I decided to watch my poll (about whether or not I should rate books on some sort of scale) until I got thirteen votes, and then decide if it was conclusive from there. Twelve of my thirteen voters voted in favor of ratings, so I guess I’m rating books. My scale will be out of six windows. Why? Because books are the windows into worlds not our own! Also, see my header.
One Window: Would not recommend it. At least it is…in English? I could tell it was supposed to be a novel? I don’t know.
Two Windows: Pick it up from the library…if you must. I wouldn’t recommend doing so unless you have an intense interest in the topic at hand or something.
Three Windows: It was okay. I won’t remember it next month and I won’t go around gushing about it, but reading it isn’t a total waste of your mind. This is a library book, though, not a purchase.
Four Windows: I liked it. Pretty good. It might be worth purchasing if it’s your kind of book, or if you read a library copy first and like it.
Five Windows: I really, really liked it. This was a really good book. I was impressed. I will be recommending it to people! Buy this one!
Six Windows: I absolutely loved it! Cannot stop gushing! A truly amazing book! (This one will be used very, very rarely, and only for the most memorable and most awesome books that I have ever read). Buy this one right away!
Also, a heart for personal resonance–regardless of how I rated it. A book can be technically “pretty good” but have some sort of personal resonance for me, and that will be indicated by a heart. Like the sloppily drawn one at the left.
Any comments or suggestions or whatnot?
Edited to clarify: For the most part, act like this is a five-star rating. One is awful, two is not so good, three is okay, four is really excellent, and five is even better. Just with a sixth level added on for the truly mind-blowingly awesome. I don’t even know if I’ll get the chance to use six windows! Also, you know, the heart for personal appeal.
Teen Book Review 
January 6, 2009 at 5:53 am
Jocelyn,
I think it’s great that you decided to go with a rating system. I’ve been reading your reviews for a while now and, like any without a rating system, it’s hard to distinguish between what you really liked from what you REALLY liked. So, rates will help with that.
Anyway, one comment I have is the use of 6 (versus 5) windows. I think unless you indicate your window range with each review that you will do, when you give a review 5 windows, someone unfamiliar with your system will immediately think it was the best — whereas that is not quite true because you could have given it 6 windows. I think readers are more familiar with a 5-point rating system (e.g., Goodreads, Amazon). I think Embookshelf uses a 4-point starfish system and I always have to take a step back and realize that 4 is the highest value — because in my mind 4 is pretty good but not great.
Ana
January 6, 2009 at 5:54 am
P.S. will you go back and rate some of your previous reviews? I know it is a lot of work but it would be cool if you are up for it.
January 6, 2009 at 10:09 am
I really like the idea of the heart, because I’ve had the same kind of okay-but-personal-resonance situation.
January 6, 2009 at 10:28 am
Great rating system…LOVE the heart!!!
January 6, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Ana, I definitely have to remember to mention in my reviews that the rating is out of six, because you’re right, that might be a little confusing. I felt like I needed six levels of books, though, because in my mind there are at least six (and I’ll probably have to use 1/2 windows sometimes, too!). And I’ll definitely try to work on rating some of my previous reviews. Possibly just adding a line of text at the bottom, though, or even just a tag because adding the graphics might take awhile for each post…Hmm, I’ll be thinking about it, though.
Ink Mage and Anonymous–I like the heart, too! I can’t take full credit for it, though; I got the idea of something extra for a book I love personally from Sarah Miller’s (http://sarahmillerbooks.blogspot.com/) system (she uses a star).
January 7, 2009 at 1:21 am
I really like the rating system! And the heart is a cute idea, too. :)
January 7, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Just wanted to say, I love the heart. Because there are a lot of books that I know might not be perfect, but they still appeal to me on a purely personal level. Ratings don’t always account for that, so yay for hearts.
Keep up the great work!
January 7, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I think this is a solid rating system – it’s a bit different, too, which I like. And I LOVE the heart – what a lovely idea. :)