4s and 5s than what I used to. My average is sat at around 3.75 last time I checked, so I’m still pretty well balanced at least.

[@TheLittlebats]

for me it's 5- LOVED IT. either i cant think of anything wrong with it or it just had a really strong emotional tug from me 4-loved it but i can think of at least one substantial thing that could have been done better 3- middle of the road. probably liked it but it didnt knock my socks off or im conflicted between some really good and some really bad qualities 2- didnt like it but at least has 1 substantial good thing about it that keeps it above a 1 1- awful bad. probably made me really angry over something.

[@stephmorgan286]

Sometimes I actually go looking for a book I know will be a 3 star read because I want quick and fun and I don’t have to think much or get too invested in the book.

[@ThoughtsOnTomes]

same!

[@easilydistractedauthor]

Yes, yes, yes. When I start a book, it's Three Stars, with stars being added/subtracted depending on my enjoyment. Three Stars for me means I liked it, but I didn't love it. So many books for me are Two Stars because the premise is good and the actual story doesn't live up to it, which makes my Three Star rating have more weight, I feel. One Star is problematic garbage that I didn't even get a tiny bit of enjoyment out of, and Four Stars are books I really, really enjoyed reading. I've only ever rated one book as Five Stars. For me, It symbolizes a perfect book, and while I like a lot of books, I don't think they're perfect. I'm just picky like that.

[@Jesscorpio]

I personally see three stars as kind of the middle of the road? Because even though technically 2.5 is the halfway mark, if you look at like whole stars, three is the middle one. So my ratings tend to go like this: 5 stars - it was amazing and I throughly loved it. Any bad things I could say about it are tiny nitpicking things or are easily washed out by the good things 4 stars - it was decidedly a Good Book, but there was something about it that didn’t quite push it all the way to 5 stars 3 stars - it was okay. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t really like it either. Could be disappointing if I had high expectations but otherwise it’s just like an average book that I’ll probably forget about 2 stars - I didn’t like it but it had potential or there was something redeeming about it. 1 star - hate is a strong word and this book deserves it I don’t actually give a lot of books 1 or 2 stars because I tend to DNF books that I don’t like and I don’t rate books if i don’t finish them, so most of the books that I end up finishing and rating end up being 3 or above

[@ruhihoque631]

For me, 5 stars = loved it, 0 or barely any flaws & emotionally pulled me 4 stars = really liked it or loved it w/a few flaws 3 stars = it was ok or disappointing, didn’t like or dislike it 2 stars = disliked it 1 star = hated it

[@mayfia]

For me it's 5 stars: Obsessed!! A book I won't stop talking about 4 stars: Loved it 3 stars: Mediocre/Forgettable 2 stars: No substance 1 star: Dnfed

[@giulimarra]

Yesss! For me 3 stars is a good book but didn’t blow my mind or i expected more from it and didn’t get it but still enjoyed it overall. If it’s a first book in a series I’ll definitely going to pick up the sequel so that’s not bad!! we love moral grey characters so let’s start love grey ratings people

[@HorseLover3061]

My rule if thumb is if the rating is lower then 3.5 i wont physically buy the book ill borrow it from the library. But ive also read books that have over a 4 stars and ive HATED it so!! 😊 great video!

[@StarsAboveJess]

My ratings are: 5 Star - Absolutely so good, completely loved it 4 Star - It was good but a couple flaws I couldn’t overlook 3 Star - Average, nothing super special or particularly terrible, just mediocre 2 Star - It was bad but had something I enjoyed 1 Star - It was absolutely horrible, didn’t enjoy it at all

[@JoanaSousaReads]

This video was 5 stars ;) I loved it. For me it's like this: 5 stars - wowed me, loved it! I know it is not perfect but I personally loved it. 4 stars - great book. some stuff was not great but generally speaking i really enjoyed it. 3 stars - good, not great. not memorable. fun but nothing special. 2 stars - promising but poorly executed. disappointing compared to an exciting premise. 1 star- hate it

[@ReadsWithKesara]

I completely agree. Though honestly, I feel like sometimes I feel like if you say even one negative thing about a book, people are like "I'm sorry you didn't like it..." even if I rated it 5 stars.

