I love to review. Pfft, that’s even an understatement. WITH ALL THE BREATH AND SPARKLES AND CAKE OF MY 206 HUMAN BONES, I ADORE REVIEWING. I love it because I get to sprout my opinions and analyse why I liked a book or not. It also helps me remember said book. I have, what they call in the outer planets, a “Swiss Cheese Memory”. Ergo if you tell me your name is Hamish, I’ll probably call you Ferdinand two minutes later.
I’ve googled bad memories (as you do, because Google knows everything) and there’s many possible reasons for my Swiss Cheese Memory. For instance a) I could’ve been dropped on my head as a child (which is highly likely because I had 4 older siblings and who trusts siblings? no one smart) or b) I am actually Swiss, or c) I am actually cheese.
Either way: writing reviews = I remember the book a lot more.
I also think about how I’m going to review a book the ENTIRE time I’m reading it. I rarely take notes, because I read so fast, so I can manage to hold onto those slippery eelish thoughts for 24 hours. There is like a constant running commentary in my head over the book. Myself basically can’t shut up.
Basically like this:
- Me: Oh I like opening. That is a NICE opening. Tentative 4-stars.
- Me: And that character is now my favourite thing after that incredible line. Solid 4-stars.
- Me: Daaang CLICHE ALARM WENT OFF.
- Me: And, you know what? That was just awkward writing. 3-stars.
- Me: I’m not even sure what’s going on with this flowery prose. Solid 3-stars unless something amazing happens.
- Me: OMG CUUUUTENESS. Is it going up? Is it?
- Me: HA. Do humpback whales fly? It is not going up. It is descending to the depths of the Marina Trench.
- Me: The whales are angry. I repeat. THE W.H.A.L.E.S. ARE ANGRY. Minions, summon my gifs of indignation. Stars are going kersplat!
And of course it can go the opposite direction with me shrieking about how much I love a book. Most books swing the pendulum a little bit as I read. I’ve rarely read a book that I thought was 5-stars the ENTIRE way through. (Unless it was written by Maggie Stiefvater. My biased love towards her prose knows only 5-stars.) But if I feel like 5-stars for 90% of the book? It gets one. Life is too short to wait for “perfect” books! 5-STARS ALL AROUND!
In fact, as we speak (as we type? as you read the words which I’ve put before your eyeballs and demand you consume?) I’m listing my reactions step-by-step to reading Winter by Marissa Meyer! Since it’s a monstrously long book and I’m listening to an audio, I’m pausing after every few chapters to write my current emotions. And already I’ve noticed that some sections had me disappointed, while others have me gasping like a suffocated half-murdered onion. My opinion fluctuates the ENTIRE time reading.
But I usually know what I’m going to rate a book before I finish! Some books are tricky beasts and the ending will surprise me. Like my love from Princess of Thorns only blossomed to infinite love and obsession and 5-stars during the finale.
I analyse while I read. I can’t stop! I’m not sure I want to stop. Once upon a million years ago, when I was a humble worm of books with no blog, I just read for the pleasure of reading and never analysed. Do I miss that? Do I wish I could just turn off and zone into a book? IT IS A GOOD QUESTION. But I think…for me: nope. My running mental commentary and I are very happy together and will likely continue forever fuelled on cake crumbs and critical opinions and infinite love of books.
I just got myself a goodreads account since I’ve chewed through a few books in just the past week (an anomaly I hope will continue) and since I’m adding books that I’ve read in the past I can’t review them. I joined a similar service for video games too so I might think about my thoughts for them both so I can review them after. Although I think I need to learn to be critical, I often get swept up in the emotions and the general feel and forget about analysing details.
On the opposite end of the spectrum I can’t go see a play without analysing in in the back of my mind. Two years of vce drama does that to you hehe
It’s okay to be caught up in emotions!! I say I “analyse” a lot, but I’m really very emotional about how I go about it. xD It’s all feels here. XD hehe. I can’t watch movies without analysing how they would’ve made it…and now it’s the same with books. I LOVE thinking about the behind-the-scenes stuff though. 😉
I totally do think about ratings when I read! Sometimes, I already struggle what I’ll rate a book even as I’m only reading, especially when the story is being all roller coaster like with so many ups and downs, you know? But like you, when I’m about to finish or am near the end and have strong feelings about the story, I know what my rating will be. It’s the ones I’m on the fence about (2-3 star reads) that are much trickier.
Oh and can I just say I’m so glad you love to review books because I also love reading your thoughts on them? 😉
yESSS I TOTALLY GET THAT!! That’s when I most long for half stars because the book just isn’t fitting into the 5 categories well. hehe. I get stuck on between 3s and 4s sometimes.
Awww, THAT MAKES MY DAY, HAZEL. <3
I always think about the star rating while I read. My mind fluctuates like a speedometer, one chapter a book can be three stars, the next it can be five. At the end I consider the after effects/feels it leaves me with and decide from there. If I’m honest, I’m not all that picky. I try to enjoy some aspect of every book!
Love this post, can’t wait to read the other responses 😀
(I don’t have a Swiss Cheese memory, but I do love cheese >>)
yES ME TOO THIS IS EXACTLY ME!! Like I could literally star rate each chapter, hehe. I do like it when my love for a book gets consistently higher…like if the book starts of 3-stars and then just keeps going up. :’)
(Cheese is basically one of the glorious creations of the universe.)
I usually think about the rating at different parts throughout the book. I’m honestly not sure why, it’s just sort of a habit I’ve gotten into since writing book reviews. 😀
SAME. I don’t remember doing this before book blogging? But now? I CAN’T STOP. xD
BOOK BLOGGING IS TAKING OVER MY LIFE! 😀 In such a good way.
NO REGRETS FOR THIS.
Hmmmm… you know, I honestly don’t think about star ratings at all when I read! It’s only once I finish and update my Goodreads status, and then I’m like, “Oh shit… What star rating does this deserve? Errrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I’ll just give it 4 stars.” LOL but I do relate to the note-taking part. I TAKE NO NOTES WHATSOEVER.
Hhaha, okay so you have the opposite problem to me then. xD BUT OMG NOTE TAKING IS TOO HARD. I admire the bookworms who do it but I am FAR too lazy for that. 😛
Oh goodness ahahaha. I don’t EVER take notes while reading either. I tried doing that once while reading Half Bad, and I’m so exceptionally lazy that I simply gave up looking for a pen and my constantly disappearing stack of tiny post it notes to wedge between the pages. I mean…pft, taking notes makes me feel like I’m STUDYING and then the book is sad and a turnoff 🙁 I think that when I’m enjoying a book, I don’t particularly CARE what I’m going to SAY about it until I’m done with it, you know? Because in that moment, its just me and the book, and I shall GLARE AWAY at anything else trying to interrupt.
I just can’t be bothered to even get up and get a pen. XD My “lazy note taking method” reaches its pinnacle when I take a photo with my iPod of the page and hope I remember which quote I wanted. Which I usually don’t. -_- I NEED A CLONE TO DO THE HARD STUFF FOR ME.
That was funny to read! Well, when I read a book in order to review it (so basically, every single one) my rating radar goes on. I. CAN’T. TURN. IT. OFF. I don’t know how I feel about it though. While I believe that we should have some kind of critical “eye” when reading (or doing anything really), I do miss that naive reading – when no rating radar would went on.
SAME. WE ARE TWINS ON THIS, KATARINA!! I just can’t turn it off either and I do it for EVERY book (but then I review every book, no matter what, hehe, so there’s that.) But I do reminisce about the days where a book was a just book sometimes. xD
I think about ratings while reading as well. Although I think it happens unconsciously but I start to think about the ratings from chapter 1! And most of the times, like 90% of the time, what I thought about the rating while reading the first chapter prevails at the end as well. And like you the constant commenting on my head goes on as well but if nothing ASDFGLKJHGF happens but is awsome then it’s usually a 4 star rating, I usually struggle with a 2 or 3 star rating because I don’t know, I feel really bad to rate so low but well, while writing the review it becomes clear to me what want to rate that particular book.
SAME. I can’t even stop. Like I even think about ratings from the first sentence. 😉 And every book kind of starts off at a 3-star, middle-of-the-road kind of place for me, and then goes up or down depending. XD That’s why I love goodreads status updates tbh. XD
I don’t necessarily think about ratings when I read… I just try and workout what I actually think about the book. Because I don’t write THAT many reviews (or bookish related posts) its not really a problem. I find I have to read a book and REALLY love it or REALLY hate it to actually be bothered to review it. That’s my problem with ARCS… I always find they put so much pressure on me to actually hurry up with reading it! 🙂
I totally get that!! Reviewing isn’t for everyone. *nods* I’ve gotten into a huge reviewing habit, having reviewed the last, like…400 books I’ve read over the last few years. XD So my brain is basically always on review mode. *nods* But it totally depends on what a person wants and likes to do.
Gosh, how I love your posts. But seriously, you always make me laugh… and if not that, at least giggle. But let’s talk about analysing. Oh my, I analyse too much sometimes. And the stars rating, of course I think about that while reading the book. Always. On top of that, I started doing notes IN my books, with pen or pencil and you should see it. Sometimes I wonder how I came up with all those ideas how the story can continue. And if I really, really like the book, there so many emotions written in the book by me, it’s crazy. But yeah, I constatly think about how I’m going to rate the book or how I’m going to review it. It’s more difficult with audio books and e-books than with actuall copies.
I thought about my reading habits before I started my blog and I must say I was less critical. Now that I’ve read so many books I feel like I’m a lot more fussy about them. But I wouldn’t like to go back. 🙂
OMG REALLY?!!? *FLAILS* THANK YOU, SIMONE. *beams* That completely makes my day. hehe.
