Mundie Moms

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thoughtful Thursday- Star Ratings or No Ratings

Sophie and I have talked about this for awhile now about whether or not we should continue with star ratings. We see the pros and cons of star ratings and no star ratings. Lately we've done a mixture of reviews were we've kept up with our star ratings and on some we've left off star ratings. I am personally little torn on ratings. To keep this post short, here's two pros I see with both a rating system and a no rating system.

The Pros of Star Ratings:
*I like that star ratings system isn't just used by bloggers but any big review site like Amazon, Goodreads, and even Barnes & Noble for example. I'll admit I've been really bad about adding my reviews to B&N's site. With that aspect of rating I like that the ratings are all the same no matter which site you visit. Most people know 5 stars means you love and 1 means don't even bother picking up the book.
*I loved using a 5 point rating to express the fact that I either loved the book, really liked, thought it was good, okay or didn't like it at all, when I first starting blogging. Since then, it's just become a norm for me, though 5 stars has sense meant not only do I love the book, but it's one I'll read again.
The Pros of No Star Ratings:

* I like that I can just write my review without having to feel I need to label it with a "I loved this book" or "I really liked it". I think my feelings for the book are evident in my review.

* After using ratings for so long, I kind of what to break away from the norm and not rate books. Why can't it just be I either liked the book or I didn't.


I'm curious, do you like star ratings or do you like writing a review with out having to worry about what rating you'd give it? Do you like reading a review with star ratings? Do yourself use a rating system? Do star ratings effect your decision on whether or not you'll pick up the book?

25 comments:

  1. I hadn't really thought about it before, but now that you brought it up, I do actually prefer not to give a star rating. Sometimes I'll give a book 2 stars and really not like it at all, but found it to have some technical aspects I enjoyed. Other times, I find I give the same rating for a story I liked, but the writing wasn't very impressive. I think ratings are a little misleading and force us to say whether a book is good or bad, when maybe it's neither.

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  2. I stopped giving star ratings a year or so ago ... I find I'm a more thoughtful reviewer, and talk more about the things I found interesting about a given book, if I'm not worrying about also figuring out what sort of rating it deserves.

    Also, since I tend to be a hard grader (for me, a five star book has to pretty much be one that changed my life or that seems so perfect I'll want to read and reread it forever), I feel like star ratings distract from my thoughts about books and can make it seem like I enjoyed them less, or disliked them more, than I did--they're so rigid that they give a skewed view.

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  3. i personally, like the star rating. while i don't put too much weight in the rating alone, it certainly helps me decide if its something that i should look into more. or if i'm having a hard time deciding if i want to invest in a series, it will help me get a feel for how the series as a whole is, without having to read the full review for later books (as i'm really strict about any type of spoilers for myself). i can think of two in particular where seeing your ratings has swayed me into series that i love.

    for me, it just helps me decide quicker. i tend to be indecisive, and sometimes just need a little nudge one way or another.

    and, on the other hand, i can see where putting one label on a book can be difficult.

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  4. I like ratings, I think it solidifies what you're trying to explain in your review. Like you explain you feel okay about a kind of book and discuss the merits and faults, and then you consider everything and give a rating based on how much you enjoyed it.

    Also, I like to go back to books sometimes to see if I'd like the sequel and seeing my star rating reminds me of how much I liked it. I try to be kind in reviews while saying what's important so while I could read my review again, I rely more on ratings.

    I never say to just not pick up a book because I agree books are complex and what doesn't work for me may work for someone else. Ratings should be considered but the review is more important.

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  5. I like the star rating. It helps be filter what I'm going to read first. In all honesty, if it rates a 2 or below, I probably won't read it.

    I have to rely on the review and rating because my time is limited. I make a list of all the books you review and put the star rating next to them. When it's time to pick up a new book, the books with a 5 or 4 are the first ones I would invest my time in.

    I'm grateful that you take the time out to let us know what was a good/great read. Granted, it's not an exact science and there might be a chance I won't love a book you did, but til now, you have not steered me wrong.

    Thanks!