[@HannahCassieBooks]

Ah I love this! And I agree, I also rate books completely based on my feelings and if the book spoke to me and somehow I actually expect same from others. Like for example King of Scars really spoke to me so I gave it 5 starts but when you gave bit less I never assumed it means you think the book is rubbish but just that it didn't speak to you as much and you wanted different things than what was in it :)

[@RescuesandReads]

I think the reason I typically view 3-Star ratings as more bad than good, is because for me, those are very forgettable. I will remmber 2.5 and below because there are such glaring issues in those books or they made me so angry to the point I will remember. Same for 4 and above on the opposite end. 3-stars are very "meh" and I will likely forget most everythig about it, which to me, is a negative. But I do agree that if I rate a book a 3, doesn't mean I hated it, not at all. But it will not be one I talk about often or recommend or even remember. And yed, a lot of my ratings fall in that middle ground because I am stingy with my higher ratings. Lol

[@Clamfaced]

I tend to prefer rating books out of 10 than 5. Most other things like games seemed to be rated out of 10. I just feel like I end up with a better range. I mean a big downside I find to 10 scale is that sometimes ratings can be skewered like 6/10 seems bad just due to the huge numbers, stuff like that, it seems with out of 10 stuff these days, 7/10 has become the new 5/10 which I find weird? But why I like it so much is that with stars and stuff its like, 3 books can be 4 stars but like each book be clearly MILES better than the other one, but its like, I can't make Book A be a 3.5 stars because it's not, its a 4 star read, but its nowhere near as good as book B and C but they're not 5 star reads either. But like with a 10 scale I can be like, Book A is an 8/10, Book B is an 8.5 and Book C is a 9, and I dunno, I feel better about it personally cause I feel I'm ranking stuff better? Cause I feel I can have thumbs up 3 star reads, and thumbs middle 3 star reads and stuff.

[@Kim_Possible.]

I wish Goodreads would let us do 1/2 star ratings, because that way it would really be on a 10 star scale. For example, if I think a book deserves 3.5/5 stars (70%), on Goodreads I have to decide whether it's closer to a 3 or a 4 and so my ratings are not true representations.

[@Shaegeeksout]

We rate very similarly! I read a lot of in between. 💖💖💖 Thanks for making this video! I rate more books 4 stars than 5.

[@AnnaStarseedOracle]

For me I relate it to grades, 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F, so 3 is still good, but it's pretty average.

[@allegraalberoni]

1 star: hated it and regret reading it 2 stars: I didn't like this. some of it was definitely good, but I wouldn't read it again or recommend it. mediocre and meh books also apply. 3 stars: anything between ok and good. no hard feelings, just vibes. I will recommend it if you ask me about it. 4 stars: really good, I will recommend it. 5 stars: new favorite, it's my most subjective rating. i could give a book 4 stars in the beginning and then change it to 5 months later, because i feel especially fond to it and realize it made a big impact on me (for example, 6 of crows).

[@Kayla-rj9lr]

I am not a teacher but I, hypothetically, like to go into every book as if it were a story turned in by a student and I associate my 5-star rating system to the A+-F school rating scale: 5= A+ 4.5=A 4= B+ 3.5= B 3= C+ 2.5= C 2= D+ 1.5= D 1= F Think of it like this: are C average students failures? No. They are okay/average. 5 star is excellent, a C or 3 star is average, below average is below a C/3 star, and a 1 star is failure, and some books go straight to DNF. This is really helpful to me b/c it is much easier to associate a book with a grade scale that I'm used to rather than 1-5. I also care about world-building, plot, writing style etc too, but when I am reading a book I can just feel and compare it to other books I've rated and give it a rating based on this scale.

[@Stefaneedee]

How DARE you come strolling in here using logic about 2.5 being half of 5 and that a 3 star book isn't bad. THE NERVE! :) All kidding aside, well said on the messed up star system. Keep up the great videos

[@leahrosereads]

My rating is relatively like yours. I'm re-reading some books that I LOVED when I was 14-16 or so, and at 31 they're still hitting my nostalgia feels but they're not as perfect as I remembered them. I still like them, I'd still recommend them, but they're not perfect books. Probably have more flaws than not. Boom they've hit my 3 star range of books.

[@jitterbugbear]

I try not to use the half stars so I'm always giving books 3 or 4. Very VEEERY rarely do I read an actual 5 star or 1 star book!! I started DNF'ing books last year (bc who wants to suffer through a book when you could be reading smth good lol) and now it's like, 1-star equals a DNF. Those books that are bad but I can still finish get 2 stars, 3 stars is okay cool liked it -territory, 4 stars is amazing-but this-one-thing-dropped-it-down-a-notch and 5 stars is perfect!