Analysing bookworms for the win!! 😜 Oooh, notes in the book!? I am not brave enough for that yet. But sometimes I think it’d be really fun to totally write notes a book while reading and then swap it with a friend or something…it’d be a really interesting experience!
I was so totally less critical before blogging. *nods* I’m not sorry it’s changed but, it DEFINITELY has changed me. *nods*
The whales are angry. I repeat. THE W.H.A.L.E.S. ARE ANGRY. Minions, summon my gifs of indignation. Stars are going kersplat!
Cait, Cait, you just made me spit cola on my keyboard.
For me, it depends on the book. There are some books I’ll be practically writing my review before I’m finished, complaining about this or praising that, while others I’m too spellbound. If I’m too spellbound it’s either gonna be a trainwreck 1 star or a starry-eyed five. Also, if I’m just kind of… not sure what to say, quite often it just goes two/three stars for being… average.
WELL MY JOB HERE IS DONE. *passes you small cloth to wipe your keyboard* 😜
It’s so hard to write reviews when there’s like nothing negative to say. hehe. I HAVE DONE THAT MANY A TIME. Although starry-eyed 5-star reviews are fun and special. If a book is really MEH I always run out of things to say.
Oddly I never really think about the star rating until after I finish the review, and sometimes I even forget about it! I find it so hard to rate books, and especially to keep them consistent across my blog because sometimes I’ve found I’ve had to up a rating on a book simply because I remembered I rated another book I liked less as the same. I also sometimes find that through writing the review I come to either like the book more or less than I thought I did!
It’s not odd!! We’re all different. 😜 AND IT IS HARD TO RATE. Like I’ll rate two books 4-stars but they’ll be completely different feelings about the books and gahhhh. It’s really complicated sometimes. We bookworms have a tough life, tbh.
I absolutely 100% do this and then panick on those books where I can’t decide if it’s a five or a four and then about whether a 4.5 will suffice and then I explode. And usually just give it a five (after rereading the last chapter, of course, because I distracted myself with all that chattering). Also I LOVE your blog so much, my family keeps asking me why I’m snorting at my iPad, but I don’t think they even have a chance of understanding xx
Zomg I NEED half-star ratings sometimes. so so. bad. STAR RATING CAN BE REALLY HARD. We bookworms lead a seriously tough life. *nods*
OMGGGGG. REALLY??!?! THAT TOTALLY MAKES MY DAY. *gives you nine buckets of cake*
YES. All the time. I’m not usually an analytical person, but since I joined Goodreads, and especially since I started blogging, I definitely think about rating right from page one, even if I don’t go through after and decide my final rating based on every little thing I did or didn’t like–my ratings are based entirely on what I feel like it should be rated when I finish. And I would never take notes while reading. Too much work. Note-taking is not one of my skills.
Hehe, I agree. Note taking is just GAH. SO MUCH WORK. I’m too lazy to even find bookmarks most of the time and am forced (foooorced, I tell you) to read entire books in one sitting. Or use my dog as a bookmark. Don’t ask.
My ratings are based on feelings too. *nods*
I’m a bit of both…sometimes this post describes me to a tee. Other times, I rarely think of how I’m going to review it, what I’m actually going to say in the review and what rating it will obtain. But it takes a reeeeeaallly good book to suck me in and block all of those feelings out. I.e. Maggie Stiefvater or Michelle Hodkin. Or a select other few authors, potentially. I’ll pop back some time when there’s some more replies because you’ve got me interested in whether or not other bloggers do this too!
Zomg, I LOVE Maggie Stiefvater. MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR OF EVER. And I literally just read my first Michelle Hodkin book and gahhhh, I was so sucked in. I was thinking about star ratings though…but just how high it’d be. 😜
(Sorry I took so long to reply!! It’s been a busy week, but I appreciate your comment SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY. *gives you cake*)
I am TOTALLY like you when I’m reading. Though I do write things down sometimes when I’m reading in bed and I have to stop halfway through the book to, you know, sleep. (Ugh so irritating, why do I need sleep? I would have so much more time if I didn’t need to spend so many hours sleeping…Honestly…) I also constantly think what the rating is. I don’t miss the old days because I’m more critical now and thus the amazing books are so much more special and I can appreciate them more.
BASICALLY WE ARE LIKE TWINS ON THIS CAIT. *celebrates with cake*
Yes sleep is SO irritating. Gah. The trials we bookworms go through, seriously.
I don’t miss the none-critical days either, because I find it really fun and kind of…releasing?! to be able to analyse a book and decide exactly what I like and dislike.
WE ARE DEFINITELY TWINS, BEE.
Yes. All the time. I haven’t even been blogging lately, but I still continue to stress myself out with ratings. I basically go into every book like it’s worth 5 stars and throughout the book I mentally add and subtract stars, depending on what I like and dislike. There are so many times that I can’t decide on a final rating once I’m finished, though. 3 stars?! 3.5 stars?! 4 stars?! It’s basically the end of the world.
At least you start off thinking highly of the book!! 😜 I’m so hard to convince, hehe, I basically start off thinking every book is 3-stars and then it goes up or down from there. *nods* I NEED THOSE HALF STARS SOMETIMES THOUGH. And I do finish a book and am like “But what do I even think?!?!” and that’s the hardest. xD
I definitely analyze while I’m reading and most certainly play the “up-down” game with star ratings. Occasionally I’ll take the twitter or use the Goodreamds updates to make little notes about how I’m feeling about a book as I read it. This is immensely helpful when it comes to writing up a review later.
Unfortunately, if I don’t write a review RIGHT AWAY I forget very important details and can only remember my star rating and the general feeling the book gave me.
This, of course, excludes 1star and 5 star ratings. If a book falls into either of those rating categories for me then I will ABSOLUTELY remember! Because I either loved it with a fiery passion that’s seared it into my memory forever or I impaled it on a spike out in the front yard in an effort to warn others away. You just don’t forget those.
If I get TOTALLY stuck on my thoughts, I always go and talk about the book with someone and it generally helps me figure it out. hehe. But goodreads status updates are EVERYTHING. I love doing them. 😜 And same! I have to review the book straight away. I particularly like to do that before I start a new book, too, so I don’t confuse them.
And I totally agree. You can never forget those kinds of books. XD
It is, I suppose, entirely possible that not only are you cheese, but we are all cheese, and that doctors and biology books and all that sort of thing have been lying to us our entire lives, because the world is secretly made of cheese, but if we found that out, we would eat the world (even though that would be cannibalism, because cheese is amazing and delicious- usually at least), and following that we would eat each other and there would be nothing left.
It is possible. It’s not likely. But it’s possible.
I don’t generally think much about my star rating while I read unless it’s a book I’m reading specifically for review. Even then, it can go either way. I analyze a bit while I read, though, no matter what I’m reading- if you can call “I like this character. . . . Oh, look. Cliche. . . . WUT EVEN JUST HAPPENED. . . . X and Y are so totally a couple and I’m going to squee when they finally kiss. . . .” analyzing. It’s possibly more of fangirling. But it’s a type of analyzing still, maybe?
I’m sure we’re all cheese and the world has been LYING TO US ALL THIS TIME. *collapses in agony* But now we know the truth, cheese friends. Cannibalism is inevitable.
hehe, your thought process is fabulous though. 😜 XD I LOVE IT. Analysing is everything for me. I feel like I’m like an “analysing fangirl” though, because it’s a lot of feels over logic for me too. heeeh.
I think about star ratings and comments as I read. Many the times I think aloud while reading. I voice out my comments (only when I’m alone, of course) and just rant.. but when it’s time to write my review, I forget them. That’s why I tell myself to always right them, else I forget. ugh. Anyway, I do think about star ratings. For some weird reasons, my mind just works the rating out as I read but it sums up everything at the end of my read ’cause there might be something interesting at the end. I usually have that rating-thinking moment at the end of each read, haha
I have to write reviews STRAIGHT after finishing a book too or I just don’t remember everything!! And sometimes I have to go back and edit if I remember a detail (but gah, usually if I forget something, it’s gooooone forever).😜
Erm… I don’t really think about ratings when I read. I usually take notes of my comment and feelings while reading, and after re-read my opinions and gather my thought, I determined the ratings! But some books are making my life so hard cause they give me complicated feelings… “Do I like it??” “I do love this part, but this part is just meh.” “I love the plot but the characters…” “The characters are awesome but the plot…” and so on.
Omg you take notes?! I AM IN AWE OF YOU. I kind of wish I did but…laziness. The struggle is real.😂 Omg those complicated books though…they do so knot my brain. Sometimes I’ll finish a book and truly have NO IDEA if I liked it or not. Then I attack my sister and force her to listen to me rant about it until I figure out my feelings. hehe.
Well not exactly take notes like writing… I just type some words on memo or voice record my rant when I’m lazy 😀
Oh yes, I definitely think about the star rating now and then. I basically have a conversation with the book. “Oh nice one there wait NO HOW DARE YOU FIX THIS NOW.” I talk to my books. It’s perfectly normal. I normally also know the rating before to finish although I’ve been known to be convinced by a killer ending. Or in even rarer cases, a little while after I decide on the rating, some new revelation hits me and I adjust it. I think I could read for sheer enjoyment, if I really tried …
PS: If you were cheese I’d eat you, so I wouldn’t recommend that lifestyle.
PPS: Did the name and everything just get moved below the comment box? Not that I have anything against it, I just happened to notice.