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  6. I admit that I've thought about it. Still have mixed thoughts about it, though. I'll be interesting to see what happens here.

    StuckInBooks.com

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  7. ddpjclaf - I completely agree with your comment. There's been times I've not liked the book as a whole, but I've found something I did like about it to give a 2 star rating.

    Janni- I agree about the 5 star rating. This year I changed on feelings for 5 star books and 4.5-5 ratings are only giving to a book I'd re-read again, not saying I won't on 4 star books, but higher ratings are for books I absolutely loved. I love your point about ratings being distractions. I've felt the same way. I feel like the ratings take away from reviews.

    Anonymous- Thank you for your comments! That is one of the plus sides to ratings. I've been swayed before as well with reviewers ratings.

    P.E.- Thank you for those great comments! I sometimes wonder if I re-read a certain book I read a year or so ago and loved if I'd give it the same rating I did when I first read it. There's also been times I've written my review and once I put my feelings into words I've given the book a higher rating after I realized I did like the book more than I thought.

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  8. Mags- Thank you so much for your comments! I can't tell you how much appreciate hearing that. I do the same, if I see other reviewers who have giving 4 & 5 star ratings to a book, I put them first on my list.

    StuckInBooks- I'm still torn on ratings as well. There's pros and cons to both.

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  9. I'm on the fence on this one. I like star ratings but I also like reviews without them that just get to what worked and what didn't, in the end that's what really matters.

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  10. I am a big fan of star ratings - especially on this blog. I have loved every single book that I have read that has been rated as 4, 4.5, or 5 stars on this blog. I am so glad that I found this blog because I have come to trust your ratings. When I have run out of things to read, I go to your 5, then the 4.5, then the 4 star labels to find another book/series to try. I will say that the reviews that don't have ratings are kind of a let down for me because it is hard to decide quickly whether the book is worthwhile. The starred rating is especially useful when I see a book recommendation elsewhere (like goodreads) and come here to find the rating. Your review of The Tale of Lunarmorte series is the sole reason I am currently reading and LOVING it!

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  11. I like star ratings. Star ratings help me decide if I want to take the time to read a review since there are so many of them with all the blogs I follow. If something is only 1 or 2 stars (unless I've seen a higher rating somewhere else), I'll usually not take the time to read the review and I'll usually just skip over that book.

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  12. I gotta say, I really like the star ratings. Sometimes when I look at books I don't have time to read all of the reviews (ex: as with goodreads) so I just look at the ratings as I scan down. Without a rating I would have no idea if it was a good book or not and it would take forever to read every review. Plus, unlike you guys, who write GREAT reviews, not everyone does and they can be confusing with what they are trying to say. Sometimes I still don't know in the end if they liked it or not..lol.

    I've found that I'm much more likely to check out a review (on a regular site or blog) if they DO have a star rating.

    :)

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  13. I really like star ratings. I feel like a lot of reviews I read tell me about all the positives and negatives, but it isn't until I see the star rating that I feel like I really know how much they liked it.

    Also, and I know this is the reason some don't want to use them, sometimes I just look at the star rating if I'm in a hurry. I don't always have time to read a huge review, so the star ratings really help me to get a feel for what people are liking/not liking. And, honestly, if people don't use a star rating, I usually skip their review, or I only read the last paragraph, which is where everyone sums up their thoughts. haha. (not yours of course :)

    There is one blog in particular that I feel like since she's stopped using star ratings, all her reviews are generic and sound exactly the same. I have no idea how she really feels about the books anymore. So, I've quit reading them.

    That's just me, tho!! I'm not very patient when it comes to reading. (This coming from someone who writes a book every time she leaves a comment)

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  14. Your star ratings have aided in my decisions on whether or not to give a book a try. I enjoy reading the book reviews on this site (and I've seen them posted on Amazon's site as well) and although reading the summary of the book, along with your review helps, the star rating is the clincher for me. It helps me decide if I really want to spend my time reading a certain book or not, and since I have four children, the minuscule free time on my hands needs to be spent wisely.

