NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This week I'm looking at 3 star ratings on our reviews.
This is what my star reviews basically mean on Goodreads and my blog:
1-didn't like, DNFed it, won't pick it up again
2-nothing special, probably DNFed, wouldn't continue series
3-like, as in decent read, may or may not read again
4-really liked, will read again and continue with series
5-loved, favourite reads
This can be an area where people very much disagree. OK most of us will agree that books that didn't do it for us are likely to be 1 star, and the books we loved are 5 star. The other three stars seem open to a bit more debate, especially a 3 star rating which is what I'm looking at here. Some people like me use the Goodreads model of 'like'. By that I mean I liked the book, I was entertained by it on some level and I don't regret spending my time reading it. I rate a lot of varied books as a 3, some I will read again and others I won't.
What kind of thing goes into my three star category? These are a few examples.
-biography/memoirs that entertained me but I wouldn't feel the need to read it again
-a prequel/spinoff short story that was fun to read but adds nothing important to the series plot
-strong plot but not enough depth to love the characters
-a trope that was offputting but the story was still goodenough not to be ruined by it
-a good plot brought down by something
-decent read but more could be done with it
-a bit bland but nothing to make me dislike it
-NF with decent information, one read was enough but handy to refer to
I regard a 3 star review as mainly being on the positive side. There may be a bit of constructive critical comment about improvements or things that didn't work for me, but the overall reading experience was pretty positive. If it is rated 3 star, I finished the book and didn't hate it either! But there are quite a few authors out there who take the more Amazon route of a 3 star being 'ok', which puts it the same level as my 2 star rating. Imagine the trouble I had when I was uploading the GR reviews to Amazon!!! Anyway, authors have been known to complain about getting a 3 star review when some bloggers still see it as a positive review. I've seen this lead to slanging matches online when a blogger is narked at being told their 3 star review is too low. But that is another debate!
I have been asked to review a lot of books for authors and a handful for publishers and on occasion I have been asked to not post a review unless it was going to be a 4 or 5 star. I really object to this as I feel it is cheating readers if we just bow down to instructions like that. Reading gushing 5 star reviews that say nothing about character, plot, style, pacing, tropes etc tells me nothing and makes it harder to decide if the book is my kind of thing. I like to read 3 star reviews and below to see the niggles readers had as this is very helpful for me deciding if I'm going to read it. Telling me I can read it but can only review it if I love it is not acceptable to me. I put reviews up on Goodreads, my blog and sometimes on Amazon and I will do this whether these authors like it or not. If you don't want an honest review of my opinion, don't give me the book, y'know?
Do you regard a 3 star review as positive or negative? Does your 3 star review follow the Goodreads or Amazon system? What do you think when authors ask you not to publish a review under 4 stars?
I have never really seen 3 stars as negative. When I use it, basically I'm saying the book was okay and I don't regret reading it but there was no "wow" factor. I think some authors get too hung up on ratings. Pretty much all publicity is good publicity right? And for every book I don't like, there's tons out there that do. I don't think authors should ask that and if they are going to make such a request, they should bring it down to 3.
ReplyDeleteYeah, same here. Authors need to realise that they won't always get top star reviews and asking people not to post lower star reviews is counterproductive when word gets out!
DeleteFor me, a 3-star review is positive. It means the book was average. I was entertained by it, and I don’t regret reading it, but I probably won’t ever reread it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think authors get too obsessed with those 4 and 5 star reviews and don't realise that 3 stars can be very helpful in improving your skill as a writer, if there is constructive critisism.
DeleteGreat review! I have the same views on a three star rating! Luckily no one has asked me to read a book to give it four to five stars before, that's horrible! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt seems some authors and publishers want a good review or none at all. I will not be silenced!
DeleteI view three stars the same as you. Middle of the road. It wasn't totally awful, or anything good enough to read again. It's right in the middle and I don't see it as a negative thing. More like an "average" thing.
ReplyDeleteI find myself splitting the 3 star reviews on my blog by using 3.5 which is very useful. Of course I can't do that on Goodreads or Amazon which is a pity!
DeleteI regard 3 as kind of neither. Usually not a bad book, but not one I liked. Although it really depends as my ratings mean all diff things. Maybe I did like it and am willing to give the series another try w/ the next book, but it had too many issues to rate it higher. This is why I put much more stock in reviews than ratings.
ReplyDelete3 star can be tricky sometimes as I use it for such a big section of my read books. Some I'll read again and some I won't. On the blog I use 3.5 to seperate the better from the lesser 3 stars but of course you can't do that on Goodreads! I think there is more value in the review than the rating as well.
DeleteMy rating system is very much like your. To me a 3 star rating means the book was okay but didn't wow me. I post reviews on my blog, B&N, Goodreads and Amazon. What gets me is how their rating systems differ. I almost want to give a different rating on sites because their rating stands for something different. That's another discussion though, isn't it? LOL
ReplyDeleteI use the same rating on Goodreads and Amazon when it comes to stars but at the bottom of the Amazon review I write what my stars mean compared to theirs. It's easier than changing the stars for each site!
DeleteMy view of 3-star ratings is very similar to yours...For me, 3 stars means I liked the book, but don't want to reread it and won't be buying my own copy because I didn't love it that much. It's still a good read, though.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's a good way to some it up. I do read a few 3 star books again but they aren't top priority.
DeleteTo me most reads are 3 star, a perfectly fine book that I enjoyed. It didn't blow me out of the water but I liked it. If I thoguht it was really really good or awesome it's probably a 4 , and if it's a favorite and I'm raving about then I give it a 5.
ReplyDeleteI've never posted a review on Amazon so I've never really had to think about that, but I've been thinking of starting to cross post there so I guess I better figure that out lol!
Most of my reads used to be 3 star when I read a wider range of genres. I don't have as many now compared to then as I tend to stay more in my favourite genres and I seem to either love or hate them with not much in the middle!
DeleteOn Amazon I use my Goodreads star rating but at the end of the review I point out that my system is different from Amazon and state what mine are.
I think that a 3 star rating is a good rating. It is a pretty average book in my opinion. Not perfect but not a lot of problems either. I like to read a wide variety of reviews. Sometimes a bad review will actually make me want to pick up a book.
ReplyDeleteAnother persons idea of horrible things about a book can often be what I'm looking for. I guess the things that put me off a book might make others want to read it too!
DeleteYeah, I use three star reviews in the same way. "Entertaining/interesting, not exceptional".
ReplyDeleteYes that's a good way to describe it.
DeleteI look at three star reviews as positive also. I would recommend the book because I enjoyed it, but it is not on my LOVE IT, OR BLEW ME AWAY list. I think sometimes it's just a genre that is ho hum for me to begin with.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Yeah if I was an author I'd be happy with 3 stars. I'd be more interested in what is said in the main review.
Delete