The 3 Star Rating Event is hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance. This 2 day event is intended to help readers, bloggers, and authors understand and bridge the gap in thoughts on the 3 Star Rating.
Today, bloggers on the hop are sharing our thoughts about the 3 Star rating. Please, feel free to jump in and leave your thoughts in the comments. I will be hopping around and joining in discussions throughout the day myself. Also, visit the other blogs on the hop to see what the 3 Star Rating means to other readers and bloggers.
Tomorrow, various authors and publishers will be sharing their opinions about the 3 star rating. Author Lisa Beth Darling will be at Book Savvy Babe, so stop by tomorrow too!
My Thoughts on the 3 Star Rating:
When I first started reviewing, I hardly gave a thought to giving a book a 3 star rating, considering it a good rating. However, as I got more into blogging, I realized that the 3 star rating did not go over as well as I thought it would. I have always seen a 3 Star rating as a good book, it’s a book that is a good read, it’s not my favorite book ever, but I enjoyed reading it. I consider my 3 Star rating reviews as positive reviews. If I rate a book under 3 stars, then the book has problems, or it just didn’t work for me.
I do not like that so many authors and publishers see this as a negative rating. When looking for books to read, I AUTOMATICALLY look at the 3 star reviews. 3 Star reviews generally feel very honest. They state problems (such as editing or pacing issues) and they also state the strengths of a book, which is really what a review is supposed to be. It can be hard to tell if I will like a book based on a 5 star review, full of gushing praise. Bottom line, a 3 Star rating and review does not negatively impact my feelings about a book, the 3 star reviews help me to find books most suited to me. Therefore, when I do read the book, I generally really like it, and often times, my own rating is higher.
Now, while I appreciate personality, I do think that some reviews can be too snarky or sarcastic. No matter what I rate a book, I always respect the author while still providing an honest review, and when looking for books, I trust the honest, respectful reviews the most.
Here is a quick rating table, to help gauge how I personally rate books:
- 5 Stars: OMG, out of this world amazing
- 4 Stars: Really Good/ really liked
- 3 Stars: Good/ I liked this book
- 2 Stars: Okay- some issues
- 1 Star: Did not like
So, how about you? What are your thoughts on the 3 Star Rating? Join in and help get the discussion rolling!
Visit the other blogs participating in this event:
March 29, 2012 at 4:54 am
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March 29, 2012 at 5:27 am
Right on! I totally agree with that
I have bought more books based on 3 star ratings more than any other. In fact I think we try harder on 3 star ratings to point out what we loved and the few things that kept it from a 4. I feel like I get a better sense of the book from 3 star ratings!
March 29, 2012 at 6:57 am
Three stars for me is “I liked it.” It held my attention enough to keep me reading. I don’t like to look at rankings so much as the opinions, because I’ve seen glowing opinions with low rankings, and harsh opinions with high rankings.
March 29, 2012 at 7:26 am
excellent point Cryselle. Sometimes the ratings don’t match up to the review, so they can be much less important than the review content. I understand more and more why some reviewers don’t use ratings. I think its a good idea to take in the review and the rating together…
March 29, 2012 at 7:19 am
If I see a three star rating I also feel it is a good book and will buy it, but I can understand how the author feels. You put all of that time, stress and emotion into your book and you want people to think it is a great book. I am sure it is a let down for the author.
March 29, 2012 at 7:41 am
You rate exactly the same way I do when rating with stars! I have always given the books that I liked but didn’t love 3 stars and not thought I was giving a bad rating. I guess authors would rather we had a passionate response be it good or bad *shrug*.
March 29, 2012 at 8:35 am
I always look at the opinion inside the review. There are specific reasons the review has any rating, that is what I want to know. I’ve bought plenty of 3 star books. I’ve also found out that some of those 5 star books were 3 for me, and many 3 star books are 4 & 5′s for me.
March 29, 2012 at 9:01 am
exactly Vanessa, ratings are subjective, each person is going to interpret or “feel” a book differently based on personal feelings and whatnot… I have found some favorite books from 3 (even 2) star reviews… I think we kneed a whole chat room for this discussion, LOL
March 29, 2012 at 9:09 am
I think 3 stars are a GOOD book. Its a positive rating. And you really need to read the review to even decide what to make out of the 3 star rating. And some of my favorite series I have gave the first book a 3 star rating. Its a good rating.
March 29, 2012 at 9:20 am
One of my favorite reviews is a three-star where the reviewer clearly showed that she ‘got’ the book. I don’t expect everyone to love all my books. To be honest, I wish that if a book doesn’t appeal to a reviewer, they just wouldn’t do a review of it since that’s more a matter of taste than of quality. Just ask those people who would compare War and Peace to The Hobbit. If a book has serious editing and story issues, though, then it’s fair game.
I’ve had one reviewer tell me openly that he never gives five stars out unless it IS War and Peace. His four-star review is another one I treasure.
The best part of those three star reviews for me as an Indie writer, is that I can take those comments, and fix the problems, making it a better book! And I do and did.
Thanks, too, for the comment about the snark. Some reviewers really seem to have gotten nastier lately.
March 29, 2012 at 10:00 am
I see 3 star reviews a good or neutral. Sometimes I’ll read a book and I didn’t hate it or love it so I’ll give it a 3 stars. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood, if I had read it another time I might have given it 4 stars. Or maybe it’s a book in a series I really like but it was not my favorite in the series but I still enjoyed it.
I agree 3 stars is still an enjoyable read IMO.
March 29, 2012 at 12:01 pm
That’s basically my feeling about a 3 star rating. I liked it, but it wasn’t amazing or anything. It was a good read, a good book without too many huge problems that made me dislike it. if neutral is at the middle, then 3 star rating would just be a tiny bit better than neutral.
Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire
March 29, 2012 at 1:10 pm
I enjoy this topic and I am so glad to read your thoughts about it. Truthfully, it is not the rating I concentrate on, but the actual review- what did the person have to say about the story they read. With three stars, I think it is really important that the reviewer explain and/or give examples of their opinion.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
March 29, 2012 at 2:34 pm
I completely agree! If I like a book, I give it a 3. Not every book is going to be my absolute favorite book I’ve ever read. Those books are the ones I save my five star ratings for. If I don’t like a book, it always gets 2 stars (or 1 if it is just an abomination) and I always explain why it got that. I’ve had some authors ask me what was wrong with the book that I gave it three stars. I even had one publisher ask me not to publish my 3-star review anywhere besides my website because the author was an “up and comer” and she didn’t want my review to negatively affect her. I dropped from that publishing company right then and there.
March 29, 2012 at 9:02 pm
[...] about the 3 star rating. Be sure to check out my post from yesterday to see my personal thoughts (CLICK to see post). Today, authors and publishers will be at various blogs on the hop, sharing their [...]
March 30, 2012 at 2:11 am
I agree with you, for me as well a 3 star rating is a good book (that’s why I even call that category Novellus Bonus, Latin for Good Book). But sometimes 3 stars mean mediocre book. It either did not provoke such passionate response from me or I had serious problems which detracted stars.