Play Book Tag discussion

How do you rate books?
If you could how would you improve a book rating system?
Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?
Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?

I hate rating books because I always feel like books have merit, unless it is obviously plagiarized or lazy writing, etc. If I didn't like the book I hate driving the overall rating down when there could be many readers that will get something out of it.

I also hate coming across ratings with no explanation because I always wonder "why 2 stars??" or something.

I much prefer reviews than stars.
Ratings are so subjective, everyone rates totally different so my 2 star isn't the same as another reader's 2 star.

Meli wrote: "I hate rating books because I always feel like books have merit, unless it is obviously plagiarized or lazy writing, etc. If I didn't like the book I hate driving the overall rating down when there..."

Meli, per your post, I have added a few more questions.

I rate books based on my enjoyment of them, typically - the other day I listened to The House on Needless Street and it's kind of a thriller type book that I don't normally give a lot of stars to because they don't always have a lot of merit, so I think I gave it 5 stars or 4.5... whatever, but then Jitterbug Perfume or The Bell Jar two of my all time favorite books are also 5-stars. There's NO comparison between the levels of these books, so you can look at my shelf and scratch your head and wonder how my rating system works ... you'd be justified.

I do always try to write at least a short review.

How do you rate books?

5 stars - The book was wonderful. I loved it!
4 stars - I really liked it! It was very good.
3 stars - This is the "I liked it" category. Here, I have 3 sub-ratings.
3.8 stars - This book is very close to being a 4, BUT there is something interfering with that. (ie, it's too long, repetitive, has an abrupt ending, etc. With some books lately, I have noticed that the authors have piled on an unreasonable amount of trauma.)

3.5 stars - I liked it. Perhaps, the writing wasn't anything special (or something else detracted from it), but it held my interest.

3 stars - I liked it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others.

2 stars - I disliked the book.
2.5 stars - I disliked it, but there is a redeeming quality to it.

1 star - I hated the book.

**I seldom rate books as 1's or 2's, because I usually don't finish reading them.

If you could, how would you improve a book rating system?

The only way I can think of, is to permit .5 ratings in all of the categories.

Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?

Yes! It happened this morning, in fact. I was all set to read a certain book when I noticed that a GR friend (whose taste in books is similar to mine), gave it 2 stars. Now, I won't begin the book. Also, I generally look for books which are cumulatively rated higher than 3.50 stars.

Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?

Regret is too strong of a word. If my view of a book changes, I will sometimes change my rating or review.

**Like Meli, reviews mean more to me than the ratings.

How do you rate books?
My ratings are based on my personal enjoyment of a book. I consider the following factors when deciding on a rating: engrossment, flow, plot, characters, writing style, feelings, and creativity. I actually score all the books I read and keep a running list of ratings. I rank each book against all the others I have read. that way, I ensure consistency in my ratings.
5 stars = It is among my favorite books
4 stars = I liked it a lot and recommend it to others
3 stars = I liked it or had mixed feelings about it
2 stars = It was ok or I did not like it but it had some redeeming qualities
1 star = I disliked it or hated it (this rating is rare for me)

If you could how would you improve a book rating system?
I would allow half-stars. To me a 3.5 star book is quite a bit better than a 3 star. There are some books I just cannot give 4 stars, but wish a 3.5 was a possibility.

Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?
Not much, but a little. I do not think my taste is aligned with the majority of readers. I find I tend to enjoy "literary" works that do not appeal to wider audiences, so a book rated lower might appeal to me. Also, books rated between 4 and 5 stars are often books that are thrillers or have lots of "twists and turns" or lots of sex, which I generally do not like. I tend to look at ratings and reviews from readers with similar tastes to determine whether or not to read a book.

Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?
"Regret" may be the wrong word but I do not enjoy giving 1 and 2 star reviews. I tend to feel bad that I was not able to give it a higher rating, since I know how much time and effort goes into writing a book and I admire authors willing to give it a go.

I feel a strong desire to be internally consistent in my ratings, so will raise or lower ratings to retain that consistency.

I will occasionally raise a rating if I a book is particularly memorable after time has passed.

