You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

:-)
What matters to you, when it comes to rating a book you have read?
What matters more, what less?

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There are few books that I have given a 5 star rating.
The majority of contemporary books as well-written as they may be, are just, too long.

Language matters. The Feel (authenticity, feeling "real"). And, ideally, it should not contain annoying characters. Also - layout (font size, paragraphs, line spacing) plays a role.

I remember a recent discussion on "Fates and Furies". Yes, cool book. But both main characters really had me going crazy about their actions.

When I rate books I've read I don't usually analyze over why the book should hav that rating etc. Usually I just go for what I feel like. But subconsciously I guess I look for things like how hooked I was, how interesting the story and the characters was, if it was boring and things like that.

I almost never consider the language, but that has probably to do with the fact that I usually read books in English. Since English isn't my native language I never take the language into account when rating books I've read in English. I don't consider myself proficient enough to criticize on someone else's language. However, in Swedish I tend to look at the language a bit more. But even then I only notices the extreme cases and I'm much more interested in the story.

At times I have more conscious thoughts when I rate the books, but that is usually when I was disturbed by something in the book, I really disliked the characters or there was something "wrong" with the layout.

It also happens that I change ratings after a while, if I re-read a book and think the book actually deserve a different rating.

Sofia wrote: "When I rate books I've read I don't usually analyze over why the book should hav that rating etc. Usually I just go for what I feel like. But subconsciously I guess I look for things like how hooke..."

that's interesting.
for me, language plays a big role. I prefer reading in english, despite of it not being my native language. sometimes, I do read a book in german, but rarely. german language is so - complicated, in grammar and in expressing thoughts.

what I also do when rating books is I check how much I gave books I really liked - so to find a fair balance.

For me, it depends on how hooked on the story I get :)

I'm the same as you, Stephanie. For me to rate a book 5 stars, it has to really hook me in and also affect me emotionally in some way.

Same here...and writing that feels beautifully done as well.

I rate based on how I feel about the book and how much of an impact it had on me. Sometimes I will compare it to other books I've rated, using them as a benchmark so to speak.

thank you, for all your replies :-) it's always interesting to learn how other readers do think.

I have finished "A Little Life". and considering Lisa's reply, well - I was hooked. the story really had me drawn in. and oh hell yes, I was so emotionally affected that at times, it hurt to go on reading.
but still - it's not a full star rating book, for me.

only open spoiler if you have read "A Little Life"
(view spoiler)[as amazingly well-written the book is, there are many passages that could have been shorter. crisper. more - to the point. it felt, too long for my personal taste. (hide spoiler)]

so, for me - the "size" of the book also matters.

I rate based on how well I connected with the characters and what the story made me think about or feel. How well the plot drew me in.

thanks for sharing your perspectives....you have given me much to think about.

I could go on forever about how I think what's the difference between what makes a book just meh, and what makes a wow factor. Bottom line it's the books that touch me emotionally, whether in disgust, joy, surprise, excitement, sadness etc. Then the prose, or writing style has to sing. Toni Morrison books, and
Winter's Tale for instance are very lyrical, poetic to my minds eye . Lastly, it's when the story, and characters linger in my thoughts, and heart long after I've read the book. Those are the 5 star beauties. The Gunslinger series, The Color Purple, The Goldfinch, Le Miserables, Boys Life to name a few.

Welcome Veraseline!

Thank you,

This is an interesting question, I hadn't thought too much about how/why I rate things the way I do. In contemplating it, here's what I've come up with:

1. Characters matter: I like my characters to be fully realized (this is true in all media, not just in books), they have to make sense to me, and I want to understand their motivation. Villains can't be too arch, heroes can't be too cloying, etc. Related to this is well written dialog. What they say and how they say this has to match the internal life of the character.

2. Quality Writing: when something is well-written it sings, and creates a world I want to stay within. Imaginative imagery, visceral descriptions, and authentic dialog are the things my favorite books have in common. There is a spell that is weaved when these three things come together.

3. Pacing/Plotting/Character Growth/Theme: for me a book can succeed in these areas and maybe fail in 1 and 2 and still be a 2 to 3 star read for me (using the Goodread's definitions of "okay" and "good" respectively). I like fast pacing, and logical plotting. Nothing will take me out of a book faster than not understanding the logic of the situation. I'm not just about action/plot oriented books. One of the reasons why I like classic literature so much is that the best books know how to play with theme, intertwining it with the characters and the larger world, and perhaps changing them or our perception of them in the processes.

If a book has all 3 of these that's a 5-star read for me. If it doesn't have any of these, then I'll likely not finish. The rest falls into the subjective in-between.

If the book makes me laugh, though, it becomes an all-time great!