    So yes, I'm all pro star ratings and I sincerely hope you ladies will continue on with that type of rating system in the future. :)

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  15. I personally like the star ratings. I get a better idea of how much the reviewer liked the book. also on sites like GoodReads, i am always interested on the star rating. I would say that I am pro star rating and suggest that you keep using it.

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  16. Heather- That's exactly what Sophie and I have talked about too.

    Kayla- THANK YOU so much for your comment!! I really appreciate knowing how our ratings have helped you decide on books. Enjoy the Lunarmorte series! It's fabulous.

    Jessica- I do the same thing. Even though I'm on the fence w/ ratings, I always look at the highest ratings when I'm on goodreads.

    Andye- I agree with your comments. One of the things I like about the ratings is being able to tell if a book is positive or negative. Like you, I've come to rely on star ratings and reviews of other bloggers and I can totally trust their judgements with books.

    CrimsonInk- Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. That's great to know that the star rating helps make your decision. Thank you!

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  17. Larissa- Thank you so much for your comments!


    THANK YOU to everyone for your comments. You guys have been my deciding factor with continuing to use star ratings!! :D

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  18. I understand why lots of people prefer star ratings since it gives readers a visual idea of whether or not the reviewer liked something they read. (And it's sometimes easier looking at the rating than the actual review, lol.)

    But I don't like how restrictive ratings are; I stopped using them a while ago because I realized that reading a book once, pasting a number on it and then never looking at it again isn't the best way to express how much you liked (or didn't like) something. It really depends on how you read a book and of course how you are at the moment you read it. This is why I usually wait after finishing a book so I can really see how I felt about it and THEN write out a review for it. I've reread books where at first I either LOVE it or dislike it intensely and then try reading it again only to find that I liked it much more the second time around (or wondered why the heck I liked the book so much in the first place!). It's like that saying goes: you don't read books, books read YOU.

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  19. I never used star ratings on my blog, but I used to on GoodReads (I've since removed them). I didn't want to offend any authors with a low rating and I didn't want low ratings to deter others from reading a book. I also just didn't think a star rating could accurately express my overall opinion on a book.

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  20. I have to say that I feel you should keep the star ratings. I know some people, unfortunately, will just look at the star ratings instead of actually reading the review (can be seen as a pro or a con) but also some people may have read enough of your reviews and trust you enough to just go off of the stars. Also sometimes it may be vague on whether you liked the book or not based on your review because you liked certain aspects and disliked others so the rating system can given a definitive opinion. A suggestion that I have is if you do not like the star ratings because they are so restrictive than I suggest you use grades utilizing the +/- because it gives you more options. I love the site and definitely bookmarked it. I will be coming back here often whether or not you decide to keep the star ratings haha ;)

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  21. Sandy- that's a great point as well. I do feel that sometimes the ratings can make a review restrictive, especially when I review a book that I feel mixed about. I find it's easy to express my thoughts in the review, but I have a hard time rating it.

    DJ- That's the only hard thing w/ low ratings. Just because I didn't like, doesn't mean someone else won't. I don't like rating a book I didn't like, but I don't mind writing the review for it, because I can express why I didn't like it.

    book review websites- Thank you so much! I appreciate your comments tremendously.

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  22. Star ratings because when I want to read really good books, I can just go by the star rating

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  23. I don't like ratings. I don't use them on my blog, but I know people who do. I think that there's too much in a book, or there should be, to be able to give a cut and dry rating. I'd rather read what someone has to say about each part - the characterization, the plot, the relationships, etc. It's much more interesting and gets a conversation going more than a rating. Also, like some people have already said, ratings may be boosted by a certain part of a book, and there'd really be no point in reading that book without that part.
    On the flip side, though, I'd obviously be much more inclined to read a book with five stars than a book with one or two. However, I still don't use them :P

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  24. Star rating is one of the main reasons i choose to follow mundie mums. So I hope you're gonna keep it up ;)

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  25. I know I keep saying this, but Thank you for all your comments. I really appreciate all the feedback. Your comments about star ratings on Mundie Moms and really helped me making a decision to stick with our star rating system. THANK YOU!!

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