Talking to books is totally normal. I do it too. I’m like the perfect example of normality. The ending has a HUGE impact on me. Like if it’s an amazing ending, I’ll forgive all sorts of transgressions. (Like basically all the Game of Thrones books being soooo sloooow to start but having PERFECT endings, gah. They get good ratings from me no matter what)CHEESE CANNIBAL.
I think the comment thing is a WordPress update? Because I didn’t do anything and IT CHANGED ON ME. And I’ve noticed it’s changed on all the other WP blogs too.😳
I definitely analyze while I read and I have been thinking about taking notes, but never have. I don’t necessarily think of the rating, but I do analyze what the hell is going on. I always can get swayed (easily in fact). I can go into a book and be like wowza this one has started off strong and it just slowly starts to go down and down.
Buuuuut, I do have a problem…I think I’m quite the easy rater and in 2016 I am sure as hell not letting that happen. I want to be more strict with my ratings. I think I’m too generous and that needs to stop 😛
I think about taking notes sometimes too…but never quite get there.😂 LAZINESS = ME. I just want to read!! All the commentary just goes on in my head and if I’m lucky, I’ll remember enough to put it in the review, heheh.
Goodreads just told me my average rating for 2015 was 3 stars. AND I FEEL A BIT BAD. I’m more negative than I thought!
I find I’m much more likely to do this with books I’m not enjoy very much. I ask myself why I’m not enjoying, prod at those areas, and see whether it’s simply me not meshing well with the book, or if there are things I think are just wrong with the book.
I definitely think more about books I don’t enjoy *nods* Although sometimes I feel totally MEH about a book and don’t know why and ghhhh it’s so hard to write reviews for those. *collapses*
The meh feeling is possibly the worst, mostly because I find that it’s in books that aren’t bad. There are usually even elements I would like. But there’s a barrier between me and the content that stops me from loving it (usually, it’s the writing style, I find). It can be really hard to weed out whether it is actually good but not for me, or whether I just think it isn’t that good >> The balance! D:
I’m basically you while reading. I just can’t help thinking commentaries like a wrestling announcer while I read throughout the whole book (especially since I started out my blog). How do I even make it stop?!??
And yes, I am cheese. I believe you are too. We should make a cheese army.
yES WE ARE BASICALLY SPORTS ANNOUNCERS. *nods* And no regrets. 😂
I think we are all cheese and the world has lied to us up until now. *nods* CHEESE ARMY FOR SURE.
OMG, this is so true! Definitely me! I can’t tell you how much I think about my review while reading… every chapter, I’m thinking about what I’m going to write about in my review. I used to take notes a lot (because I have THE WORST memory ever), but I don’t anymore, because I mainly write about how the book made me feel, which I think is less spoiler-y and more fun (and personal) to read in a review. For me, I only give a book 5* if I left the book feeling blown away, or like it definitely deserves it. The ending is the main thing for me – my rating is based on it!
Great discussion post, Cait! I love seeing how other bloggers write their reviews 😀
Denise | The Bibliolater
Omg I admire you for taking notes!! Even if you don’t do it now… I have the worst memory of ever too and yet I never take notes. LAZY = ME. 😂 I just try to read super fast so I don’t forget all my thoughts before I finish. hehe. And YES. Endings do change a lot for me. If the ending is amazing it makes me forget a dodgy beginning.
I do analyze while reading as well! It helps me come up with a final review, when I actually have to write it. (not sure if that made any sense). My thought process is actually very similar to yours! Before I started my blog I actually did kind of review the book to myself… I don;’t even know what I am saying *shakes head* Let me try this again, one of the reason I started my blog was because I loved talking about books. I would always tell my friends about the books I was reading and tell them how good it was, or how bad. They of course didn’t care (I’m not sure how you couldn’t care). So I decided to start my blog, so that I could talk an share my opinions with people who actually care. Wow that was long.
IT DID MAKE SENSE!! It’s easier to review when you’re constantly thinking about what you’re going to say, right?!? So basically we are twins, Maya. :’) *sniffles happily*
Honestly? I don’t. I let my mind merrily go blank while I read, and only really analyze it while I’m reviewing it. I know if I liked it or not, but I don’t really think in one, two, three, four, or five star ratings while I read. I more just kind of…read. And think about it later. Like, when I’m in bed and desperetely trying to sleep.
That is also where I get my best plot twists and titles. I think I was more than a bit sleep deprived when I can up with the last idea, but, gosh, I’m excited.
Because who needs sleep when we can obsess over books right?! RIGHT. BOOKWORM LIFE. *nods emphatically* (is it just me or is turning off the computer the BEST way to get rid of writers block?! Because dangit, the second I get into bed…cue a billion meters of inspiration.)
Hello, my name is Hamish, and the very first time I stumbled across your blog, I thought to myself, “Yes, this blogger is clearly made of cheese. And not just your average cheese. This blogger is made of expensive and wonderful-smelling cheese.”
*ahem*
I go through pretty much the same thing when I’m reading books, and I would never change that. I don’t enjoy a book nearly as much if I’m not constantly evaluating it as I read. Writing reviews helps me find the depth in stories and helps me explain to myself why I liked certain characters or certain relationships or certain plotlines or whatever. Usually, though, I have a solid idea of what I’m going to rate the book about 70% through, which means that the only things that are going to change the rating at that point are a spectacularly horrible ending or a mind-blowingly awesome ending. I make a lot of mental notes along the way but I can never be bothered to write down my thoughts until I’m actually writing the review.
Hello Hamish. I’d offer you a chair and coffee and some cheese but — IDEK IF THAT’S CANNIBALISM AT THIS POINT. SO YOU’RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO STARVE. *nods* *drinks your coffee*
I really enjoy the analysing process. 😂 I CAN’T CHANGE AND I WONT’. *stomps foot* And writing reviews actually helps me with my writing too. Like if I figure out what I didn’t like, I know to avoid it in my own writing. (I actually write a LOT of love-triangles, so slay me, because I hate reading them. GAh. I’m working on this fault.)
Man, I really wish I could convince myself to write reviews. Even when I feel “inspired,” they’re usually only a sentence or two. XD (How do you stop to take notes while reading, though? That sounds slow and distracting.)
Oh, I absolutely think about ratings while I read. (Sometimes I think about them before I read, shhh.) I’m not sure I’m terribly critical, though. Or maybe I’m becoming more critical. It’s so hard to tell, because sometimes I can go on forever about all the things that bothered me in a book, but other times I happily read along, only paying attention to my feels. I’m going to stop typing, I don’t think I’m making sense right now.
I’d rather be cheese than Swiss. We can be cheese together!
I don’t stop to take notes!! Unless I pause my book to go do something else, then I might do a goodreads status update. OH. And Winter. I actually kept writing out my reactions as I read…but it was audio, so my hands were free. 😂
Sometimes I can look at a book and its blurb and KNOW what I’m going to think. But I don’t know if that’s bad or not. IS IT BAD? HALP, MARAIA. I’M HAVING A CRISIS.
Lol, I completely misread that, haha. I just checked, and it definitely says “rarely.” Everything makes so much more sense now, haha.
It’s awesome because it means you know your reading tastes so well! It’s also terrible when we read the book anyways, knowing that we won’t like it, just because we feel like we should be reading it. xD
Agh, I knoooow, though right?! I picked up a bunch of books at the library that I’d had on my to-read list on goodreads for 3 years and I was like “I’M READING THESE” but I basically knew I wouldn’t like 3 of them before I started.😳 But at the same time…I’d rather be sure?! hehe
Those are the books I usually DNF in the first chapter and cackle evilly to myself while doing so. 😛
YOU EVIL THING. 😂 I kind of wish I could DNF easily…but I cannot.
It’s sooooo much fun. (Only with library books.) You should practice next year. 😉
I don’t usually think about star ratings because I don’t really review books, and it usually doesn’t matter if I analyze a book on the first read-through because if it is a worthy book it will surely be reread 75 times and analyzed out the wazoo over the next few years.
I’m definitely an after person. *nods* Although, to be fair, I usually don’t review things and when I do they aren’t particularly amazing anyway so it isn’t like it is a big deal, anyway. *nods*
Ohhhh YES. You are a rereader! I forgot that.😂 I never reread. LIKE BARELY EVER. (Unless it’s a Stiefvater book. hehe.) So the first-time-review is everything I remember the book by.
Heh. Like you, I never used to assign star ratings to books I read… and then I started book blogging. I can totally relate to the thought process of rating-while-reading you’ve described above.
And you know what? I’ve found that star ratings help me think critically about what I’m reading – what works, what doesn’t work, etc.
I LOVE STAR RATINGS FOR THAT REASON. *nods* I love how it helps me narrow down really concisely whether I liked the book or not!!
psshh
you are not cheese, Cait.
everyone knows you are cake.
Thank you for averting my midlife-cheese-criss, Lisa. What would I Do without you.
you MIGHT also be cheesecake too though
THAT WOULD MAKE THE MOST SENSE. 🍰
I analyze and take notes as I read, and I usually have a star rating in mind long before I finish the book. The ending rarely “saves” the book for me… but on a few occasions, it has caused me to drop the star rating a bit.
Mostly, I can tell within the first few chapters what the star rating is going to be. But that’s probably because I count things like grammar and editing. If they’re bad in the beginning, they’re not likely to get any better.
I can mostly tell after the first 100-pages. Althoooough the endings DO GET ME sometimes because that’s what gives me the lasting impression. So if the ending was really underwhelming, it’ll cancel out a good beginning. WAH.
It is confirmed that your are cheese. I’ve had my suspicions all along and you just confirmed. So thank you. BUT since you ARE one of my favorite bloggers I’ve decided NOT to gobble you up with some crackers.