Rating is so hard. Like grading college students' essays. I tend to agree with what folks have been sayin - I am trying to stop giving so many 5s - grade inflation or rating inflation - it is is good, but not wonderful, I try to give it a 4. Some folks are giving .5 to books but I have no idea how that gets averaged in Goodreads average score. I hate to mess them up. I have no problem giving 1s or 2s. A rating of 1 means "avoid this book - JZ opinion", 2 = this is not a good book but has redeeming features. 3= this is an ok book if you have nothing better to do - not great but ok, like some of the stuff I cook. 4= this is a dang good book but flaws or things I can not excuse here and there. 5=this book is FANTASTIC, I think most folks would learn from it or enjoy it. I often note if I think the book would be good for a book group discussion (or if it would not - too intense, not worth the time for discussion, etc.)

But we need to keep discussing this - let's try to be on the same page so others understand our rating. peace, janz

My ratings vary as to why a book gets 5 stars; I don't have a scientific system. But I give out very few 5 stars. I am trying to steer myself back into reading more books that will be likely to get 4 stars from me, and that means reducing reading games and challenges.

I really wish GR would allow half stars, but I highly doubt Amazon will ever listen to us on that.

Karen - you are so right. Why in the world would Amazon or Goodreads listen to the people who really read the books? That helps me -- makes me realize that my meager opinion is just a drop in a great big bucket or maybe ocean. peace, janz

How do you rate books?
I don't have a strict formula, but do rate books on enjoyment and quality. A book could be rated 4, if I though that it is a really good book despite my enjoyment not being that high or vice versa. I pretty much only rate books from 3 to 5. I do not generally complete a 2 star book. Both 1 and 2 star books are books without enjoyment which are really poor quality.

If you could how would you improve a book rating system?
I wouldn't mind a two pronged rating of enjoyment and quality.
The other thing for 3 and 4 star books, I would love gradations, 4.2, 4.5,4.8 etc.
Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?
I do check ratings, but I also check reviews especially from people I know and closely align with.
Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book? I never regret how I rate, however, with a really poor review< I will no longer post it on the Goodreads or Amazon site. One of my highest rated reviews is one in which I was very negative. I have since decided that this could hurt and author and it causes people to pile on.

While I feel the necessity of posting reviews here on PBT, I don't feel I want to share these with everyone.

I don't know that I ever regretted giving a rating - if it was too high, I go back and correct it. However, I often look at what friends are rating and what numbers they give a book. I make a lot of judgments on these ratings, especially if I was wavering - maybe I will read, maybe I will not read, etc. peace, janz
Again, we need to keep talking about this matter. WE are the people reading the books, investing our time and brains in reading and then rating. I want a standard that I can understand - not a floating one. I realize we are all different with different thoughts but each of us knows authors that we avoid, those we love, and reviewers that seem to think the way we do. peace again and to all the world, janz

5 stars - loved it! (as many of you know, I give this out very sparingly)
4 stars - I really liked it
3.5 stars - it was good
3 stars - it was ok
2 stars - I didn't like it... usually because I was bored
1 star - even more rare than 5 stars for me. It I did give them out, it would be hated it, but I don't usually hate a book. Usually if I don't like it, it's because I was bored.

When I can't decide between a whole and half star, often I will round down, but sometimes I don't want to go there, either. Sometimes I will give a quarter star or three-quarters. I try not to do that often, but I know it happens more often than I want it to!

Even 2 stars is rare for me. I have a hard time rating really low. Even if I'm bored, there is often a thread of the story that is somewhat interesting, so I will more often give a 2.5 stars, just because I don't like rating really low.

I keep track of my ratings distribution. So far this year
5 - 10 %
4 - 58 %
3 - 26 %
2 - 6.5 %
1 - 0.5 % (only 1 book this year)

There are lots of reasons I finish a 1 or 2 star book.
- I am an optimist - I keep thinking it will get better
- It starts out well and goes downhill
- I am reading it for a specific challenge or with a book group
- I am reading it for a specific list I want to eventually complete (e.g. Boxall List, book nominated for a specific prize where I have committed to read all the books on the list, etc.)

I am rarely bored with a book. I am most likely to quit a book if the writing is terrible or it feels like reading porn. I can deal with slow moving plots or no plot at all.

