The Next Best Book Club discussion

In looking for the next best book,I'd love to know as a newbie group member, and both as a reader and author, how group members deal with review inflation. My Indie novel, The Duke Don't Dance, has received some great reviews and I'm not complaining, but anyone who works on it hard enough can receive five star reviews on Amazon, or wherever they're marketing. After rating your favorite literary classics, how can you justify giving three stars to a leading writer's lesser work but five stars to a nice mystery, romance, or scifi novel that you won't remember three weeks from now? But you know the professional reviewers do just that. And, as a customer reviewer, so do you!! So, how does your sorting process work in searching for the next best book?

Yes, Richard I've often wondered that myself especially when I'll check back at some of my reviews and realize I only remember the book because I wrote about it.
Alot of the over-inflated reviews that I do come from an emotional bias. For example I read one of Brashears first adult novels about re-incarnation after re-connecting and getting rejected again by an old college love.Pathetic as this sounds,the kind of love that Brashears wrote about, that could last through the ages despite all the unhappy endings was very appealing to me at that point. Usually I try to note my bias or emotional slants when I write a review,but since no-one knows themselves perfectly,you will read and get reviews that are over inflated.
I try to stick with the genre of books I like,and read the blurb on the back and not to rely on the numbers alone in my search.I also read a variety of reviews and check out what someone who has the same favorites as I do.

Betsy,I think you are onto something as far as maintaining the integrity of your own review --to provide some of the personal context for a rating or perhaps indicating that you are rating applies only withing a genre or specific style or subject matter. That's one good way of not offending the author or lovers of a style of work, while nonetheless conveying valuable information to those not into the aspects you are giving good marks. That doesn't cure the review inflation problem, of course, but at least it maintains the purpose of a review: to help a potential reader to choose.

Betsy wrote: "Yes, Richard I've often wondered that myself especially when I'll check back at some of my reviews and realize I only remember the book because I wrote about it.
Alot of the over-inflated reviews ..."

I rate reviews based on its impact on me. I rely much in emotions. I can rate a book I found boring and give it a 4, because some parts are really good and interesting, the way I rated AMERICAN PSYCHO. I rated The Great Gatsby, a classic, with only 3 because I really found it tiresome but I acknowledge that there might be some good in it. Sometimes, if the authors are my friends, I give ratings higher than 3 because personal relations somehow affects your opinion and your emotions for the book you are reading.

Hi, M :)
I even rated The Great Gatsby two stars... But in a while I have even more tiresome books and feeling of respect to classic make me came back and change it to 3 stars. I am giving rating to the books based on my connection to this book, my feelings and emotions to books, based on the writer style. I like some thrillers and mystery books, but I always rate them 3 stars even if I like plot, because it usually just :"he guns him down, she runs, they went...." I mean there is just interesting plot but not interesting language. Some books magnetize me by beauty of the words and vividness used - such as The Night Circus
Some books make me really unpleasant sick, not by plot and settings and actions, but I don't like style of writer so much that I will rate it 1 star even I'm in minority and mostly everyone praising these books example - (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). Personal relationship, I would think, will affect my opinion, because I like people whom I know, but not a public opinion.

I really do dislike the star rating system. It is impossible to compare one novel to the next, especially when you read a variety of authors. Can we really say the Mark Twain compares to James Patterson? At the same time, I have enjoyed books by both authors. I think the content of the review itself is what is important. On my blog, I don't even bother giving books a rating. Instead, I try to write what worked and didn't, and give an honest overall opinion. I even will say "fans of ... will enjoy this." I think we must judge each book within the context of itself.

-Ethan
http://e135-abookaweek.blogspot.com/

Five stars: I will purchase a copy (or keep my copy) and will re-read it every year of so. I recommend it to my friends. (Pride and Prejudice, Poisonwood bible, Old Man and the Sea, Ender's Shadow.
Four stars: Either I have a great deal of respect for it or I really enjoyed it but it probably won't make my yearly list. (All of Andrew McCall's book except the African ones which are fives because of my strong emotional attachment to rural Africa.
Threes are perfectly good books that I enjoyed and I will give you my copy if you ask for it.
Twos are either not so well written or so obscure that they made no sense to me. (Flame Alphabet) I'm sorry I wasted my time with them
Ones are poorly written, offensive, and I'm angry that I spent time and money on them (The final books of the clan of the cave bear series)
It is hard to reduce a book to a number of stars, but I do think that it can be a good general guideline. I look at individual ratings of readers with similar tastes whom I stalk unrepentantly.
The really misleading composite reviews are the controversial books, subjects like politics and religion, and books students had to read for a class. They will mostly have 5's and 1's with an average composite, and you do have to look at each review to try to guess if you will like.