One of my bad habits is finding a book I love, finding out it’s a series and then gobbling them all up before writing the review for the FIRST book. I’ll get lazy and just end up not reviewing it.
This happened this week when I read The Maze Runner Series. *sobs* I finished The Death Cure at 2am and I COULDNT SLEEP FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT.
The Maze Runner broke me.
Well omg, GOOD. I’m glad it’s confirmed. I was basically having a midlife-cheese-crisis here and I NEEDED ANSWERS. Thank you for refraining from cannibalism too. I appreciate it.
ZOMG I HEAR YA WITH THE MAZE RUNNER. I didn’t read them all at once but ajfdkslad I. have. so. many. feels. fOREVER FEEEEEELS.
I am constantly thinking about what I am going to write in my review while I am reading. I also do forget a lot of what is in a book after I read it, but writing long, thought out reviews helps that!
SAME SAME!! Sometimes I actually forget a book from starting to when I finished. 😂 I think I read too much too fast? BAH. NO SUCH THING. XD
I analyze while I read too, but I DO want to stop! That’s one of the only things I hate about book blogging. I’ll even start forming reviews in my head (and sometimes writing them down) while I’m still reading once I get a feel for the book. I suppose it’s not a *terrible* thing, but I feel like it kind of distracts me and makes my thoughts about the book less personal and more “professional” (quotes because I’m not actually professional, but you know what I mean). I’m still trying to find a balance.
I write and figure out review wording in my head while I read too!! (Particularly if it’s a book I’m bored at?! So my mind is just constantly wondering…heehe. MY BAD) I totally know what you mean. I’m so far from professional I’m basically a deluded cake monster with a crayon, bUT YEAH. I don’t think I’ve read purely for “pleasure” with no analysing at all in years…
“…or b) I am actually Swiss, or c) I am actually cheese.” < LITERALLY HOW DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME. I SCREAM AND LAUGH AND DEMAND TO READ SNIPPETS OF YOUR POSTS OUT LOUD TO MY SISTER BECAUSE I JUST. CAN'T. HANDLE. you're too funny and brilliant for your own good. goshiesss.
“Minions, summon my gifs of indignation.” I CAN LITERALLY IMAGINE YOU SAYING THIS AND IT’S PERFECT. xD Oh my goshies. But yeah, I totally feel you about the running commentary thing. I don’t review books, so I don’t do it with books — but I do it for critiquing writing ALL. THE. TIME. (Especially since the writer is like, on their hands and knees BEGGING ME FOR MORE DETAILS AND I’M LIKE…”EEERR, UMM…” I need to keep track of these little “oohs” and ahhs” as they smack into my brain.
“…gasping like a suffocated half-murdered onion.” STAHP YOU’RE MAKING MY ABS HURT. no literally you are. Is this what the brick does to my beloved Cake?! nooo. I’m scayowd to read the brick now…. *hides under a monstrously fluffy pillow*
Noo I don’t analyse but I just read for good clean fun (er sometimes? LIKE I SOMETIMES READ. not i sometimes..yeah nevermind.) BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION — did too many people in the survey say that they didn’t like being called a pineapple BECAUSE I LIKE IT PLEASE DON’T STOP CALLING ME A PINEAPPLE. just go on my blog and in the comments section just write, “pineapple” (yes with no caps and no punctuation) and I will be happy. oki i’m done. ♥
THIS WAS GREAT.
love
abbiee
TALKING ABOUT CHEESE IS MY NEW TALENT. THAT IS ALL. *ahem* 😂
BUT WELL BLESS THIS COMMENT, ABBIEE, AND ALL IT’S NICENESS. I’M DYING HERE. YOU’RE SO WONDERFUL. Of course that’s what I keep minions around for. *nods sagely* I have several looking up the perfect gifs for me at all hours of the day. I don’t beta read enough, (my bad!) but I think I would probably do the same if I did!! When I was betaing earlier this year I basically collapsed in a puddle of wails because I couldn’t go and shriek how much I loved the book on goodreads. THE TRIALS OF BETA’ING FOR EPIC AUTHORS. 😂
Actually I don’t remember if anyone demanded no pineapples. I JUST SHAKE THINGS UP, I DO. Although everyone questioned why to the pineapple. I’m going to do a Q&A post for that survey soon. *nods*
Okay, Pineapple Abbiee. That shall be your new title. pINEAPPLE ABBIEE.
I only think about star ratings if the book gets a half star or I can’t figure out how I feel about it. At the end, I’ll know how I feel about it (and I use the Goodreads system for rating — liked it, didn’t like it, it was ok, etc.).
As for analyzing, I have an advanced degree in English and I studied creative writing, so that is my life when I encounter ANY story. So.
I wish goodreads had half stars…>_> AHEM. But I digress!! But omg yes I can imagine you would be forever analysing as second-nature after an English degree!!
I have definitely started doing this since I started my blog! I don’t even really think about it either and half the time I’m not even aware I’m doing it until I have (if that makes sense). But it makes it so much easier to settle on a rating when it comes to reviewing a book.
As for note taking, I rarely do this. if I’m reading on my Kindle I will occasionally highlight sections. But that is a definite no-no when it comes to my physical books.
It does make sense!! BECAUSE I DO TOO. Like it’s just second nature to analyse and review things. I do it to movies now…sometimes to humans’ conversations…>_> *whistles innocently*
I highlight on my kindle too! But otherwise I am a lazy piece of cheese.😂
I’m exactly the same way! There are some that have swayed me, like the endings of The Girl with All the Gifts and Future Winds, but otherwise I pretty much know what I’m going to rate it by the end. Last year, though, I had so many four stars that I thought were going to be three until I got 3/4 through. I love it when I know what to rate a book, though! If I could do away with star ratings, I would.
I love it when I know what the book is going to be too. 😂 I haaaate getting to the ending and being like “BUT WHAT DID I THINK. HALP. I DON’T EVEN KNOW”. Cue panic. hehe
Haha, I know!
I definitely rate book while I read them too! I’m never 100% on what the final rating will be until I’ve closed the book because sometimes ending can be a let down, but I like reading a book and thinking, “Oh yes, this is a 4 star book fo sho!” Haha!
~Sara
I GET THAT. *nods* And I actually even go back and change ratings sometimes because…gah. SOME BOOKS ARE TRICKY BEASTS.
I definitely think about star ratings while I read, though I kind of wish I didn’t because I think my early opinions influence how I read the rest of the book. I can usually wait until I’m at least 10-20% of the way through before my brain starts formulating a rating, and then it might fluctuate a little up or down but it’s rarely going to change much after that point. I guess it prevents me from overrating a book just because the ending’s good, and ignoring the fact that the beginning was terrible.
I’ve never actually thought about that…but yes me too! My first impressions of the first 100 or so pages DEFINITELY influence how I rate. (Although the ending is usually what I rate things on. Because it’s what’s fresh in my mind.😂)
Kind of, but it’s usually based on how I feel at the very end. For example, The Scorpio Races went up to five stars (about two months after I originally reviewed it) because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Unless I’m hooked all the way through/bored all the way through, it usually comes down to my overall impression. If I love the characters (or even a character) the rating’ll probably be higher.
Ohhh, I’ve done that before!! Like I literally thought I gave Walk on Earth a Stranger 5-stars and I was so confused when I couldn’t find it on my 5-star Goodreads shelf. Turned out I only gave it 4. So books DEFINITELY can change for me afterwards too (particularly if I can’t stop thinking about it.)
(BTW. GRAND LIFE DECISION REGARDING 5-STARS AND THE SCORPIO RACES.)
Ooh, I only ever come up with the rating after I’ve finished the book or while I’m writing the review and I go, “Does it deserve a 4-star? 5-star? Do I like it or do I just think I like it?”
I confuse myself way too much, so maybe I should have a list of standards to tick off? Hehe, that sounds like a good idea.
OH. That kind of does sound like a good idea. 😂 Some books are just HARD to know what one thinks about them, right?!? Some books I do spend a long time trying to work out if I liked it or not. BOOKWORM LIFE IS HARD.
I don’t specifically keep track of rating because I don’t use them on my blog, only Goodreads, but I have a similar method of keeping track of my overall feeling and not taking notes. When I finish a book, I’ll write down my main thoughts, and that’s about it. I usually write reviews pretty quickly after I finish a book or else not at all.
I have to do my reviews quick too! Mostly because I start a new book basically directly after finishing and old one so I want to keep my thoughts all separate. 😂
I do sometimes think about ratings while I’m reading a book. And usually only at the beginning, middle, and end. Or when the story gets exponentially better or worse at a certain point, I’ll note to myself something like — “Huh, this is shaping up to be a four star read now.” If I’m really invested in a book or really disliking it, I usually don’t think about a star rating until I’m finished. It really depends. But I’m glad I’m not alone! 😀
There’ve only been a few times when I’ve been SO invested I forgot to analyse. BUT THEN THE BOOK GOT 5-STARS SO THAT’S EASY. hehe. Although sometimes I wonder if that’s why it’s harder to review 5-star books!? Like there’s less to say except “this is perfect ermagerd”? XD 😂 YOU ARE NOT ALONE. WE ARE TWINS IN THIS, MALLORY.
I very rarely include stars/ratings in my reviews, so I don’t really think about the book in those terms. But yeah, if I’m reading a book I know I’m going to review then I tend to think about how I’m going to review it as I go along. hah It’s funny to think about it though – and that other people do it too!
Ohhh, that is cool though!! I know quite a few people who don’t star rate actually. I HAVE to have my star ratings, hehe, but I understand they can be complicated. *nods*
For me it depends on the book. But with me being an emotional reader it is a rare occasion for me to analyse while reading.