Thank you for pointing out that I could keep track of the ratings I give out. I think this is a wonderful idea and could point out biases I might have or if I am giving too many 5s or 1s. If that is all we can do, why bother. Keeping track is such a good idea and it is not a big deal - just do it. And I agree with you - I sometimes continue because my book group is doing it. I have one group where two librarians are facilitators and they pick unusual books, books that one has to read carefully. They also do quite a bit of research about the author and the book, even bad reviews. One even told us about a review in the NYT that ripped it up, just as I had. I usually finish these because I know someone in the group is going to point out something worthwhile. I am so lucky to be in that group and I need to tell them that more often. peace, janz

Thank you Booknblues for starting this discussion. It is so valuable. peace, janz

My rating system is pretty much the same as Joy D's in message 6

I will occasionally give a book ZERO stars. I used to just not give any stars and explain the ZERO in the review, but then I realized that this does nothing to lower the book's overall rating, so I started giving those books 1 star and explaining why I think it should be zero.

I do review every book. Or I have for the last 10-15 years. Some of the earlier reviews are pretty simple because I'm trying to remember a book I read before I joined either Shelfari or Goodreads.

How do you rate books?

I am a tough grader, giving 5 stars to only a few books a year. 4 stars is a very good book, that I would recommend to people. Also some books are excellent in their category (romance, mystery) but I won't generally give 5 stars to that type of book. 3 stars is fine, I wouldn't make an effort to recommend it or read it again or it's just not my favorite theme/genre/style. 2 stars for me means I didn't like it at all. It is not "ok" as GR thinks. I don't think I have ever given 1 star, I would stop reading it and not count it. I never review on GR, only give ratings, mostly because there are already thousands of reviewers. I just review for groups like PBT. On the other hand, I used to review all the time for Audible, where there are fewer reviews. I even had people who "followed" me and I followed others who had similar tastes. But they took that away some years back. I will often give higher reviews on Audible if the narrator was good but I won't include that higher rating on GR.

The way GR defines the ratings skews to make books look better, I'm sure in order to sell more!

If you could how would you improve a book rating system?
Like EVERYONE else on GR has been saying for years, half stars would help.

Does a books rating effect your desire to read it? It depends, I do look at it overall. But I have some specialized interests so in those cases I won't care what others say. And I won't read a book on zombies or other topics I don't care about just because it has a high rating.

Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book? Not exactly but a couple of times I have rerated higher after reading a book a second time, especially if it was with a group where I got a new perspective, or if it was after many years.

Ratings... such a personal and idiosyncratic exercise! Since about 2018, I've pretty much rated and reviewed here on GR every single book I have read, from cheesy romance to Proust. It's fun but I am the first to claim that I give rating stars from a very personal perspective. I also rarely rate anywhere but GR. Reviews are both on GR and in a small FB group of friends who read.

Ratings: I'm more generous than most here with 4 and 5 star ratings. I also rarely give out 1 star, or even 2 stars. I think this is partly because even for challenges, I pretty much read from book stash acquired over decades -- I have a massive print and ebook TBR, which continues to be fed. If I have plunked money down for a book, the odds are it will be 3 stars or better.

5 stars -- superb, recommend highly, well constructed, well written - a joy to read. It can have flaws and still win 5 stars from me. I will give 5 stars to any book that I think deserves it, such as Harry Potter books, regency romance, contemporary fiction, classics, even some of the studly men and hunky dog suspense.
4 stars -- Really good, would recommend but there is something lacking or some flaw that bothers me -- could be writing, inconsistencies with others in the series, a plot problem.
3 stars -- satisfying, delivered what I expected -- any average good read. A lot of my reading gets 3 stars.
2 stars -- disappointing, weak, seriously flawed but still has something to recommend it. Recent 2 stars were Normal People and Startup. Another notable book I have given 2 stars to: Wolf Hall.
1 star - has to be really bad, as in should never have been published. Basically a star review is a zero star review for me.

I believe reviews are far more valuable to use when identifying whether a book is for you or not. I never read Amazon reviews - I have zero trust in them. I will read GR reviews but usually after I have read the book. The reviews I read sometimes before purchasing a book are generally those in sources like The NY Times, Kirkus Reviews, those publications and even blogs directed at specific genres like Crime Fiction.

When it comes to reviews on GR, I tend to check those posted by friends and within groups like PBT. Too often I have read a review of a book on GR where it is clear to me that the reviewer is working to establish a following - by being snarky or excessively negative or clever or cute or whatever.

What would I change in the GR rating system: Allow .5 ratings. I find a lot of books don't rise to a 4 or a 3 but don't sink to a 3 or a 2 either.

