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Monday, August 29, 2016

The Book Blab: The Pros and Cons of Book Ratings (Episode 8 with Show Notes)

Oh hey! Here it is, Episode 8 of The Book Blab. Now that the Blab platform is officially dead (RIP, although I guess we're still keeping our name, for now), we experimented with Google Hangout on Air. There's no split screen here, which is super annoying, but at least it worked and our show lives for another month! This was a fun topic for us, and I hope you enjoy! Show notes below.





0:17 - Suzanne is having a girl!
1:33 - Today's topic: book ratings
2:20 - The two sides of the book ratings issue: do I judge books by their ratings? and how do I rate books?
3:18 - First issue: using ratings to judge books
  • 3:42 - Amy's opinion
  • 4:45 - Suzanne's opinion 
6:30 - The value of an actual review vs. just a starred rating
7:30 - Are there certain types of books that are more prone to 5-star ratings?
8:40 - Second issue: How Suzanne personally rates a book
10:40 - How the passage of time can change a rating (either higher or lower)
11:50 - How Amy personally rates a book
  • 12:55 - Is it the best in its genre? (in which Amy defends giving children's books five stars)
  • 15:05 - Was it personally significant and meaningful?
  • 16:25 -Was it an immersive reading experience? Was it pure pleasure? 
18:00 - Why rating a book can induce anxiety
19:20 - Different rating scales: 5 stars vs. 10 stars
21:45 - Beyond the starred rating (other rating systems we've seen)
24:18 - Buying a book warrants a 5+-star rating
26:25 - Two 5-star recommendation
  • 27:02 - Suzanne's recommendation
  • 28:36 - Amy's recommendation 
30:54 - Conclusion
Books and links mentioned in the show:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Amy's review)
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Suzanne's reviewBook Blab episode)
Book Riot: Buy, Borrow, Bypass
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (Suzanne's reviewAmy's review)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (Amy's review)

So, how do you guys feel about ratings? Do you have your own system for rating books? Would love to hear your thoughts!

1 comment:

  1. I just watched this. What a great topic! So, I do use the 5-star rating system--probably because I started out on Goodreads. I'm not very scientific. My rating tends to be a combination of my experience reading the book and whether or not I would read it again or recommend it to someone else. So, for example, 2 stars I probably will not re-read, but it was okay--I probably skimmed some of it. 3 stars, probably not re-read, but I liked it and would recommend it. 4-5 stars, really liked it or loved it, will probably re-read at some point, would recommend it.
    That being said, certain things can bring it up or down--content being a big one. Really good or really bad writing could also effect my rating. With those types of things though, I put my reasoning into the review so it's clear.

    Basically, my reviews and ratings are as much for me as anything. I have a terrible memory, and in a few years I may not remember the plot or whether or not I liked it. Just the stars mean nothing at that point. So yeah, I try to do both.

    Also, I'm like you--it has to be a super awesome 6+ star rating for me to want to buy it....or a really cheap ebook! (If I've checked it out from the library more than 3x, that's usually a good indication to me that I just need to purchase it!)

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