Sometimes I can kind of get a feel of what star rating the book might receive from me, but that can always change as I read more. Most recently it happened with Illuminae. The first half of the book I was just enjoying it, then some mind blowing events happened and I started thinking about how the books was going to get at least 4.5 stars from me because OMG EPICNESS.
Usually I only analyse books that aren’t really grabbing me though. If the book is really good and I can’t stop reading, nothing is going through my head but whatever emotions are associated component of the story I’m reading at the time. Sometimes I’ll take notes if there’s something I want to mention in my review, but most of the time I save that until I finish the book (I make a list of points to talk about before starting every review otherwise I’d just ramble).
Also everyone is cheese. It is the secret to life.
I feel like I’m an emotional reader AND analyse. 😂 I’M JUST CRAZY LIKE THAT. Because it’s my emotions that make the star ratings bump up and down all. the. time. Gah, it’s exhausting sometimes. Although I mostly know the rating when I’m halfway through the book. *nods*
Cheese is the secret to life. YOU AND I ARE BOTH ENLIGHTENED CLEARLY.
(“cake crumbs and critical opinions” I love alliterations!! :D)
Anyway, SOMETIMES I DO analyze a book while reading, but I don’t do that for every book. And yeah, I also think about star ratings even before I finished them. I rarely take notes too, so I don’t remember every single detail about the book. BUT my star rating depends on the book’s overall impact on me.
Am I making sense? No? Maybe it’s because I’m an unintelligible cheese. Also, I don’t have an older sibling but I was dropped on my head when I was a baby, so we could just blame that.
Omg unintentional alliteration! GO ME. 😂
Taking notes is just…it’s admirable but I’m never bothered. EXCEPT FOR ONCE. I took notes while reading Winter because I was listening to the audio and it took me like a week and I KNEW I’d forget the beginning if I didn’t.
CAIT! I thought I was the lone crazy person who did this, but I am not! This makes me so happy! I seriously start to rate from the opening sentence. AND I worry that I jinx myself- I’ll be like “ohhh this is getting better” and then BAM, crappiness takes over. It’s tough!
On the whole though, I can usually tell pretty early at least what ballpark it’ll be in. You know whether a book will be closer to one or closer to five stars relatively early. Except this one book that I read that I kind of liked at first and ended up being one of the only one stars I have ever given. I digress. I also want cheese. Like, fondue, perhaps. That sounds good. Bread and cheesy goodness.
WE ARE CRAZY PEOPLE TOGETHER, SHANNON. Trust me, if there’s a crazy habit, there’s a 99% chance I am doing it too.
bECAUSE I’M SLIGHTLY NUTS.No I am actually perfectly normal but. Nutty tendencies I guess. Ahem. I feel like I can tell from the first 100 pages what the rating will be. Unless it’s a 5. Sometimes I can’t tell until the end.I sometimes do. Usually it’s when I notice something different in the narrative, both positive or negative. I’ll be like ‘daaayuuum, this just boosted itself up a star level’ or something.
I probably do analyse a book while I’m reading more than I realise. A residual effect of being a student perhaps?
Interesting post- I’ve never really thought about it before.. but I reckon I’m always unconsciously in reviewer mode xD
Definitely residual of being a student…and a blogger maybe?! hehe I used to do book reviews for school but I never analysed non-school books. Now? EVERYTHING IS ANALYSED. *nods*
UGH I have short term memory too. I can’t seem to remember books that well. HENCE, reviews help me remember. Especially by writing reviews. And I do breakdown a book in my head as I read too hehehehe. Although, I don’t rate them. I’ll probably be like “Okay, this book started out quite slow.” “Oh crap, I’ll need to put down how annoying the side character was.” I’m not really the type of person who writes down thoughts while reading. I mean, WHO HAS THE TIME TO PAUSE THE BOOK WHEN YOU’RE READING? Not me. HEHE.
YESSS ME TOOOOOO. I need the reviews to kind of cement the book into my mind. IN fact, I was just looking over my goodreads goals at the books I’ve read this year and realised I remember most of them because of my reviews. YAY.😂
Oh snap, I do this too! But I go a step further to and do a mental commentary of how I’m going to explain that particular scene or moment and my react to it in my review. And agreed, who has time to take notes when reading? Unless I come across a quote that is worth putting sticky note over and highlighting!
SAAAAM THOUGH. I actually formulate my review as I read. Although I usually forget all my notes by the time I get to the review, but, gah. It’s the thought (HAR HAR HAR) that counts.
I DO AS WELL, CAIT. Even with the books I’m not reviewing, I always have a star rating in my head. The hardest thing is choosing between four stars and five stars, but then I think…well, if I’m hesitating clearly it should be four stars, right?
PROBABLY. 😂 I struggle between 3 and 4 a lot now!! I’M SO TOUGH AGH. But honestly? If I struggle too much between 4 and 5 I just give it a 5 because life is short. EAT DESSERT FIRST AND RATE BOOKS NICELY. <-- goals
First of all, and to answer the toughest question, I am not cheese. At least, as far as I’m concerned, I am not cheese. But, who knows? My parents might be hiding my true identity from me, and from the world, because of some secret that would do much damage to the world as we know it if it ever gets out. *shrugs*
Secondly, yes, I think about what to rate the book BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER I read the book. It’s a very complicated process, and should be treated with out most care. I rarely review books, but I do have a very emotional sentient residing in my brain. She (as she didn’t seem to want to give me her name, I’ll stick with the female pronouns) has been with me since birth (according to her, obviously, but I don’t believe her), but only deem it necessary to make herself known when I started reading fan fiction in 2011 (she is weird like that).
She is responsible for more than half of the things I write in my reviews, rare as they are. She is also keeps me from being crazy by talking to her instead of talking to myself. SHE IS A DIFFERENT BEING “OUTSIDE” OF ME, OKAY? She is also very, very emotional, but not easily pleased. I think she rated most books we read 3 stars. Neutral.
Moving on. I miss the days when I didn’t have to worry about what to rate the book and just read and read and read and read and read. But, it is also nice, to know beforehand whether you would like a book based on the ratings and reviews of fellow readers as yourself. It would have been a waste of time to read a book and discover halfway that you didn’t like it after all.
You could be like Unidentified Cheese and your whole LIFE COULD BE A LIE BECAUSE YOU’RE PARENTS ARE HIDING YOUR CHEESNESS FROM YOU. If you have a mid-cheese-life-crisis…I am here for you, Misha. Just so you know.
I do really like analysing and rating a book as I go but I do sometimes think of the days where that wasn’t even a consideration for me. OH THE INNOCENCE OF NON-BLOGGING. 😂 And I also like seeing what my friends rate books…although I often just dive into books everyone has rated “meh” because I’m curious. Beggar for punishment too.hehehe
I actually tend not to take notes whilst reading… I read and then decide my rating after I’ve finished, based on my overall opinion of the book. I do tend to analyse as I go, for example I might read a sentence and think hmm that is a bit clumsy/sloppy writing or something like that. If that sort of negative analysing continues throughout the book, by the time I’m finished it will have left an imprint on my thoughts and so the rating goes down. However if I find myself doing positive analysis as I read, like ooh what a nice word or yes, that was a good way of addressing this particular subject/plot event then my overall impression by the end will be a good one so the rating goes up up up. If that makes sense. However, I think recording my thoughts as I read would probably be a good idea – then it would be much easier to write reviews, without having to dig up my thoughts from the piles of junk cluttering up my brain! Oh well… it’s a Swiss Cheese Memory thing. XD
It does make sense!! I try and take into consideration the WHOLE of the book when I’m rating/reviewing…but I confess: it’s the ending that has the lasting impact on me because it’s just what I read. XD So I will forgive a dodgy beginning if the ending is phenomenal.
Writing reviews is the best!
There are books made me think ‘this is really a 3-star story’ or ‘this is so good, I think it will be a 5-star book!’ but I don’t go through the book going back and forth between ratings. Your head must be a busy place sometimes, haha. I am more focused on the story itself and I can go from ‘THIS IS SO GOOD’ to ‘NOPE, hate it’ but I don’t add a number to it until I’m done.
OH YAY I’M GLAD YOU ENJOY IT TOO!! 😀 I just see a lot of people saying how much they struggle with it and I’m like “Zomg I have to try and keep below a thousand words at this point”. xD I get so long winded. 😂
My head is very busy. And VERY loud.
I’m someone who thinks about how I’ll rate a book as I’m reading as well. I also don’t take notes while reading, I just make a mental note when I run across something I want to bring up in the review. That’s mostly because I’m too lazy to try to find a post-it note to write on and I hate scribbling in the margins of my books.
SAAAAAME. I mean who really wants to get up, get a note, sit down, get comfy again, and then keep reading? BAH. I just wanna read. *dives into book and reminds there infinitely*
Yes, I do think about ratings while I read. It’s unavoidable! I have so many friends that read we often talk about the books read and what we think of them in the middle of reading them. It helps me to form what I might say in the final review. 🙂
Omg that is awesome you discuss books as you read!! I basically just squall on goodreads status updates. 😂 But when I’m not sure about what I think about a book, the BEST way is to talk about it to someone. Somehow I always figure it out then!?
If you’re cheese then I am definitely cheese as well. Can I be gouda? I have definitely seen myself transform with my reading habits over the past two years. I definitely have the running commentary in my head when reading and I rate as I go. Most of the time I do know the final rating before I finish unless something drastic changes, etc. But I do wait to affirm my final rating at the end because it has happened (both lower and higher ratings). Shadown and Bone was my most current read. I finished it this morning actually. Seemed it was getting three stars maybe 3.5 until I finished and then wouldn’t ya know it but it snagged a full 4 stars from me.
