As a reader, I love Goodreads. I especially love seeing the reviews by my friends because that often means I discover books I wouldn’t have read otherwise.

But I am also an author, and I have struggled with putting ratings on books. So for a long time, I only rated my 5 star reads. All other books, many of which I loved, got a review but no rating. The problem with that is, I don’t get an accurate picture of the books I’m reading. I love Goodreads’ “year in review” reports, and putting rating...