For me:
- the good reading experience: was I fascinated, was I interested enough in /captivated and excited enough by the book to keep on reading asap (it does not necessarily mean a fast pace)
- writing style (I am no snob, but no matter how amazing the story is, really bad writing throws me off)
- for a good rating, the book either has to have nice characters I can relate to, or if it has only characters I hate there MUST be a reason for it... either some message or to show something in the world or a plot twist or something... but in both cases, the main characters have to be fully realized and complex.
- pace
- there is no filler stuff for no other reason than adding 50 more pages to the book
- if the book knows what it is or not, simple as that... when a fluffy, empty book tries to look more high-brow and more quality, it turns me off.

The language,the words,the feeling ... Overall it should fill me with contentment,(of having read a good book -be it highbrow or a lighter book,us no matter) it preferable characters I can like too.

Generally my 5 stars are for books that I really loved .
And 1 star for books I dislike to hate.

I've been trying to come up with a system, of sorts, to help myself figure out my own way of rating the books I read, and I just stumbled across this thread. A 1 or 2 star rating is pretty easy. If I have trouble staying engaged, can't connect with the characters, want to ditch it, or really don't like it (genre not for me, poorly written imo, boring, etc) then it gets a low rating. Most often, I know what I don't like in terms of genre (although I have been known to surprise myself on occasion) so I avoid them from the start. If a book is just meh, it's a 3. The problem arises for the 4s and 5s. Did I like it a lot or was it fantastic? Or somewhere in between. Looking at some of the responses above has helped me firm up my thinking.
Mostly it's characters, plot and message.
The characters need to sound real, believable. Well developed. The better the development and detail about them, the higher the score. I don't have to relate to them or see myself in them. After all, some characters are evil, despicable, pathetic, or damaged in some way and I don't see myself in them. Characters should grow as the story develops, find out something about themselves, perhaps change because of whatever is going on. Just like people in real life, who likes a person that stays the same and never grows or changes?
The plot has to flow and be well paced. A mystery should keep me guessing until the end (or close to it). Historical fiction should have some truth to it and teach me something. Humor should make me laugh. Don't give me a book that goes along well but gets to the last quarter and makes me feel the author was getting close to the publisher's deadline and just wanted to get it over with so sped things up and ended it.
Not all books have a lesson or message. If it does, it's a plus that can put a book into the 5 star rather than 4 star group. Beautiful writing is another plus, but it needs to be appropriate to the story being told. Long descriptive passages can slow down an action novel and bore me to tears but put it in a more atmospheric novel and use it to describe a setting, and it's perfect.

The books that I find the hardest to rate, are books where I am torn. Let me give an example: The Living
I found this book very well written indead, really solid and detailed and everything I usually enjoy in a book, but the characters and the community and their interactions and reactions felt completely flat and devoid of emotion and so, as a reader, I was utterly indifferent to who lived and died.
Now THAT I find difficult to rate- because the crafting itself was really solid, but the depth and feel and emotions were just terribly lacking....

I usually end up giving those kinds of books 2 or 3 stars. I just need to connect with the characters in order to enjoy a book. I do usually make a note in my review that it's not a bad book per se and that I can understand why others might like it, but just that I failed to connect with it.

I also need to connect to a char to give a book a good rating. I tend to prefer more char driven stories then event driven.

Peggy wrote: "I usually end up giving those kinds of books 2 or 3 stars. I just need to connect with the characters in order to enjoy a book. I do usually make a note in my review that it's not a bad book per se..."

I probably rate books on the high side, but I read to escape and be entertained. If it is a ghost story, was I scared; if it was a sad story did I cry, did I laugh out loud, did it make my heart pound or did I want to read way past my bed time.

I rarely read true-life books. I have enough 'life' in my own life, so therefore, I read to escape.

If I rate a book a 5 star -- it means I loved it so much that at some point I will re-read it again and I recommend it to friends and family and/or will give as a gift.

If I rate a book 2 stars, I didn't like it enough to finish it, usually for foul language, sexual content or plain boredom.

I love to read and there are so many books out there that I won't even start a book that might have been a 1 star book.

3 star books are usually books that I'm reading for a book club that are read because I feel obligated and wouldn't have chosen to read otherwise.

I think that is why most of my rating will be 4 stars for books that I have chosen. I know what I like and I like what I read. But also, I'm open to that 'surprise' read that was recommended by someone else. Love that too!

I probably rate high on books that I liked and enjoyed. I feel pretty much like Heather stated above as far as escaping in my reading, but I do enjoy non-fiction too. I like to learn things.
I will rate a book 2 stars if I finish it for a challenge but did not especially enjoy it. I have given a few single stars, if a book is so bad I cannot go on, I do not have a problem telling why.
3 vs 4 stars are the hardest for me. Then I have to think about the characters and what happened and how the story was told.

Having thought more about it, I would say:
1 star is for the books I more or less give up on, where I either abandon them or rush/skim through just to be done with them.
2 are the ones that I finished, but did not really enjoy and will not read again or recommend.
3 are the ones that were fairly enjoyable, that didn't feel like a waste of time, but also did not wauw me.
4 are the ones I truly enjoyed , would recommend and perhaps would read again some day.
5 are the ones that I get completely lost in and forget everything around me. The ones I would want on my shelf.