Another week, another discussion post!
I didn’t have a specific idea for this week’s post, so I consulted my notebook and picked out one of my ideas, and chose this one.
I saw a discussion like this a long time ago and it really caught my attention, so it’s always been on my mind since.
So today I’m asking you…
Can a book reviewer rate books too easily?
Think of it this way:
If a person who reviews books always seems to give books high ratings – 4 or 5 stars, let’s say – would you trust their opinion, or would you be wary?
I do admit that my average rating tends to be around 4 stars, but that’s because I’m quite good at judging what sort of books I’ll enjoy. And obviously I’m not going to choose to read a book I probably won’t enjoy just for the sake of having a wider range of ratings. However, if I don’t like a book as much as usual, I’ll definitely not give it a higher rating just out of generosity. I mean, just last week I rated a popular book 2/5 stars, because it just wasn’t for me.
So is it possible that these reviewers are just lucky, and always enjoy the books they read…or are they not reviewing hard enough?
I never think to myself that someone’s judgment is less than my own – that’s just a ridiculous thing to think. If a person rates a book 4 stars, why should anyone dismiss their opinion just because they’ve rated a few books 4 stars lately? So I never dismiss an opinion, but I do remember that it’s their opinion and I might not enjoy the book as much – but that’s the same with all reviews.
However I do sometimes think it about myself. Whenever I seem to rate books around the same for a few weeks, I start to think to myself “Maybe I’m being too lenient? Too generous with my ratings? Am I doing it wrong?”
But there is no “wrong”!
Sure, some people are harsher and stricter with their ratings than others. Doesn’t mean their opinion is more important than others. It just means they’ve looked into it further.
I personally do this thing when I’m rating a book, where I’ll rate it out of 10, instead of 5, and then half it to get my actual rating. Somehow it seems easier to me. It’s like if I’m debating whether to rate a book 3 or 4 out of 5. I’ll see what I’d rate it out of 10…6 might seem to low, 8 might seem to high, so I’d rate it 7. Half it, 3.5/5. I have no idea why this seems easier to me, it just does.
But that’s my way of rating books. Whether people agree with me or not, that’s how I rate my books. So is it possible for reviewers so rate books too easily, or is it just a matter of opinion?
Share your thoughts!
Can reviewers rate books too easily? Would you distrust a reviewer’s opinion if they rated the majority of their books the same? Could they rate a bit harsher?
Or like I said, is it just a matter of opinion? Are they lucky to enjoy books that much all the time?
Do you ever feel like you’re rating books too easily, when all your reviews are a similar ratings for a while?
Let me know in the comments!
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Come and visit me!
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A frolic through fiction 
Interesting topic. I think I’m one that’s not as critical but I do try to remember to point out things that may bother others even if I’ve loved a story. I agree though that I just try to pick books I think I will enjoy so hopefully I will end up with all 4s and 5s although unfortunately that doesn’t always happen.
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I think it’s good that books aren’t always amazing though, because at least you’ll know the difference between a good book and a not so good one, right? 🙂
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Great post! I don’t think I rate things too easily, but my average tends to fall around 3* (I’m not as good at judging what books to read so I have a lot of varied ratings). That’s such a clever way to rate books when you don’t know what to give it!
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You think so? 🙂 It just somehow makes it easier for me. It must be something about there being more choice of what to rate it, so it’s easier to pick a number then half it!
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Yeah definitely! 🙂 That’s such a great idea!
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I don’t have any problem rating a book 1 or 2 stars if it deserves it, but I do look for books I’ll enjoy, so it’s only normal that my mean rating is 4, right? 😉 Some people are harsher reviewers, when I know that a blogger I follow tends to rate lower, I usually know that if a book got 3.5 stars from him/her, they really liked it. lol
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That’s an interesting way to look at it haha! It’s a lot easier to judge if you’ll have a similar opinion when you know what sort of things the blogger behind it all likes to read in the first place, so you can compare 🙂
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yes. I have a few bloggers that I KNOW will like the same stuff as I do, so I always look for those reviews 😉
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I have thought about this and I do seem to rate a lot of books 4 or 5 stars but that’s mostly because I’ve been reading great books lately 🙂 I have however rated popular books with stars from 1.5 to 3.5 🙂
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I think you’re like me then – tends to just choose good books, but not afraid to give a low rating if you didn’t enjoy it 🙂 Just means we’re good at choosing books haha!
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Yeah that’s exactly it 🙂
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My average is probably 4 as well, if I didn’t like a book but I didn’t hate it I’ll do a 3 star (Red Queen, for example) but it probably means I’m not going to read the sequel. If I don’t like it, I just don’t finish it, so I never get to the point where I rate it 1 or 2 stars.
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That’s a good point! Most people actually just don’t finish books if they’re not enjoying them, so that could be part of the reason why a lot of books have high ratings rather than a wider range!
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I think I’m not the critical type when I review books but if the books are ridiculously bad, I think I’ll be a little bit critical (well, probably not a little bit) haha 😀
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I don’t really think I’ the critical type either *shrugs* I don’t think it necessarily a bad thing though
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This is an interesting topic that I have actually been thinking about a bit lately. I feel that I probably started off rating books too easily. And I probably still do sometimes. But it’s something that I think comes with learning to review books. When I started my blog i had never really written reviews before, so I think that I definitely did rate books too easily. But I have been working on rating books more strictly and trying not to pick all the pros and no cons of a story. Great post! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 I definitely get what you mean about it being something you adjust to as you review more and more. Plus, as you read more books, and even as your tastes change, your ratings will be effected because you’ll have more to compare to.
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Yeah definitely. 🙂
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“I do admit that my average rating tends to be around 4 stars, but that’s because I’m quite good at judging what sort of books I’ll enjoy. And obviously I’m not going to choose to read a book I probably won’t enjoy just for the sake of having a wider range of ratings.” I completely and totally agree with this statement! I have thought about it before, why I tend to rate a lot of books 4/5, but I do think it’s just because I’ve read so many books that I know what I like! Great post! 🙂
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Thank you! Glad you agree 😀
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I definitely rate too highly, but I’ve tried to change that this year. I’m not too sure if it’s working so far but I’ve given some three and even a two star rating, so I’ve tried to consciously rate rather than just clicking the five star button all the time!
Great post!
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I’m the same, I’ve started consciously rating this year too 🙂 Thank you!
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I usually read books I know I’ll like, however lately I’ve been trying to pick some books that are outside of my comfort zone. I think this has helped my ratings. I can appreciate a really well written book that might not have been to my taste and still find something good to say about it. I’ll be honest and say it just wasn’t to my taste in reading material. I have rated only one book 1 star, but have done several 2 and 3’s. I only give out 5 starts (or I use hearts) if I loved. loved it!
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I’m the same. I’ve started reading books that I wouldn’t usually read, so that’s help vary my ratings quite a lot lately 😀
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I almost never rate a book 5 stars. It must be very special and really surprised me in some way. Interesting topic!
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Thank you! And same with me, I only rate books 5 stars if it’s a new favourite and I know I’ll love it for years 🙂
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