[@christinag2420]

My rating system is very simple. Since goodreads doesn't allow half stars I don't use that but that's just a me thing. 5: absolutely loved it. A new favorite 4: really liked it. Probably a new favorite but not always 3: It was okay, I still liked it but I don't feel very strongly about it. 2: disliked it 1: hated it

[@kopratic]

For me, a 3 star book is either pretty average all the way through, *or* I really disliked some aspects but loved others. A 3.5-ish star book that I would definitely recommend is Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. It's the first in her Eternal Sky trilogy, based around Mongolian lore and culture. Other ratings: 5 - loved pretty much everything 4 - highly enjoyed but not enough to push it to a 5-star ... 2 - didn't care for it, but I'd understand why others might like it 1 - dislike, would not recommend to anyone

[@fifitrixibooks4117]

Agree!!! Thank you!!! I sum up a three star read like this: fun to read but I probably won’t re-read. My four and five star books I regularly think about re-reading! If it’s 1-2 stars I don’t keep it in the house! Xxx

[@nomdeplume1358]

5 stars - I fucking loved it. I actually don't rate that many books 5 stars anymore. Of the 50 or so books I read in 2018 only about 6 of them got a 5 stars rating. 4 stars - This is for books I really liked and really enjoyed but I had some problems with. A lot of the books I read tend to fall in the 3.5 - 4 stars bracket. 3 Stars - This is for books that I did enjoy but I think fell flat in some areas or didn't quite meet my expectations or just weren't that memorable. Keep in mind that these are books that I enjoyed but just kind of disappointed me. 2 stars - Books that I disliked though I thought had some potential or some redeeming qualities. 1 star - Books that are downright garbage

[@Kim_Possible.]

For me, 3 stars is middle of the road. I'm so used to the Goodreads scale of 1-5, with 3 being the median.

[@WatchThatDene]

I've always thought each star was roughly equal to a Letter Grade: 5 Stars (A), 4 Stars (B), 3 Stars (C), 2 Stars (D), 1 Star (F), making 3 Stars a passable C grade: good, but room for improvement. Personally, I tend to grade based on the emotional impact of the book, so I grade lots of enjoyable books 3 Stars because, though I enjoyed them, they won't necessarily "stay" with me and I probably wouldn't re-read them. My feeling is a book has to work for it to get a 5 st. (A) or 4 st. (B).

[@RekindledBibliophile]

Book rating is definitley subjective. Most people will have a similar process in how they choose their ratings, but it will still be unique to each individual. For me it goes like this: ⭐️ = This is just a bad book. These are books that I'm likely to DNF because I disliked them so much and/or found them so annoying. There's huge flaws with the writing, plot, characters etc. I wouldn't reccommend this book or re-read it. ⭐️⭐️ = A below average read. These are books that I was able to finish because they're short or have one particularly redeeming quality, but overall they're not a pleasurable reading experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ = A good book that I liked reading but that didn't wow me. The reading experience with these books is pretty mixed, there'll be parts I really liked and others I really disliked. Generally, these are the books that I can see are objectively good but that for whatever reason didn't speak to me directly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = A really, really likeable book that I enjoyed and would re-read. These are books that are often on my favourites list; I like the writing, the plot, the world-building and the characters, but there's just a few niggling issues that impact my overall enjoyment of the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = An gosh darn amazing book that hit me in all the feels and that I couldn't put down because I loved it so much. Emotions definitley play a huge part in how I rate my book. Part of my rating will be objective and based on the quality of the book, but it's mostly determined by how I FELT whilst reading that book and how much I enjoyed it.

[@kaitieskates]

Agreed. 3 is fine. Not necessarily the best but above average if you will. As you said, it's subjective so maybe there are elements that you just don't click with or the focus of the book is not something you know or care much about. And I like that...most days of your life are 3-3.5...not the most memorable but fine, pretty good days.

