How I rate books
Another subjective book rating system
When I decided that I would start reviewing books this year, I set out to do some research first, like I do with most things. I read about the star rating system on Goodreads, looked up some Medium articles about how other readers rate the books they've read, skimmed through some academic book reviews (no stars or visible scores — just words, often vaguely complimentary), and so forth.
There is no objective way to evaluate books, at least not one that the book-loving community can fully agree on. To me, this realization is both overwhelming and freeing, but mostly overwhelming; I don't think I'm someone who naturally gravitates towards structure, but after dealing with so many rubrics in my professional career and obsessing over data points for my other interests, it just seemed normal to me that I cobble together something systematic for my reading activity, too.
Some background
Despite the inevitable element of subjectivity that comes with rating books, I've come to think of the medium as one that is more accessible, with less variables. I can sit with most of my books in either physical or electronic form (usually the latter) and be assured that my impression of them will largely remain the same regardless of how and when I approach them; I can enjoy a chapter during a break or steal some passages between chores, filling in the empty spaces of my day with sentences from whatever title I'm reading that week.
But how I feel about a book depends too much on my current headspace, and that is as subjective as it can get. A story can leave me dazed in its aftermath, floating in its effervescent prose, but the spell is too easily broken by the familiar, routine worries of daily life: work, family, money, meals, health.
So, rather than rating books on how they make me feel, I considered rating them by the ways they affect my behavior and reading habits.
The rating system
My list of criteria, assuming that I adopted a star rating system, looks something like this:
A. I finished the book. (1 star)
I try to finish a book when I can, and I try harder not to shame myself when I can't. I don't have a set number of pages, or chapters, before I set a book down and move onto the next one. I think a book worth finishing is worth at least one star.
B. This book made me curious - it made me look up obscure or unfamiliar terms and ideas, and branch out to other titles and subjects and people. (1 star)
Books always remind me of what little knowledge I possess, and I think this is how it should be; any book that encourages the pursuit of knowledge, small or large, deserves a star.
C. I was willing to suspend my disbelief. (1 star)
The ability to coax someone into suspending their disbelief is a powerful indicator of a skilled snake oil peddler or a remarkably good book. They both deserve a star.
D. I told other people about this book. If I didn't enjoy it, I felt like someone else would; and if I did enjoy the book, I wanted everyone to read it! (1 star)
I find that if a book elicits any emotion strong enough to compel me to speak about it to someone, it earns a star.
E. I am excited to reread this book in ten years, when I feel like I can read it for the first time again. (1 star)
F. The writing was exquisite, so much so that I found myself reading sentences over and over to savor them. (1 star)
G. This book still lingers in my memory, and I still think about it as I go about my day. (1 star)
The last three criteria are prompted by the books that impacted me most — Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen, and Émile Zola's L'Assommoir.
Examples
If I were to use this system to rate some recent reads, this would be the outcome:
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
A (1) + B (1) + C (1) + D (1) + F (1) = 5 stars
The Pretender by Jo Harkin
A (1) + B (1) + C (1) + D (1) + E (1) + F (1) + G (1) = 7 stars
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
A (1) + B (1) = 2 stars