Regret a rating or review? Not really. I have adjusted a star rating, and maybe added something to a review after writing it -- especially if a few days have passed and I've fine-tuned my reaction to it. Wolf Hall isan example - I downgraded my star rating as I found my irritation and disappointment growing as the days went by after finishing it.

But I believe that if you are writing a review honestly and fairly reflecting your reaction at the time, you will not regret it. There is nothing to regret.

Does a book's rating affect whether I will read it? Generally not. The few exceptions have been seeing a book that has not appealed to me for any or no reason ( and is a genre or author or style or subject that I generally read ) get a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings and rave reviews, and I ignore my lack of interest and read it. I usually end up wishing I'd listened to my instincts. Once again I point to Wolf Hall as an example of this.

I am sure you have now figured out that Wolf Hall looks like it will be my #1 most disappointing read of the past decade!

At this stage in my life, I know I'm a reader that marches to my own drumbeat. I am comfortable with that. I'm also a very eclectic reader. I don't need other's ratings or reviews to guide me. Thus my ratings are more a personal log. Reviews are to stimulate more expanded thinking about a book, create reminders for myself,order my reactions, share excitement or disappointment, and stimulate discussion with others -- look at the great discussion we've been having on Normal People based on my less than entralled review!

Just one more bit about GR ratings in general:

So long as there are no universal guidelines for how to allocate stars -- and I am not saying there should be --- you have to look at the star ratings given in context of each person giving them, including the types of books they read and how they generally rate them. A stranger's 4 star rating is meaningless, especially when compared to the rating of a PBT member's ratings whose reviews, opinions and ratings you see daily.

Also take a look at the stats in your 'Year in Books' -- you can find this as a link under your list of shelves. Every year, it shows a lot of interesting info about the books you've read and reported, including the book you have read and rated that earned the highest rating on GR. Most years for me, that's some book I gave 1 or 2 stars to -- and one year it was famously this Harlequin K-9 suspense series book that was poorly written even for that particular escapist genre. I gave it 1 star that was really a 0 star, but according to GR it was the highest rated at 4.8 stars. I know nothing about statistics or algorithms or analysis of either but that alone has me ignoring star ratings mostly except as a personal system.

BTW - I average around 3.5 annually in ratings on the books I read.

Theresa wrote: "you have to look at the star ratings given in context of each person giving them, including the types of books they read and how they generally rate them."

I agree with that. I tend to have only a few 5 star ratings, but I have many 4 stars, which is what I mostly want to read.
I give 3 stars out to ones which I enjoyed but perhaps are not the best quality or ones with a good quality of writing but that I might not have enjoyed particularly much.

Theresa wrote: "Just one more bit about GR ratings in general:

So long as there are no universal guidelines for how to allocate stars -- and I am not saying there should be --- you have to look at the star ratin..."

There are some readers who give 5 stars to almost everything they read. I can't help wondering about that. Maybe they know what they like - vampires, urban fantasy, studly dogs, and that's mostly all they read.

The overwhelming number of ratings for me are 3 or 4. Sometimes I didn't care much for the book, but I could see it was well written, just not for me. I would generally give a 3 in that case but on GR standards that looks like I liked it and want more of the same. I guess that's pretty much what Booknblues said!

Joy D wrote: "There are lots of reasons I finish a 1 or 2 star book.
- I am an optimist - I keep thinking it will get better
- It starts out well and goes downhill
- I am reading it for a specific challenge or with a book group
- I am reading it for a specific list I want to eventually complete (e.g. Boxall List, book nominated for a specific prize where I have committed to read all the books on the list, etc.)..."

These reasons are very similar to why I always finish a book, as well. Most commonly would be thinking (hoping!) it will get better and reading for a challenge or group.

Oh, for this question "Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book? "

I almost never go back to change my rating. I leave it, thinking it's how I felt at the time.

And I started rating/reviewing with PBT on shelfari back in 2008! I wouldn't have bothered otherwise.

"Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?"

Not really. Like others have mentioned I'm more like to read (or at least skim) the reviews. The blurb (description) of the book is a better indicator to me, combined with some of the reviews.

How do you rate books?

5 stars-I can't stop talking about it!
4 Stars-Love it, but not for everyone something held me back from that last star
3 Stars-Not so much a favorite-worth the read, but nothing I would write home about
1-2 Stars-hardly ever go there. If a book is not at least 3 stars by the 3rd-4th chapters I usually chuck it

If you could how would you improve a book rating system?-
I really don't have much to say about this. The only place I rate books is here on GR's, and that is only because I review books here for challenges. My ratings are my own personal feelings at the time I read the book.

Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?
Not so much. Usually before reading a book, I will check to see if any trusted friends on GR's have read it and what they thought about it. Strangers reviews here on GR's never come into my decision to read a book

Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?
No, the rating I give always stays. It is how I felt about the book at the time, and there was a reason for my rating.

My ratings usually fall into the 4 star area. The reason for this, is that I am the person who will not finish a book if I am not enjoying it. I pick and choose carefully what I am going to spend my time reading, This year I have quite a few 5 star reads. Looking back on them, just now, they are all deserving of that high rating. A lot of them are classic fantasy books from another group I am in.

Joanne wrote: "My ratings usually fall into the 4 star area. The reason for this, is that I am the person who will not finish a book if I am not enjoying it. I pick and choose carefully what I am going to spend my time reading,."

My goal has always been to read 4 star books, and I am usually pretty good about doing that, with some mistakes.

Since June with the Beach Reads, I've found that i do like to read a few light palate cleansing books, just for the fun of it and I don't really see some of them as worthy of 4 stars even though I've quite enjoyed them.

My rating isn't always an indication of how much I think someone else will like a book. I gave 5 stars to complex, long books for overeducated audiences like Possession, A Place of Greater Safety and books by Dorothy Dunnett. I wouldn't recommend them for everybody. Maybe snobbish of me, but some people are clear that they don't like a large cast of characters or nonlinear storytelling or whatever. People might give 5 stars to a horror book but I still won't read it.

How do you rate books?
- I rate books by enjoy reading them and I like rating books!
5 star - I loved this book
4 star - I really like it!
3 star - It was ok
2 star - Nah, not for me
1 star - I didn't like it (DNF)
If you could how would you improve a book rating system?
- When I can't decide between a whole and a half star, often I will round down like 3.5 stars or 4.5.
Does a book rating affect your desire to read it?
- No, Not really.
Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?
-No, I like rating and review.
Anyway, Thanks for posting this PBT. I like these questions. :D

How do you rate books?

Honed over time by much trial and error, here is my system:

5 stars = I loved it and I was never or rarely woken from the "narrative dream" with confusion or annoyance
4 stars = I really liked it, but I wish there was a little more it would have done to put it over the top and wow me
3 stars = I liked it, but I have a lot of questions or suggestions that could have improved it. (I've been in a lot of writing workshops so that is where my brain goes when I think a manuscript has potential but isn't totally polished yet)
2 stars = I actively disliked it, and a LOT would need to be improved/changed to make it palatable for me
1 star = basically unreadable due to sloppy/bad writing, weak plot/characterization, and/or biases of the author that they did not challenge and address before writing the book

As a general rule, I try to avoid giving 1 star reviews – if a book is a REAL miss for me I usually just DNF and remove it from my list without leaving a rating or review, or leave it unrated and acknowledge why I stopped and didn't think it would get any better. I am hesitant to rate and review any book I didn't read in its entirety, but life is too short to stick out EVERYTHING I try. Once in awhile a 1 star book sneaks up on me, but since 2019 I think I've only rated two books as such.

If you could how would you improve a book rating system?

I've joked for YEARS that Goodreads should let you rate at half-star intervals, and it's not even a joke anymore. There are definitely books I would do this for if I could!

Does a books rating effect your desire to read it?

I try not to look at ratings or reviews before I read a book, because I feel like just about every book on GR has 3.67 stars or something in that vicinity. (Though, I have noticed that when a book is rated higher than that - 4 or above - those are usually the books I dislike more! Maybe I just like being contrary to the masses, I suppose...)

Have you ever regretted how you rated or reviewed a book?

I rarely revisit books, so not really. I will say that in my ASOIAF reread, I ended up giving all five books 5 stars, when I read them nearly a decade ago I appreciated them less and gave lower ratings for the latter books. I regret doing that because I got SO much more out of them the second time and have changed the ratings and reviews accordingly.