[@Sky-fz7ku]

I don’t really do half stars, so here are my stages of thoughts that can make me choose a rating. 5🤩-love it, obsessed, couldn’t put down, new favorite, maybe it has flaws but I’ll ignore it all because I have some strong feelings. 4- really enjoyed it, favorite, maybe even love it but there is something missing or holding me back from adoring every aspect of it 3-liked it, it’s a fine book, just okay, could have been better but it’s not bad, I can still enjoy a lot of the book but I just think there was something missing, it didn’t bring out strong emotions it’s good, sometimes I’ll even rate books 3 if I didn’t really like it but I feel like it’s me and not the book, the book has merit but it doesn’t fit my taste. Yadda yadda 2- I didn’t like this book, there are a lot of flaws, usually having to do with writing/plot holes/didn’t feel like a full story yadda yadda 1-hated it, I only read it because it was so bad I couldn’t put it down, train wreck, I don’t know how this could be enjoyable, usually these are books that look like they never had an editor. 0/DNF- I know I won’t enjoy it so I don’t want to waste my time, it’s taken me a week to read 3 chapters and it’s not because I’m busy, I’m zoning out while reading and getting frustrated or angry with the book, I’m picking out flaws and I’m only a few chapters in 🤣 I don’t tend to rated books below a 3 stars, not because I’m opposed to it, I just don’t tend to read overly horrible books I guess? I also tend to put books down I’m not loving (not necessarily as a DNF, more as a “I’ll come back later this isn’t holding my attention), and even if I don’t particularly like A book I won’t rate it 2 stars because a lot of times I think someone else could enjoy it, but it’s just not for me 💁🏻

[@Ashely56]

My way of rating 5: Yes,Yes,Yes to the favorites Shelf 4:I really like it 3:it was a pretty good book it just didn't speak to me on a really emotional level or I wasn't attached to most of the characters emotional 2: ehh it was alright,at least it go towards my yearly goodreads goal 1: Ugh I regret reading this

[@katiestewart7926]

My ratings: 5 star: made me feel all the feelings, loved it 4 star: I enjoyed it 3 star: it was fine. 2 star: didn't like it, but had something redeeming about it . 1 star: was bored, or the book was poorly written and had issues. I base my ratings on personal enjoyment, so sometimes I rate a book lower even though it's objectively a good book, I just didn't like it, so i would recommend it to others if ibaheard them talking and the book had elements that they would like.

[@DisgruntledAlchemist]

I'm mostly baffled by the reviewers who DNF a book but still give it 2 stars. If it was so bad that you couldn't finish it, shouldn't it get 1 star? Or since you didn't finish it, can you really rate it at all?

[@LiteraryStoner]

My rating scale is fairly similar. 3 and up means I enjoyed the book, to varying degrees. 3 isn't bad, it means I liked it. It was decent, fairly entertaining, probably had some issues with it but overall I still liked it. 3.5 stars means I very much enjoyed it. I might not say "I loved it!" and it's not a new favorite but I thouroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it. Nearly every time I see a 3.5 star review it seems so negative and even people apologizing for not liking it and being so disappointed with it. If I actually don't like a book it certainty isn't getting 3.5 stars. In a nutshell for me it's: 5 stars- loved it, favorite, gush

[@bri7949]

5- absolutely loved/ made me feel everything 4- really good but maybe I wasn’t as invested 3- okay/ wasn’t terrible to read but I wasn’t flying through it or excited to pick it back up 2- books pretty boring but wasn’t the worst thing maybe it had a good character or two 1- honestly the worst I think I’ve only rated two books 1 star and it was the cursed child and this random cover buy I usually rate first of the series books 3/2 stars and will continue because world building ya know and most of my books used to be 4 but as I’ve gone along and started being harsher most of them are 3

[@jenniferpeterson530]

I agree so much with this! Very similar to how I rate my books. Sometimes a 3* read is needed, I can get overly emotionally stimulated if I read to many 4 and 5 star books that have an emotional impact on me. For me a 3 star book is just a fun read, a palette cleanser or even just a guilty pleasure. It’s definitely NOT bad.

