I have been researching how books are rated and I have found that there really is no standard. It’s all very subjective. So to clarify what I mean when I give a book a star rating I wanted to share how I rate books.
Shall we dig right in?
A Five Star Book
A five-star book for me is one that I can’t put down. And if forced to, I can’t stop thinking about it until I can pick it up again. My rating really has nothing to do with the writing style or even the type of prose, it’s more about the story. I have read books that were so full of grammatical errors that it was almost unreadable but because of the story I just couldn’t put it down. Another thing that I take into consideration is whether or not I am slammed into a book hangover after I finish the last sentence. You know those books. The Romance novel that has you grinning two hours after you’ve read the last word. Or that Horror book that has you keeping the bathroom lights on all night long. I’m looking at you, Stephen King. These for me are the books that get a five-star rating, especially the ones that leave me tearing up weeks after I put them back on my shelf. Yes, I have brought five-star books to rock concerts. There is the time between bands, right? What books gave you a major book hangover? Let me know in the comments.
A Four Star Book
A four-star book for me is one that I can’t put down but it doesn’t stay on my mind when I have to leave it behind for an event. The book hangover is minimal and after a few hours I have moved on to the next book. We all have read these kinds of books, one minute you are devouring it like it’s the best book that has ever been written and you set it down to do some adulting like making dinner and you realize two days later that you haven’t picked the book back up. The reason for the four star is because while it’s not a five-star it’s oh so close in enjoyment level but it doesn’t stay with you.
A Three Star Book
For me, a three-star book for me is one that I enjoy reading but that’s about it. I like it but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
A Two Star Book
A two-star book is one that I didn’t like but I still felt compelled to finish it, That’s pretty much all I can say for that one.
A One Star Book
This rating has two parts for me. The first is a book that I DNFed, or did not finish. OR a book that not only did I DNF it but it slammed me into a reading slump. A reading slump is when you have absolutely no desire to read anything. This is the complete opposite of a book hangover. The DNF with BSlump is by far the worst for me because book slumps can last a few days up to a few months and for an avid reader…well that’s like being trapped in Azkaban.
How do you all rate your books? Let me know. Feel free to refer back to this list when reading my reviews.
Cheers,
Laurie