Background and Disclaimer:
First of all, I am not trained for this. I am simply relaying opinions as someone who reads a lot and enjoys it. And frankly, I truly enjoy a lot of books. I rarely read something and think it was a waste of time, even if it wasn’t the greatest work ever. I do read classics, but not exclusively so. I read primarily fiction, but not exclusively so.
When I see my friends’ GoodReads accounts, oftentimes they’re reading intense material – nonfiction, history, philosophy, etc. Occasionally I do as well, but to be honest, I’m reading primarily because I love the development of a story. The escape is self-indulgent, and I like it. I say all of this because I need you to realize I’m not claiming to be a literary critic. I will explain how I rate books next, but I am letting you know upfront that I just typically like books. It is a rare moment that I rate something below three stars.
Okay, if you’re still with me, this is how I rate books. I’m going to start with three stars and work up to 5.
Qualifications for a 3:
Basically, for three stars I’m asking, “Was this book worth the read?” This is why it’s rare a book goes below a three for me. Most times books offer new perspective or sufficient enjoyment that I think they were worth the read. Were there major flaws? For me, major flaws include a level of poor editing that interferes with my reading experience, major plot issues, a complete lack of character development, awkward or unrealistic dialogue, etc. Major flaws can push a decent story to a two for me. How compelling was the read? If the story is good enough to keep me going despite more mediocre language and character development, that’s definitely a point in the pro column.
Qualifications for a 4:
Beyond the enjoyment of a 3, work that qualifies as a 4 must offer more in the way of plot complexity, character development, quality imagery, thought-provoking themes, emotional candor, etc. A 4-star book need not excel at each of these. A 4 should be generally engaging. I don’t mind if it takes some time to really get into the book, but if I have to work a bit to get through and complete it, it probably won’t score this high for me.
Qualifications for a 5:
A 5 needs all of these things and more. I am stingy handing out 5s. While it’s rare that I’d rate a book lower than a 3, it is almost equally rare for me to award a 5. A book that qualifies as a 5, needs to move me. I need to remember it for years to come. The language must be beautiful. I love language. When I was a kid, I used to mouth books silently to myself because I liked the way it felt to say them. So for me to find a book truly excellent, the language needs to feel beautiful. To give you an example, this is one of the reasons I love F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work. The imagery is vivid, sometimes unexpected; the combinations of words are lovely. If a book really stuck with me, the story must have been pretty good, so that can be cause to go back and update (increase) a rating after the fact. Obviously, it’s not possible to use half star rankings on GoodReads itself, but I will probably offer myself that indulgence in this forum.