[@prangprang13]

For me, I’ve stopped rating my books early last year because I found that my scale slid up and down depending on the book. I would too often just leave the rating and never jot down my thoughts after finishing, so sometimes I try to come back to a book and don’t remember how I felt. I look at the star rating and feel like it doesn’t tell me much, and on top of that, I come back to books I gave a certain rating and find that I’ve changed my mind. It was overall really not helpful for me because I’m someone who likes remembering what I thought of a book. I think too with the star rating I tried really hard to be “objective,” and that never worked because I always end up calling four star books favorites (not that they can’t be, but somehow I call four stars All Time Faves but forget about the five stars months later). It felt really inconsistent, so I stopped. Now I just read books and think about what I liked vs. didn’t like and if I’d recommend it to someone. (there’s also a weird thing with pressure where people will come at you for rating a book a certain way and try to tell you how you feel based on the number)

[@RobotMaria]

2½ stars isn't actually in the middle though...? I'm assuming we're talking about a 1-5 scale, which is what Goodreads uses, and not a 0-5 scale. On a 1-5 scale (even when using half-stars) 3 is the middle, there's no way around that. My rating system reflects that fact in that I put 4-5 as a good rating, 1-2 as a bad rating and 3 as a neutral rating (neither good nor bad). I don't really use half-stars, but it would be essentially the same scale if I did. I find this to be the most balanced system to use.

[@hishamalhadithi5437]

You cant really hate a book ( most book are useful in some kind of way ) . my Star rating system : 1 star : it's a book and the writer put some effort into it . 2 stars : contains some good info and tips and that i finished reading it with content. 3 stars : igniting passion and feelings and put you in what i call dream reading mode . 4 stars : unforgettable characters and mind blowing story line or serious life tips and info. 5 stars: some serious life game changer and dangerous shit in life you never knew existed before!

[@amyr3293]

3 stars for me could be that I liked it but technically it wasn’t brilliant, or a book I didn’t really like but I recognise that there was nothing really wrong with it but it just wasn’t for me. It’s probably the most ambiguous rating for me.

[@nylorac1984]

3 star days are much appreciated when you think of the one star days. I agree with your assessment of middle of the road books. Sometimes I might be interested in a story and I just want to experience it. The story might be just good enough to enjoy. I think of it like food, a chip ahoy cookie isn't going to be served at a 5 star restaurant, but it might hit the spot, just like some books might hit the spot. Not all dessert came be creme Brule, and not all books will measure up to your favorites, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth reading.

[@LadyMcCrystal]

I think the canceled culture has created this black and white decision making or thought process. We are humans and everything we do has a grey zone. So I totally agree, 3 is not bad at all. It was like hey I enjoyed this book but it wasnt a masterpiece. 3 star books are still good but they leave room for growth but that doesnt mean they are bad! I like your comparison about the day. You are right! It really is true. It was just a good day but not great, you could relive the day and be content. I rate books so weird. I dont get technical. Did I enjoy it, ok 3. Did I enjoy it and it evoked emotion from me like a laugh out loud, a tug at the heart string, ect then 4. Did the book make me think about the characters all day and anticipate when I can read again, 5. If the story pulled me that hard that I wouldnt wait to get back to it, for sure 5. If I was bored most of it or wanted to just be done then it is a 2. If I literally cannot handle the book then 1.

[@Neverrgreen]

I completely agree with you that 3 stars is not a bad rating but for me 3 stars is middle. That's because 2.5 stars is only middle if you also use 0 and 0.5 star ratings, which most people do not. I have not, but now that I think on it there are a few books I should give below a 1 star. Also the 3 stars is a bad rating also comes from watching people you don't trust. I stop watching people that always give out 5 stars because it's not useful as there is no nuance there. If that person gives a book less than 5 stars it signals that they really didn't like it but don't want to say as much which leads me to not trust there reviews. It's why i like your reviews - nuanced and trusted.

[@ida-mariamyntti]

3 stars: A good book, would read more from the author or next books in the series but it wasn’t the greatest thing ever. 2 stars: Would not read more from the author or the next book in the series. The book was mostly just disappointing. That is my borderline for good and bad book. And I think it works well. A 3 star book is not a bad book!

[@ThePinkSkully]

I often give 3 star ratings. I find too much society has gone to "omg I love it" over everything. I like 3 star books but they didn't blow me away. To me, 5 star is a book that blew me out of the water - like Gone with the Wind. That is a 5 star all the way

[@MontSe1001]

To me 3 stars mean I liked it well enough but it wasn't anything mindblowing. No particular emotional pull. Mostly an entertaining read but not enough for me to want to pick it up again.

[@LynnetteReads]

So agree with you. My personal rating sysrem is 5 - wow this book was the best I am blown away, 4 - this book was great and I will probably reread it some time if I cannot find anything else, 3 - this was a good book I enjoyed it but I doubt tge story will stay with me for long, 2 - there was something about this book that I just didn't enjoy but I could overlook it and finish, 1 - I was unable to finish it usually because I couldn't connect with the authors writing style.