Great post! Had a lot of fun reading it.
yES. You may be any cheese you wish to be. DO NOT LET THE WORLD PUT YOU IN A CHEESE BOX. BE WHO YOU TRULY ARE CHEESILY INSIDE. *gets off motivational speaker platform* Ahem. What were we saying? OH YES. Running commentaries are the greatest and no regrets. 😂 omg and same for S&B for me! Like I really liked it but I was kind of detached? So I wasn’t sure…but it got the 4-stars anyway. THE NEXT BOOK IS SO FREAKING PERFECT. *hugs it*
I don’t usually think about how I will review a book while I’m reading, but I definitely think about the rating. Not all the time, but if something really starts to bother me or something awesome happens, I’ll change the rating in my head. Usually about half way through the book I have a good idea on what I’ll rate the book. Although there are some book were there’s an unexpected ending that boosts (or decreases) a book’s rating. Great discussion!
Those unexpected endings can be SUPER AWESOME…or super bad. 😂 Alternately. hehe. And yes! If something bothers me in a book, my brain is literally making the little rating scale in my head go up and down.
I DO think about my review/star rating as I’m reading! I thought I was the only one! So, if I’m loving the book, then it’s just a matter of how it sticks the landing. If the ending is amazing, it’s a 5, if it underwhelms a bit, it’s a 4. I find that the greater debate comes when I’m not sure if I like the book or not. Then, as I’m reading it becomes a constant back and forth of: hmmm this is like a 3 so far. Oh, that was cool, might bump it up some. Or, man that sucked, if this doesn’t get any better it’ll be a 2 O.O Oh and I love your comment about Maggie Stiefvater’s prose ALWAYS being a 5-star. That woman is a goddess ♥ I totally get analysing as I read and debating about the review at the same time. I think I love those bits as much as I love reading itself XD Awesome post^^ xx
NOPE YOU ARE NOT ALONE. XD I do get stuck on the “wait…did I like it or not” platform occasionally. XD Or if I liked it, but all I can see are its flaws. THEN WHAT DO I RATE IT?! GAH. Let no one say being a bookworm is easy.😂
ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY READ BOOKS WITHOUT ANALYZING THEM! Except this sad little melon did until two minutes ago, when I discovered I was doing the EXACT SAME THING YOU DO. I read the title of this post and thought “Don’t think so”. I read the content of this post and thought “YUP, 1000% OF THE TIME!”.
Ironically, the more notes I pause to take, the more I want to throw the book onto the floor and perform an exorcism on it. I tend to ARGUE with books in my notes. Especially with ebooks, via Kindle notes. GOD, CRESS AND THORNE, FIND A COMMUNICATION THERAPIST! (Although Winter was bae, except when it wasn’t, but it really was.) <3 I AM SO WONDROUSLY DECISIVE!
OMG THE EXACT SAME THING. LEXIE. ARE YOU MY LONG LOST TWIN THEN.
zomg I’m dying of laughter here. 😂 I AGREE ABOUT CRESS AND THORNE SO MUCH. So since I was listening to the audiobook of winter, I actually decided to write down my thoughts as I listened…because it was convenient and not so hard. hehe. And zomg those two. I kind of wanted to smack their heads together….BUT THEY’RE STILL CUTE.
I confess, I used to think about ratings ALL THE TIME when I was reading books, but now that I’m not reading all that much or planning on super reviewing things really critically, I’m doing it a lot less. I’ve just been, reading and enjoying what I read rather than anything else. Live is too short after all, you know? STILL, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE FLUCTUATING THING. So difficult.
I totally get that!! And I think it depends…like I really enjoy it?! But I know for heaps of people all the analysing takes away from enjoying the book. So that would suck immensely. I do prefer reading books without the pressure of having received them from a publisher though. Not that I ever cotton-wool my thoughts? BUT THE PRESSURE = LESS = HAPPY ME.
Oh, I do this same thing, definitely! The whole time I’m reading, I’m mentally cataloguing and thinking about my rating – and, yes, it definitely fluctuates.
*hi fives* WE ARE ANALYSING PINEAPPLE TWINS.
Great post! I think about the star rating as I read, but I do stop now and then to jot down notes on specific points I want to point out because my brain is swiss cheese. I analyze both during and after. I think your post will really help readers in their reviewing process of the books they read. I try to write and post my reviews as soon as I’m done with the book because if I don’t, I usually will not take time out of my extremely busy schedule to do it. And since I know how important reviews can be for the authors as well as the readers, I try my best to do a review on every book I read (especially if I enjoyed it) as soon as I’m done reading.
Even if there are things in the book I didn’t particularly care for, I don’t harp on them but try to focus on the things I did like. However, if I do point out something I didn’t like, I don’t bash the writer. I simply make mention of it and continue on to expound on what I did like. Also, it’s important for readers to keep in mind when they’re shopping for books and reading the reviews that a bad review does not necessarily mean that they won’t like the book simply because someone else didn’t. I have read many books that had poor reviews, but I thoroughly enjoyed the books.
Thanks again for another great post! Looking forward to reading more! 🙂
Omg you take notes?! I AM IN AWE OF YOU. *nods emphatically* Awww, but thank you for the nice words!! And ME TOO. I basically review ASAP…except right now I’m answering comments and procrastinating a view of Winter because my thoughts are in TURMOIL. hehe. But otherwise I’m just addicted to the reviewing process basically!
Oh and I totally agree with not bashing a writer. I have books I’ll vehemently dislike and I’m okay with ranting in a review…but one should never bash an author. It’s just, gah, it’s just impolite and wrong. *nods* WE ARE IN AGREEMENT. Sounds like you leave very nice reviews!! 😀
LOL!!! You are so funny! I just love your sense of humor! Yes, I do try to leave nice reviews. If I can’t say something good about a book, I simply won’t write a review. Thanks again for your awesome posts! 🙂
AW, THANKS, MAXINE. 😂 I AM AN ODD FISH. And good for you! The world needs more positivity!!
Thank you, Cait!!! 🙂
I really don’t think about star ratings while I read most of the time. I think because I read so fast that I just want to absorbe the book and not worry about what I want to say.
Sometimes I mark quotes that stand out to me – I love quotes so sometimes It’s like the whole book (Mangus Chase for example)
Or I note scenes that I really love – so I can go back and re-read them or something that I can talk about in my review.
I think about aspect that I always talk about in my reviews (the writing style, the plot, beleiveablity, characterisation and so on) while reading, but I don’t think about it the whole time I am reading.
Thanks for an awesome post.
I take photos of the pages of the quotes I like on my iPod…so I don’t have to get up. HEHEH. But omg, saving quotes is a MUST sometimes. I basically wanted to quote the entire of Magnus Chase too. 😂
For sure I’m CONSTANTLY analyzing a book when I’m reading, and I guess part of that is thinking about star ratings. I’m used to reading critically for school, and it used to really bother me that I couldn’t get out of that mindset, but it doesn’t anymore. Like you, I’m very happy with my running mental commentary. I like being able to articulate why I liked or did not like a book. Besides, why would I waste my time with books I have to lull myself into liking?!
As for writing notes as I go. I am WAY too lazy for that, haha.
Interesting topic! It’s always good to have some introspection of our reading habits!
I ADORE being able to articulate my thoughts too!! And it actually drives me crazy when I can’t properly figure out why I like/dislike a book…gah. I neeeeeed to know.
I really admire people who write notes but…NOPE. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN OVER HERE.😂
I don’t ever think of ratings while I’m reading! My ratings are usually decided when I hit the end, because it’s usually the ending that affects the rating the most. XD And I’m not really a person that reacts. I just read on and on and on until I’m done and then I assess.
The ending can totally have me changing a rating!! XD But that is still really an awesome way to go about reading *nods* I think I’m like a 100% critic by this point. It caaaan be a problem…hehe
I dooooo actually. Not all the time, but sometimes I do think about what I’m going to say in the review and how it is rating so far 🙂
WE ARE TWINS IN THIS THEN, JULIE.
I do think about ratings when I’m reading. I guess I’m just a natural critic (I’m a Virgo, so I guess that makes sense 😉 ), but it’s really hard for me to read something without critiquing or criticizing it. I also try and plan out what I’m going to say in my review when I’m reading as well. Thanks for sharing Cait and, as always, fabulous review! ♥
And by review I clearly mean discussion post. 😉 *facepalms*
BAHAH, THANK YOU, ZOE. My review appreciates the compliments.😉 I AM JUST TEASING, YOU ARE SO FABULOUS.
Me tooooo. I basically rate everything like books, tbh. And no regrets.
I TOTALLY DO rate books in my head while reading them. Like, even if I’m not planning on reviewing them, I do it anyway. I’m editing a book right now, and alpha reading another, and I did a couple beta reads over the summer, but even though I’m not being asked to rate or review, I DO ANYWAY. I just can’t help it. I obviously don’t tell them my rating, I just let the feedback do the talking.
I rate movies and TV shows while I watch them too. Even though I never share my ‘ratings’ with anyone.
I always start rating from the first few chapters/scenes. And usually, just by reading the description and the first bit, I can predict how much I’ll like it, how many stars I’ll give it, AND I USUALLY AGREE WITH MYSELF AT THE END. Huzzah. I’m magic.