I disagree with you in one situation. I give a 1 rating when the book is just awful, unreadable, has such serious flaws that it should never even be on the market. I was once in an academic seminar with the editor of a major professional journal - he distributed his rating sheet for reviews to return (along with specific explainers and comments for improvement of the article). His last place for judgment was a 1 and the rational "Search out and destroy all copies of this." If I feel that way, that no earthly benefit could come from this book, it gets a 1 in my judgment. I gave Shuggie Bain a 1 because it was just poverty porn. Could anyone benefit from that? I did not think so. Well, I know the author and the publisher and the booksellers had a benefit but did any reader gain anything from poverty porn? Rape, murder, etc. are evil - should be eliminated from the world. We do not have to accept that all things have a place here. peace, janz

And I gave Shuggie Bain 5***** ... Amor y paz, BC

All this goes back to personal preference - all the more reason to check WHO is doing the reviewing. There are people who enjoy the same sort of books that I enjoy and I follow them - a lot of other reviews I just pass right over and do not read them - right now I am not in the tree hugging mode so I am passing by most of the nature/physical science stuff. I almost never read a review of a fantasy book. I know people love them but there are probably 10 psychological reasons I do not. And, after a lot of thought and analysis I realize why I have so few 1 and 2 in my ratings. I just do not pick up those books. I want a book to be at least average if I am going to spend my time reading it. (I can not read all the books I want to in the few years left. I am 78, will be 80 in 2 more years and my eyesight is going. so I have to push all the good stuff into the next few years. I know. audio books - I can't stand them) I want a physical book where I can look back a few pages to see the sister-in-law's name to see if she is the one saying nasty things. If it is not her, I may have to go back 50 pages, etc. But a book allows me to do that - I think it is my age. And certain authors - I just pass by the reviews. Cobin, Patricia somebody - one of the first to have a woman MD who helped solve crimes - can't even remember her name but I have graduated to a tougher crime genre now and do not spend time with the softer crime books. Our tastes change over time and by reading reviews of people we trust and by stretching our biases and fears over time (usually because a book is sooooo popular or our book group decides to read it) we move on. As I write this, I realize my ratings have changed over time. What really matters is what I say. - my feelings, my pain, my enjoyment, my joy, whatever. So why do I keep rating - because I grew up in a teaching vein so all things must be graded - even my final reading projects.
I still think that this discussion is very good - helpful to all of us.
And it is ok if you rated Suggie Bane as a 5 and I gave it a 1. I gave my reasons and I assume you did, too. The reasons are what matter. What did you give Harlem Shuffle? peace, janz

Peacejanz wrote: "All this goes back to personal preference - all the more reason to check WHO is doing the reviewing. There are people who enjoy the same sort of books that I enjoy and I follow them - a lot of othe..."

Thank you Janz for your thoughtful answer.

I am still contemplating your answer about poverty porn and thinking about other kinds of reading porn.

I love to read books that seem to tare my heart out and wonder if I am guilty of a kind of porn with that.

I agree that our tastes change over time. When I was in my 20's I really didn't know what I wanted to read. There was no internet to get recommendations! I used to join Book of the Month Club and similar clubs because they had recommended books. I also picked up things randomly at the library. When I was in my 30's, I discovered that modern romance novels weren't all about helpless women being rescued, instead many had strong women, and they often were funny as well, so I started reading a lot of them. When I was around 40, I joined a fabulous book group sponsored by a women's bookstore and discovered lots of authors I didn't know at all - Barbara Kingsolver, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Marge Piercy and more. Some of us joked that this was our remedial reading, because in school and college we read almost exclusively male authors. Now I have too many sources, between GR groups, NY Times, email newsletters I get, the magazine Bookmarks (which I love), library brochures, etc.

Robin P wrote: "I agree that our tastes change over time. When I was in my 20's I really didn't know what I wanted to read. There was no internet to get recommendations! I used to join Book of the Month Club and s..."

I'm thinking of doing a history of our reading next week because many of have gone through evolutions.

I liked reading yours and think this will be a fun topic.

Booknblues wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I agree that our tastes change over time. When I was in my 20's I really didn't know what I wanted to read. There was no internet to get recommendations! I used to join Book of the ..."

I love that idea BnB!