[@animalobsessed1]

For me, a 5 star book is an absolute masterpiece, but even a 4 star book is something I absolutely loved. The difference is just that on the 4 star book, there are some things that I can easily point out, where I would have preferred them to be different. 3 stars is just a good book, but nothing I'm really emotionally invested in.

[@demy4024]

My personal theory about this is that people tend to rate the books right after they finish them when they’re riding the high the book gave them.(either good or bad) That’s why they tend to give out rating on the furthest sides of the spectrum more freely and that’s fine if you read for enjoyment only, but I expect a more objective rating from someone who reviews and recommends books.

[@StellaPlayss]

A 3 star for me was fun, worth reading, but had some flaws or wasn’t something lll remember. I very rarely give 1 or 2 stars because I tend to dnf those books.

[@imperatrice211]

I rate books pretty much the same way you do and there are definitely many books I've really enjoyed that I only gave 3 or 3,5 stars because they had issues :)

[@moirabriggs258]

My rating scale is kind of weird, so my 3 star reads are often negative reviews for me. I give books 3 stars if they were very ‘meh’, or if I didn’t like it, but think I’m an outlier.

[@Nataliecj]

When I rate something 3 stars it means that I liked it, it was fine, and there was nothing actively terrible about it but I wouldn't reread it probably. I find 3 star reads the most frustrating. Like with books I hate, at least I can go on a good rant about it but 3 stars is time wasted on a book with no real pay-off. I suppose the reaction of "omg you rated something 3 stars, you didn't like it!" comes when you expect a person to love a book and they don't. Or that a book is really hyped and consistently gets 4 or 5 stars and someone rates it 3, it looks bad in comparison even though a 3 usually means the person liked it, if not loved it.

[@liiana]

For me a 3 stars book it's just an okay or "meh" book, one that I enjoyed (more or less) but I didn't think it was memorable. It definitely doesn't mean that I hated it, if that was the case I would've given it one star lol I usually give 2 stars to books that I didn't quite enjoy but thought that had some good points, and one star is just a book that I didn't like at all and wouldn't recommend to anyone.

[@ttauh]

Yesss, I love seeing people talk about this! There are definitely people who rate most of the books they read 4-5 stars and if it's something they don't seem to enjoy, they just give it 3 stars. Honestly, I don't trust reviews like that haha! For me every book is a 3 star book when I start to read it and as I go on, I either add more stars or take stars off of it, depending on how I feel about it. That way it's easy for me to rate books because 3 stars is still good, it's average. Also, a 3 star book for me is good enough to continue a series or reread the book.

[@desertrose0601]

I definitely agree. The five stars are there to be used. Three stars is right in the middle. Means the book was enjoyable but not your favorite and also not something you disliked. Conversely I’ve seen reviews that were scathing and you could tell that the reader really hated it and then they also gave it 3 stars. So... that’s a thing. 😂 I feel like some people just think it’s mean to rate a book lower than three stars... which means they automatically will view any three star reviews as being something you hated. Never mind that most people I don’t think ignore those last two stars on the scale. I wouldn’t worry about it. Your system makes sense to sane people. 😜

[@MariaMightReadThat]

It's so interesting to hear how people approach ratings! For me, I agree that 3 star books are not bad reads but I usually don't find myself recommending them much because they tend to be forgettable/meh.

[@saraisreading4231]

I wonder if people just don't spend as much time talking about three star books on the internet. The 1 stars and 5 stars are the books that come up in every tag, the three star books get mentioned in a wrap up and then never again a lot of times. (This isn't a criticism, I'm definitely more likely to talk with my friends about a book that I loved or hated instead of a book that I just thought was pretty good.

[@KeepCalmwithBooksandCoffee]

I'll be honest when I rate books 3 or 4 stars I'm still happy with the books. However, when other people rate books 3 stars I find that bad for some reason. I've noticed this about myself and tried to look more widely at reviews when I feel that way to see if I think the book will be for me or not. It is a weird thing though. I wish I didn't feel that way and I don't quite know why I do.

[@martha7157]

For me I rate things a 3 if I enjoyed it fine but there was nothing amazing or special just enjoyable and fine 🤔

[@She-wolf3636]

This is why I need to read/watch someone's review. I can't take the star rating at star rating at face value.

