How I Rate A Book
I rate a book probably not much differently than how everyone else does:
1 is dreadful,
2 is mediocre
3 is acceptable,
4 is gratifying
5 is exceptional
I rate each book separately, on its own merit, and not in comparison to any other book and I rate each book AFTER I finish reading it. If a book is so awful that I decide not to finish it, I rate it as a zero. If I make it through a book, it at least gets a ‘1’.
Here is my rating scheme:
1 – This book was rough to plow through. I might have skipped through some of it. It did have some good spots, I think, but it’s now in the yard sale box.
2 – Part of me sort of liked this book, and it caught me up in its current a few times. For the most part, it kept my interest but I’ll never re-read it. It’ll go into the yard sale box.
3 – This is an OK book; I was left satisfied. It had its dull moments, its faults, its dry spots, but the current of the book was sufficient to carry me through them. You may like it better than I did. This book stays on my shelf, for now.
4 – This is a good book; I want more. It was well told and it connected with me. I will be telling friends and family about this book. It had some spots which were not to my tastes, but those were momentary, of no real consequence.
5 – Superb book. Wow. I just read from a master writer. I became emotionally and mentally entwined into this book. If there were faults I can’t remember them. I must have more. I really must read this book again.
Notice how I don’t directly rate the emotional response (laughing, crying, sighing, smiling, screaming) of a book. It’s because not all good books are equal in their ability, or intention, to create an emotional response.
To me… a good book is much like a good sandwich: it stirs up a sensation - it’s fresh, it’s savory, it’s soft in places, crunchy in places but all the ingredients stay together, work together, it ends with you wanting more, and you remember it for a long time afterwards, most importantly, it becomes a part of you.
