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I'm curious: when you rate a book, what exactly does your rating mean?
Is it, "I'm rating this according to how it suits my own tastes" or is it "I'm rating this according to its literary merit, whether it suits my tastes or not?"
Cos most reviews are, "EYE hated it, 1 star."
Is it, "I'm rating this according to how it suits my own tastes" or is it "I'm rating this according to its literary merit, whether it suits my tastes or not?"
Cos most reviews are, "EYE hated it, 1 star."
I know it's a mix of both, and I'm sure all reviews skew more toward the personal/subjective.
But I'm curious about how often we say, "This is definitely not my style, and I didn't enjoy it because xyz reason, but I can see its literary merit for those unlike me, so 4 stars."
But I'm curious about how often we say, "This is definitely not my style, and I didn't enjoy it because xyz reason, but I can see its literary merit for those unlike me, so 4 stars."
Some great responses: https://twitter.com/premeesaurus/status/1285615369504337920?s=19
The star system "flattening" nuance https://twitter.com/melisscaru/status/1285613718915751937?s=19
Rating = headline, not full story https://twitter.com/SFF180/status/1285614490936115202?s=19
Separating reviewing from rating https://twitter.com/KJKabza/status/1285614566173478913?s=19
Emoji ratings instead of stars (I'm loving this idea, lol) https://twitter.com/Caroline_Bartma/status/1285615828927422466?s=19
Here's my reason for asking this question: when you rate a book 3 stars because you didn't personally enjoy it but you're sure it's a great book for others, it has this knock-on effect of making it hard for those who will enjoy it to find. 3 stars doesn't rise up the pile, see.
Comments are great for nuance, but algorithms only read stars & act on them. They don't care about your comments.
I'm saying this because books by minorities get the "not for me" treatment often. And when you give a "balanced" 3 stars, the intended audience won't find it either.
I'm saying this because books by minorities get the "not for me" treatment often. And when you give a "balanced" 3 stars, the intended audience won't find it either.
Another "separation of personal vs 'objective'" point https://twitter.com/PankajSethi00/status/1285723886034747397?s=19