We all know "real" porn -- naked people having sex or simulated sex - we have associated "porn" with sex for a long time. I came across it in another dimension when someone called American Dirt, "refugee porn." When the writer had no direct knowledge of the actual events but had glorified them in her writing. I countered that assessment because I got no enjoyment, but instead got pain, from reading the actions/events/insults that the poor woman endured, along with her friends and child. Fear is not pornographic to me in any way. Visions, photos, words seem to be pornographic when we get some pleasure from them and SOMEONE ELSE is damaged, surviving, enduring. For example, I am now rethinking some of my reading -- I seem to be stuck in violence - murder, Blacktop Wasteland -- as I think it through I am glorifying violence in some of my reviews - The River had some awful violence, even death, but it was not glorified. He was in great mental pain. Not a good place. On the other hand, his most recent, The Guide, has some gratuitous violence. It was getting even, destroying property, making people pay for their evil (in my view); not every reviewer saw that. I just checked the definition of gratuitous and the dictionary says, "free, complimentary" - I see that as getting some enjoyment from something/action/thought, etc. that the average person would not enjoy and is probably damaging someone. I gave Shuggie Bain a 1 rating because I felt it glorified poverty. I called it poverty porn. I felt most people reading that would think, "oh, poor people. So glad it is not me." Because the people just could not get away from poverty. I think more readers were thankful and glad that it was not them - their enjoyment came from the thoroughness of the poverty.
I apologize because this is so muddled. I am just thinking through my past reviews and my current picks and trying to clarify "porn" in my mind. Endless violence on TV is porn. I welcome any comments, trying to get my thinking clarified. I am rarely offended by anything anyone says to or about me (excluding the orange man). This is just shocking to me as I admit my recent reviews. peace, jan

Peacejanz wrote: "We all know "real" porn -- naked people having sex or simulated sex - we have associated "porn" with sex for a long time. I came across it in another dimension when someone called American Dirt, "r..."

I feel that way about some of the books about the Holocaust. It is important for us to know what happened, why, and how bad it was ( in a recent survey, a majority of Americans didn't know what Auschwitz was!), but I think sometimes it is used just to sell books. On a less serious basis, just making the characters suffer unnecessarily bothers me. For instance, in The Art of Racing in the Rain, the author piles every woe on the hero, and it made me feel manipulated. I also think there is "thriller porn", where a woman (usually young and beautiful) gets abducted/tortured/killed, regardless of whether anything sexual is involved.

I definitely think there is truth to this. Publishers chase trends and once some topic is hot they rush to keep publishing things in that vein regardless of quality. That is why I am also wary of WWII/Holocaust stories, not because there isn’t good material there but I think it’s been so played out in terms of mainstream (American or English-speaking based at least) publishing. At least when I read The Book Thief there was a concerted effort to examine the institutional forces behind Nazi Germany — I find that missing from a lot of fictional war accounts as if war is just a bunch of individuals acting badly and there’s no rhyme or reason to preventing it.

Also, when I was studying Russian in school I was so shocked to see how many WWII stories there are written from the POV where Russians are the heroes (which shouldn’t be that surprising given what happened historically) — yet I never see that depicted in English-speaking WWII novels or movies, I assume because of the whole Cold War thing that came after. Latent or overt biases definitely creep in.

Robin P wrote: "Peacejanz wrote: "We all know "real" porn -- naked people having sex or simulated sex - we have associated "porn" with sex for a long time. I came across it in another dimension when someone called..."

You are so right. You got it: "porn" is pain for others but a secret enjoyment for the reader - "Thank God it is not me." And I totally agree about the Holocaust books. In fact, I have stopped all WW2 books. I am tired of reading about that war. About 20 years ago, I consciously stopped reading all Vietnam war books. Enough was enough. Thanks for clarifying some of my muddle. peace, janz

Whoa, I missed so much discussion!
This is what happens when you aren't online on the weekends :(

In regards to the new questions, I am not really influenced by ratings themselves without a review because they are completely subjective to that reader.

I always click on PBT 2-star or 1-star reviews because I am always curious how people get there.

I almost always only go as low as 3 and that usually means I didn't enjoy it much, but I also think it is for a very specific audience, so not something that can resonate universally. Books that tap into something many readers can relate to is my favorite (like Squid Game 😈)

I never go back and change ratings, but I might if I do a re-read, rate it different second time around.
Sometimes I regret things I say in my reviews, but I never go back to change it.

Don't you think some books are a waste of time? How do you rate them or do you just ignore them? You can not be wise enough to only pick good books - if so, what is your secret? peace, janz

Heather Reads Books wrote: "Publishers chase trends and once some topic is hot they rush to keep publishing things in that vein regardless of quality. ..."
You speak the truth! There for a while, we had a ton of books with "Girl" in the title based on the success of books like "Gone Girl" and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Like we readers would just buy anything (maybe some do, but surely most readers are more discerning than that).