[@emmajoseph2603]

Love this! Most books for me are In between! It’s normal!

[@spicybookslady6922]

I agree 100% with you. 3 stars for me is a good book and I will talk about it in a good way.

[@noaaa7]

5: loved it. 4: liked it. 3: it was ok. 2: didn't like it. 1: hated it.

[@megxnmarie]

Love this video! I always like hearing how people rate their books.

[@maud375]

That was an important video. Thanks.

[@LittlePrairieLibrary]

Fricken preach!! 🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@booktalkwithrae]

I agree with you 100%

[@SweeneySays]

BIG AGREE.

[@scrollsofdragons362]

Even a two star isn't bad.

[@vivianwakoff]

I'm wondering if this video has anything to do with your review of King of Scars... (not trying to cause trouble or anything. I'm really curious because of the timing of both your review and this video.) Anyway, it's a shame you have to explain what, in my opinion, is kind of obvious. 3 out of 5 is pretty good!

[@ThoughtsOnTomes]

oh I flat out said in my tweet that inspired this video that it was inspired by goodreads reactions to my KoS rating lol

[@yesno6700]

I mean 2.5 isn’t the middle number in a scale of 1-5 though? the middle number on a 1-5 scale is 3 since (even account for half star ratings) it has equal amount of ratings on each side of 3 on the scale? 2.5 is actually lower than halfway

[@ThoughtsOnTomes]

eh I guess in this case I technically count 0 as a rating since that's what I review books that I DNF which is lower than a 1 so 2.5 is still halfway

[@zoereads1125]

I love your nails!

[@MortMe0430]

I feel like the stigma of average or 3 star ratings doesn't speak to quality so much as sales / resulting publicity. Like 4-5 stars are going to generate hype for people who follow that reviewer, and 1 or 2 stars might get attention and get people reading out of curiosity or a desire to hate-read. But average-rated books have more risk of disappearing into the void of unknown ( and underselling) books - not widely popular, and not so bad as to be infamous. Second note, how the heck does anyone put in half-stars on goodreads? When I go to rate a book it seems like whole stars are the only choices.

[@onelius]

Unfortunately, there's no half-stars on goodreads. Some people specify their ratings in the review, like put 3 stars in the stars but write below it that they actually think it's 3.5 stars, etc.

[@KristynRene.]

Do you rate DNF’d books??? If so, I’m curious how you rate them...

[@ThoughtsOnTomes]

I don't really. I want to. But I never do because I want to be able to rate them and I can't rate a book that I haven't read personally.

[@thebookwormmum4642]

Yes!!! This is so true x

[@thoughtsofkatie5592]

THIS THIS THIS

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

YES I FEEL YOU ON THE 3 STAR STATS

[@WildeBookGarden]

Ooh interesting! I definitely think there needs to be more appreciation of nuances in rating. For me though, I don't often recommend 3 star books (although 3.5 are fair game) because for me that rating means "it was fine, I liked it, but if I could go back in time and read something else I would." 3 stars are generally unmemorable books for me, which to me is closer to the "bad" side of ratings (even though I know mathematically that doesn't quite work) because there are so many books I'm excited to read that I don't enjoy spending time on something that is nothing special. I hear a lot of people saying most ratings should end up in 3 star territory but I feel like as I read more I'm actually getting to know my tastes more so my average rating SHOULD be going up. I guess that could change in the future once I feel like I've nailed every single one of my preferences, but I'd be pretty disappointed if I thought I'd be reading a majority of 3 star books for every year of my life.---although this does balance out with me getting more critical of books I read, so I don't think my average rating is going to be making any drastic jumps :)

[@doctorwhat6751]

Agree!

[@agentswarley]

Me personally I use the scale suggested by goodreads: 1=didn’t like it 2=it was okay 3=liked it 4=really liked it 5=it was amazing

[@queendsheena1]

5- So amazing! 4- Really good 3- It's okay/liked it 2- underwhelming 1- hated it. Three stars are okay to me. How to do you go from 5 is amazing to three is thrash? Is one star the story from hell? I really loved your explanation for your four and three stars ratings. Thanks for discussing this.

[@sydneyellison1655]

5- I loved this so much (maybe not perfect but I loved it) 4- I really enjoyed it but there were a few things I didn’t like 3- Decent-just alright... not the worst; might carry on if it’s a series 2- Didn’t like 1- hated it