Have you ever been faced with an issue while reading or blogging and thought: I wonder what other bloggers think about this? No matter what genre or audience you blog for, we all face the same problems. Are you a publisher or author wondering what goes on in a blogger's (and by extension a reader's) head?
Blogger confidential is a series of 12 questions asked to 11 bloggers about the nitty gritty details of blogging. Everything from what prompts a blogger to pick up a book, to what happens when a book doesn't live up to its hype. This series was inspired by
Wastepaper Prose's Author Insight series.
If you feel inspired by any of these questions, leave your answer in the comments, or create your own post!
This week's question:
Do you use a star rating system? What do you think the pros and cons are to using some sort of rating system to write reviews?
"I do not simply because then I feel like I'm comparing one book to another - is this book worth more stars than this book? - when the books aren't comparable at all. I recently joined Goodreads and I can't even give in to rating books there either. Too much stress!"
Natasha from Maw Books"I used to, now I don't. I figure if someone can read my review, they can figure out where my feelings lie on the enjoyment spectrum. It's an individual thing. I really have no feelings about star ratings at all. I don't look at them on other people's reviews but others love them. To each their own."
Adele from Persnickety Snark"I do use ratings. They're an easy way for me to "rank" my books (I'm kind of mildly obsessive and like lists, in case you didn't know, lol). And when I read others' reviews, I like when I can easily reference a rating. But I also have run into HUGE problems with them. Why do I feel like a lot of my 4-star books are my favorites? What makes a book a 5-star book? Should a stellar chick-lit-y book be ranked the same as a book that deals with deeper themes? If you have opinions on these things, you should let me know. I've been wondering about them for the past 6 months or so."
Steph from Steph Su Reads"I use a grading scale that ranges from A to D, but it’s the same idea as a star rating. The positive aspect of this type of rating is that it can be used for a quick reference and gives an overall, general opinion about the book. But, if a reader skips right to that rating, they’ll be missing out on a lot of important information. Looking only at the rating, you won’t know if the characteristics that bothered me are ones that will influence your opinion. For example, I like romantic tension and, if it’s missing, I might not favor the romance in the novel. If you prefer to jump into the relationship and skip the tension, you would most likely enjoy that aspect. You wouldn’t know that this pulled my rating down unless you’ve read my review."
Sara from The Hiding Spot"On my blog I use a five star rating system, but you can also rate the book
on my blog as well as a reader."
Pam from Bookalicious"A rating system is something that I have struggled with for a long time. In the very beginning, I did not use one, then for a few months, I did. Personally, for me, a rating system did not work. This is mainly due to me wanting to put my feelings just out there about the novel. I feel like my review tells my readers exactly how I feel about a certain novel, and sometimes a rating system can be overkill. I can see there being a lot of pro and cons to using this system, so my advice would be to try it if you are interested. The worse thing that could happen is you decide you do not like it."
Kate from The Neverending Shelf
"I don’t. I did a poll not long ago on my site and, based on that feedback, I decided to continue with my ratings-less system. I write reviews. The meat is in the words themselves, not in a number. My reactions are not quantifiable and when I think about the blogs I trust and read faithfully, it’s the way that they write and the emotion they infuse into their reviews that grab me. Some of them rate, some of them don’t. But I decide whether or not to read the book based on what they say about it, not the number they assign it. Many readers skip a review entirely once they get a look at the rating. I don’t blame them at all. I do the same thing sometimes. But if I do that, then I’m missing the why. I’m missing the unique material that particularly reviewer brings to the table. Then I might as well just be trolling one of the big social reading forums (an activity I engage in regularly, but for a different purpose). Blog reviews are special because they bring more. It’s that more that I look for in other reviewers and it’s what I try to bring to my site every time I sit at my computer and type."
Angie from Angieville"The advantage to rating a book is that you have a concrete answer to how much you liked the book. But the problem with rating a book is that your opinion can change on what you'd rate it, depending on when you write the review. I think they're more helpful than detrimental, particularly for mostly positive reviews. For example, I rate books on a scale of 1 to 100 (I only go down to the 60s), and books that I LOVE get a 90-ish rating. There's a difference between a 92 and a 97, but that's hard to convey in writing. It's also easier to see how close a book got to being great if I rate it an 89. I think there are nuances you can indicate in a rating system, if you so choose."
Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading?"Yes, I use a rating out of 6 (because that's how many different chess pieces there are). I like the idea, because it gives people who don't necessarily want to read the entire review a quick look at how you felt. It can also give away how a blogger really feels about a book. Even if I say good things, if I give a book a 4 out of 6, you know it might have been pretty good, but not one of my favorites."
Andye from Reading Teen"Yes, I use a quarter star system. The pro for me is a concrete visual as to my overall enjoyment of the book. The cons are that people think you are trying to be objective and boxing a book in. Also, feelings about books can change over time. But that can also affect reviews." Amy from
My Friend Amy"Nope. On my personal site, There's A Book, I don't use a star system and instead of a "Recommendation" at the end of each review. It basically entails who I think the age group and what "type" of reader would enjoy the book the most. I find star ratings too constrictive and on the occasion that I have to "award" a star rating I'm generally very torn because of all the elements that go into making a book great."
Danielle from There's a Book
