All I am saying ... is give threes a chance

This is a little ditty about the Goodreads star rating system sung to the tune of Give Peace a Chance. Sing along with me now.

Jana and I have discussed the Goodreads rating system a few times on The Armchair Librarians podcast, Kristen did a post on how she rates books on goodreads, and I may have mentioned here or there that I dislike star rating systems but haven't really talked about how I rate books using a star system.

The simple answer is it varies.

The complicated answer is it varies.

It depends on my state of mind when I close that book for the last time. Anyone who is an avid reader knows a book that is like a punch to the gut in a good way might not pack the same punch if it's re-read again 10 years down the line. You're a different person then. You interact with that same book differently. So much of what we like or dislike about novels is ourselves reflected back at us.

It also depends on the day. In times of contentment, I will typically love a book that makes me yearn for something. If I was giving it a star rating, I'd close that book and give it a four or five. In times of discontent, a part of me will probably hate that same book because I have enough of that going on in reality, but I recognize that it's well done and might give it a three star rating.

I would venture to guess that I rate most books a three on goodreads. It never occurred to me until I was talking to a friend at work that three was a meh rating to most people. She told me she'd not even consider adding a book to her to read list that carried a less than an average four star rating. That blew me away. I was like but you're missing a lot of solid three reads! The three star rating is my workhorse. It didn't blow me away but I still enjoyed the read.

I read whatever I want to read, regardless of what others thought of it. It's always nice to hear people liked it, but even if people didn't, I still might. And if I start it and it sucks, I can just stop. 

At the end of the day, I think you should give a book a chance because you like the title, cover, or description; because a friend liked it; because a friend didn't like it; because you've never heard of it or because it's everywhere; because you want to see if the average five star rating is right or because you want to see if the average two star rating is right; or just because anything about it is whispering read me to you. Know that there are many people out there like me who give arbitrary ratings. Know that everyone could hate a book and you can love it or vice versa and that it's fine. Chart your own reading path!

And give threes a chance.