How I rate the books I read

Since this is my first post for the ‘Books & Music’ review category, I thought it would be best I explained my rating process for the books I read, since that is what I will be writing about in later posts.

Before I begin this post, I’d just like to mention that I am in no way an expert on books and I really admire anyone who has written a book, since that is a dream of mine and I haven’t gotten around to it yet..hahah. So the reviews in this category will just be my opinion, and if you decide to follow me or my blogs, do let me know if you agree with my rating for the book reviews I write about and if you have any recommendations for me as well!

So, here’s the very simple way I rate the books I read and I will be using the same ratings on the Goodreads review I post for the books I read as well.

• 5 Stars – It would be really rare that I give a book 5 star rating, unless it supersedes the Harry Potter series maybe..lol! I would rate a book 5 Stars if the story was amazing, the book made me smile or cry, the book taught me something that lasted with me for a very long time and the book was unputdownable
• 4 Stars – If I really enjoyed a book, you will mostly see me rating it under 4 stars, which would be quite similar in terms of the emotional learnings I received from the book. This would be a book I will usually recommend to readers as well
• 3 Stars – If the book has a good story, or a good underlying message that I was able to think about and discuss in a book club, but had a few shortfalls- say, in terms of continuity of the story, or the way it ended, or if it had a few open ended questions, or very complicated writing, or touched on subjects or humor that I did not find very appealing, I will rate it 3 stars. This is a book I would recommend with a few caveats to fellow readers
• 1 & 2 Stars – Similar to the 4 and 5 Star conundrum, if you see me rate a book a 2 Star (since it is very rare you’ll find me rate someone a single star), it means, I’ve had a really bad experience with the book. Either the story was too simple, or there was no message for me, or I wasn’t able to relate to it in anyway, or the humor was too crass/discriminating- you get the drill. This is a book I will regret picking up and will definitely not recommend

So, there you go! What are your ways to rate books? Do you have a more specific way of rating you use? Would love to hear your views as well 🙂