(And don’t tell anyone I said this, but I have a subconscious habit of rating people too, both speakers/teachers and potential friends. Like, pros and cons, attitude and personality flaws and quirks, speech/dialogue/witty banter, introversion vs. extroversion, etc. BASICALLY I RATE HUMANS LIKE I WOULD BOOK CHARACTERS. IT IS PROBABLY TERRIBLE BECAUSE I MENTALLY WRITE REVIEWS ON PEOPLE AND I CAN BBE KINDA JUDGY.)
AHH DRAT I made a typo and forgot to put my URL in. Hang on.
Fixed last sentence:
BASICALLY I RATE HUMANS LIKE I WOULD BOOK CHARACTERS. IT IS PROBABLY TERRIBLE BECAUSE I MENTALLY WRITE REVIEWS ON PEOPLE AND I CAN *BE KINDA JUDGY.
WE ARE TWINS IN THIS THEN, AMANDA. *gives you twin cake* zomg I didn’t realise but I do it to beta novels too!! I beta’d for a friend earlier this year and aghhhhhh I WANTED TO GOODREADS IT AND WAIL AND RANT AND LOVE IT SO MUCH. But dangit. Not published yet. THE STRUGGLES. *flails and collapses*😂😂
(Omg, I love your confession…I DO THAT TOO. But seriously the other day my sister was being dramatic and I just squawked “IF YOU WERE IN A BOOK YOU’D LOSE A STAR FOR UNNECESSARY DRAMA. She wasn’t pleased. I have no idea why.)
I have to admit that I often think about the rating of a book the entire time as well. There are a couple of cases where I am totally and completely sucked into the story and I don’t think about the review or the stars at all, but those are rare and I am often clueless in the end about what to write. However, the worse a book, the more I keep thinking about the review, which isn’t very nice. But I rarely make notes while reading either.
Omg, I LOVE when a story swallows you so much that’s all you can do is eat it and think of nothing else. xD That hasn’t happened to me for a while, but it’s definitely an excellent feeling. *hugs books*
I’m a bit like you, I analyse the book as I read (although, not exactly in the fervent way you apparently do :P). I usually know how I’m rating a book within the first 25%, because by then you know if the writing and the characters are working for you. Then I fluctuate between the stars – because I use every decimal point that math gave us.
*nods* SAME. I think by 25% or so you have a pretty good indication of whether it’s going to be a good book or not. I always wait till 100 pages (which is probably the same?!) before I let myself settle on a potential star rating. XD Zomg, I wish goodreads supported half stars. I’d use them SO MUCH if it did!!
Yeah, the half-star thing really bothers me, because a 2.5 book is not a 2 or a 3. and a 2.5 and a 3.4 books are not the same… but I don’t think the half star will ever happen 🙁
I’ve seen goodreads tweet they pretty much are definitely NOT doing half-stars. *cries* I WANT TO KNOW WHY THOUGH. It’d be so handy *collapses in agony*
I saw that, they claimed that if people have to think in that much “numbers” they are less likely to rate anything… apparently there was a study about that somewhere… That might be in terms of general population, but I don’t think it’s the case of bookworms (or most people that rate movies or books)
Thank you!! I thought I was the only person who did this!! I swear, I think about my rating throughout the ENTIRE book!! Even though I have always posted my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it seems like I didn’t start rating my books while reading until I started blogging. Great post!
WE ARE TWINS ON THIS MATTER THEN, CYNTHIA. *flails* The review is like SO MUCH on my mind. Especially if a book is boring…I keep thinking how I’ll word the review instead of focusing on the story.😂
I’d say I usually know what star rating I’ll give a book prior to its conclusion… but not always. Most of the time (and when I’m organized), I start the review prior to being done with the book. Not necessarily the rating, but the thoughts certainly get scribbled on paper. Great post – and your thought process was fun to read. 🙂
Omg you ARE organised!! I did that with Winter by Marissa Meyer. I was just writing down thoughts and reactions as I went along because the book is SO FREAKING HUGE I knew I’d forget stuff by the time I got to the end. But that was an audio?! So my hands were free to type without stopping listening. hehe.😂
Aw thank you! <3
I rarely know how many stars a book is going to get until I’m at least half-way through. Of course, if I can’t connect with the characters or just plain don’t enjoy reading the book, I tend to know it’s going to be 3-stars or less early on. But sometimes I like the book okay, and think it’ll be my usual 3.5 stars, and then we get towards the end and suddenly it’s a 5 star book. Or more rarely it plummets to 2 stars.
I pretty much only have 1 rating with a half star: 3.5 stars. This is because sometimes the book is better than a 3 star, but I don’t like it enough to be a 4 star.
And then there’s some books that I totally change my mind about when writing the review. I may have really liked it and so thought it would be a 5 star book. And then I start the review and realize how many things irked me that I hadn’t paid attention to once the wonderful thing happened. Looking at all the bad points makes me downgrade the review sometimes only by 1 star, other times it ends up 3 or 3.5 with the explanation that if those things hadn’t happened, it would have been 5 stars.
I mostly start with every book being 3 stars and then it goes up or down. *nods* UNLESS THE BOOK IS BY MAGGIE FREAKING STIEFVATER. And then I expect it to be 5-stars the entire time (and I’ve never been disappointed). Ahem. I wish there was a 3.5 star rating option on goodreads…I’d use it ALL. THE. TIME.
And zomg I’ve done that in reviews too!! Usually I go on feels though. So If I FEEL the book should be 4-stars even though my review lists a bucket-load of problems, I’ll still go with it. xD But I’ve rated something 2-stars and written my review and realised just how much I hated it…and let it go down to a 1 before. XD
I think I have definitely become more critical of a reader since I began blogging, and I DEFINITELY keep star ratings in mind as I read. It’ usually just a general feeling more than a concrete reality, though. By the end I usually have the star rating set, although I occasionally finish a book and just have NO CLUE what to rate it. This is when I have to turn to my dad and talk it through with him…I mean talk AT him until I come to my own conclusion, really. Awesome post, Cait! XD
OMG finishing and having exactly zero clues on the star rating is the woooorst. Sometimes I have to write out the review first because I really don’t know if I’m going to be negative or positive. XD (Which brings me to wanting half stars but *ahem* That’s a conversation for another time.hehe) OMG. I DO TALK AT PEOPLE TOO. Everyone basically avoids me when I finish a book and look troubled. 😂
I totally do that, I’ve often opened a book and thought “1 star, this is already terrible, for sure 1 star” and it usually goes up from there. Or I otherwise start with a high rating and it just goes up from there. It’s very rare that a book will annoy me enough with an ending to drop a rating, but it’s happened.
I suspect that I’m too airy-minded to analyze while I read. I’m still in the zone out phase! I often just continue on in a haze of emotions, then finish and think. Oh gosh, what should I say about this now. At which point I write point notes that magically become reviews. The analyzing will probably help you with remembering the books better though!
SAME. *nods* I usually am pretty much consistent throughout a book? Either it goes steadily up or steadily down.😂 BEING A HAZE OF EMOTIONS IS NOT A BAD THING. HEHE. It sounds wonderful. Sometimes I think it’d be nice to switch off and just enjoy things for the sake of it but then…nah. It probably won’t happen for me. XD
I definitely analyze books as I read, partially because I review the books I read and also because I’m a writer and I like analyzing other writers’ craft. I feel the same while reading with the star ratings. XD They go up and down with me. I also take notes as I go. I find that it’s given me more thorough reviews. Also I know you get so many comments so it’s okay if you didn’t see this before, but I asked in another comment if you’d be interested in participating in a collaboration project. It’s about writing characters from different countries where I’d interview you about being Aussie for my blog. ^ ^ It’s a reference so writers can write characters from different countries correctly. I’d love if you’d participate. ^ ^
SAME. I feel like I analyse things as a writer too…because reading is my #1 way of learning. XD
Zomg, I did not see that other comment of yours. *hides in mortal shame* Which post was it on?!?! I’ve been a little behind on commenting so maybe I haven’t gotten there yet. But sure! That sounds like a great idea, hehe. Did you want to email me details?
Haha. It’s okay. I figured you were. Yes. I’d love to email you the details.. Would it be okay if you email me at howellvictoriagrace@gmail.com, so I have your address then I can reply to you with the details (so your email address isn’t hanging in the comments if you don’t want it to be)? I put them all in a handy dandy document and I can’t attach anything with your contact form. XD
Oh sure! I’ll do that straight away!😊 Let me know if it doesn’t come through or anything!!
The star rating is actually the LAST thing I think about when I read. I usually think ‘how do I write this into a review’ or ‘oh gosh I am bored how am I even going to write more than a paragraph on this book’ XD My review process is mainly BS and I am dreadful at remembering at even character’s NAMES, let alone the rating haha.
I usually decide the rating at the end of writing my review. The only ones I decide before hand are the extremes, books I drooled over because of their brilliance OR books I wanted to fling out the window.
Missed you and your blog so much! *gets all comfy*
OMG I’M BAD AT NAMES TOO. Books written in 1st person kill me, because I never know the narrator’s name. *facepalm* I couldn’t even tell you the names of the characters in the book I just finished. Gah.
Ahem. But anyway. 😛
If it’s a Maggie Stiefvater book, I know before I start that it’ll be 5-stars. #noregrets 😜
Your thought processes are rather fabulous. I think about star ratings a bit more nowadays while I’m reading. Especially since reading time has been short and I don’t have time to waste on books that aren’t going anywhere. I definitely analyse books though, before, during, after, all the times. I like working out what made the book awesome, what flopped, and what I can possibly steal for myself. Also what I need to squeal to everyone else about. Because that is an important part of reading.
I love analysing for writing research too. 😜 Like WHY didn’t I enjoy this so I can remember not to do it…hehe, that kinda thing. IT’S GOOD. *nods* And it’s awesome that reading is technically “work research” right?!? WE HAVE A GRAND JOB.
I think I do as well. I basically start every book at a 5 star rating and then it can lose points as it goes along. I think I’m a pretty generous rater though as I tend to rate a lot of things 4-5 stars. But that’s because I tend to rate books based on how much I want to scream their names from the rooftops rather than properly critiquing them… but that’s just the way I am.
Oh you’re really nice to start everything at 5!! 😜 I basically go in thinking every book is a 3 (unless it’s by Maggie Stiefvater because everything she writes is 5) and then it goes up and down as I keep reading. hehe. I’M A BIT OF A TOUGH NUT THESE DAYS.
Great article. I never think about ratings when I start reading. Of course before picking a book I look for a decent rating. Often my thoughts about the book change as `i read on, and so does my ratings. When the book is over I come up with the final average rating.
I often check goodreads before reading a book too, to see what my friends thought. 😜 IT’S GOOD. Helps me avoid some dodgy books!
Completely agree. The worst thing is to buy a book then realise you spent your money on something not valuable as you thought it would be
Nope; other than the notion that I might DNF some books. 😀
For me reviewing is difficult because a lot of the time I don’t quite know what to include in my review. But when I’m reading books I definitely have the same thoughts and think about what rating something would equal 🙂
Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf
I have trouble sometimes knowing what to SAY about the book…in case of spoilers, you know?! So I mostly include must my feels and reactions. hehe. 😜
I take crazy, fangirling notes as I read (also LOTS of quotes because I am obsessed with words), but I never think about what I am going to rate it star wise until AFTER I have written the review (strange right?). I generally take notes, and when I finish the book, I will type up my notes and reflect on the gloriousness (hopefully) of what I just read, and THEN I will slap a number onto it. I don’t know why I do it this way.
Yes and no. I don’t think so much about star ratings as I do about what I’m going to write in my review. Ever since I started my blog i have felt the need to keep a pen and paper close by every time read a book so that I can write down my comments. When I don’t do that, then I feel lost at the time of the review.
That’s a really good idea though and I envy your motivation and organisation skills. 😜 I’M HOPELESS. I barely even remember to jot down page numbers for quotes…*facepalm*
I do think about my rating, but not when events in the book occur or anything. Mainly because a lot of the time my ratings are emotional.
Here’s a rating story of mine that occurred recently. The book in question is THE MARVELS by Brian Selznick.
The illustrations at the beginning: oh yeah. Nice. But I’m not really feeling anything. THE DOG, I AM FEELING SOMETHING. But overall: meg.
The written part, at the beginning: this is kinda boring. I almost want to stop. I think I’m going to rate this two stars.
The written part, at the end: oh god, this is glorious. I love this. I LOVE IT.
The illustrations at the end: beautiful. BEAUTIFUL, AND I AM CRYING AND THIS IS FIVE STARS.
So yeah. Because the beginning held little to no emotion and didn’t connect with me at all, I was going to go with two stars, and in the end I gave it five because it was so emotional for me at the end, and also had me in tears.
I do think about my ratings, but only a handful of times, when I’m starting to get bored, or I’m not feeling a connection, or when I’m so caught up I don’t want to put it down, or when it drowns me in feels.
EMOTIONAL READING FOR THE WIN.
No, really, I do not. I forget to think of the books from the perspective of a reviewer. I read it more like a common reader with an empty cup. I just go on reading it, and when I complete it, I ruminate what I felt during this book and why I like it, if like it I did.
I have a habit of writing down quotes and I read them over again, rekindling the events in the books that caused said quotes to be quoted.
Our reviewing and reading process is exactly the same Cait! I rarely ever take notes, I just tab the lines that I had a reaction to and then I have to review ASAP so I can remember my thoughts on the book. Otherwise I can’t remember what I thought about the book a few days afterwards! Except for one thing, it takes me a bit longer to read 😉
This is such an interesting topic! I don’t think I am an analyzer, because I really don’t think about ratings as I read. However, I do look at plot and writing style and quotes. So… Where does that put me?
I usually think about the rating when I’m not sure about a book. I will debate with myself ‘how do I rate this?! Three stars? Four? Five? No not five, though maybe five? Definitely not below three. No wait, maybe it IS below three’ This barely happens though! Usually I just know the rating when I finish it 🙂
I haaate not knowing the rating when I finish. XD But some books ARE tricky and their ratings are hard to pinpoint right?! (I long for half stars *wistful sigh*) But yesss I mostly usually know the rating when I’m finished!!
OMG SO GLAD I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS. I be like, “Hmm, I like I think it’ll be a four star. Wait, slutshaming. Uncool. Three star. Wait wait wait. You have a boyfriend! Two star.” LOL. I’m messy, honestly. Sometimes, I think about the GIFs I’m going to include in the reviews if I’m lazily reading it.
I CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I GAVE A FIVE-STAR. JEEZ.
I sometimes write the review while reading too. nO REGRETS. XD😂 Considering gifs is a really important part to reading, right?!? XD Aww, but that’s sad you haven’t had many 5-star reads. *pats shoulder* *shoves Blood Red Road at you* I HAVE HAD MaNY LATELY AND IT’S BEEN GLORIOUS.
The answer to your question is a big fat “YESSSS!”
Rating/analyzing while reading is a big problem of mine, especially since Goodreads came into my life. Gah!
For instance, I am currently reading “Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined” and I keep telling myself that the first 10 chapters of the book have already decided its fate. I can’t imagine ever giving it a 4 or 5, no matter how good the ending may be. lol I’m struggling between a 2 and a 3. The saddest part of it is, I am a Twilight fan. I just don’t think Stephenie Myers should have attempted gender reversal. A male’s POV isn’t her strong suit. Eek. However, that is just my opinion, one of many 😉
I absolutely understand what you mean. It’s like a bad habit for me to rate books while I’m reading them. But I can’t stop it. I can’t enjoy the book and think about it later, it’s like smoking or biting nails – hard to stop it, when you once started. On the contrary to you I’m sure that I want to stop it … but really don’t know how it should be possible. I want to concentrate on the book and don’t do something else, but I think it’s an unavoidable property as a book blogger 😀
Great discussion, Cait! I’m the same, I think about rating and think about how I’m going to review a book while reading it. I so analyze while I read, and I’m not sure I can stop doing it. Well, I guess when you became a blogger and book reviewer you can’t read just for the pleasure of reading without any analyze anymore.
I think you’re more cheesy, than Swissy. I mean, do you stay out of things? Because if you get involved in a lot, and have to voice your two cents, and picks sides, well theN THAT IS NOT VERY SWISS Of you, Fröken!
As for rating a book and criticizing while I read, WHO CAN /NOT/ DO THAT? Is it possible? Every book starts at 5 stars from me. EVERY BOOK IS A 5 STAR-ER UNTIL PROVEN CRAPPY! But yeah I have to write down my thoughts and impressions, or take a picture of a page that impressed upon me. My mind’s constantly going while I read 🙂
I keep notes whilst reading. It’s necessary because I FORGET ALL THE THINGS! Also… I have a habit of waiting months to write reviews because I am A TERRIBLE BLOGGER! But 2016 is the year that I hope to get my shit together. We shall see if that happens. Probably not. BUT I WILL TRY!!!
Okay… where was I…. Yes. That’ it. Ratings. I don’t think about ratings whilst I am reading. I usually only think once I have reached the end. Because books have a habit of changing rating as they go on. Sometimes an end can make or break a book. It can take a 5 to a 3 or even a 2. Or it can push a 3 up to a 5.
I do analyse while I read though. Hence all my note taking. I have notebooks strewn around my room just filled with notes about books. I write all my thoughts on the plot, romance, characters and how I am feeling. I usually write a TON if it’s a book I either love or loathe. The 3/5 reads usually have barely anything written in my notes.
I don’t rate books on my blog, but I do on Goodreads and Amazon. I tend to generally make mental notes, unless by halfway or so through I have lots of things I want to say, in which case I set up a review post, and write notes there. I don’t really think about star ratings until the end. Most of the time, I try to write my review on the same day I finish it, but this isn’t always possible, so I might just leave a star rating on Goodreads and add my review later. Half the time, my star rating will change once I’ve written my review, up or down a star or a half. I’ll remember better bits, or worse bits, and see it as a whole, and think… “It deserves half a star for dealing with that particular element well,” or “I’m taking off half a star, actually, because, I was really disappointed with that part of the book.” That’s generally how my ratings go.
I think I’ve said it before that I kind of start with five stars, and deduct as I go. So I suppose in a way I am unconciously thinking about star ratings. But actually deciding on the final rating, that happens after a book has been read. Interesting discussion, Cait!
Yes! This is me! I’m currently reading a book that I desperately want to rate at least four stars (first, my adoring boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas, second, it’s about Wonder Woman). But, the style is kind of wonky (like, the sentences are short and choppy, and it’s distracting. Usually I’m not that critical, so…that must say something about the writing style, right?) I also have a notebook beside me as a read this, and I write down all of my thoughts, so that aids in this “rating while I read” phenomenon.
Oh all the goshdarn time. I’ve been more prone to rate something five stars lately because I’ve given up on the “every single detail has to be perfect” approach, like you mentioned. But usually the ending is what clinches it for me. A book could be four stars all the way through and if the ending makes me cry or leaves me squealing I rush to Goodreads to rapidly press the rating buttons to five. I’m a big believer in the “Beginnings hook readers, endings create fans” quote. Even if I think I know how I’ll rate a book all the way through, the ending can surprise me. But generally around two-thirds of the way through, I know how it’s going to end up.