To be honest my rating criteria isn't consistent, and I've gone back to change ratings a few times. I also use Storygraph which allows half and quarter stars, which makes the decision more complicated. That said, here's my general method:
5 stars - my absolute favourites, books that I both really enjoyed reading and are objectively well written.
4.5 stars - books I loved but had some flaw that keeps it from being a 5. Usually, books I had a blast reading but some part of plot or worldbuilding fell apart once I thought about it some more.
4 stars - books that are fairly enjoyable and engaging. Most books I finish are here.
3.5 stars - books I loved parts of. eg an excellent book with a disappointing ending, or one that has an amazing character or plot twist but is otherwise meh.
3 stars - OK books, that I liked but didn't make much of an impression. Also, books that I recognise are well written, but aren't for me.
2 stars - books I struggled to get though. Interesting enough characters or subject matter that I wanted to finish the book, but boring / repetitive / actively frustrating.
1 star - books that are objectively bad, that I did not enjoy. Has only happened a few times - a local history book that was plain inaccurate, an obnoxious celebrity memoir.
blue_bayou_blue t1_jdc3z4n wrote
Reply to How do you rate your books on Goodreads? by pensieve64
To be honest my rating criteria isn't consistent, and I've gone back to change ratings a few times. I also use Storygraph which allows half and quarter stars, which makes the decision more complicated. That said, here's my general method:
5 stars - my absolute favourites, books that I both really enjoyed reading and are objectively well written.
4.5 stars - books I loved but had some flaw that keeps it from being a 5. Usually, books I had a blast reading but some part of plot or worldbuilding fell apart once I thought about it some more.
4 stars - books that are fairly enjoyable and engaging. Most books I finish are here.
3.5 stars - books I loved parts of. eg an excellent book with a disappointing ending, or one that has an amazing character or plot twist but is otherwise meh.
3 stars - OK books, that I liked but didn't make much of an impression. Also, books that I recognise are well written, but aren't for me.
2 stars - books I struggled to get though. Interesting enough characters or subject matter that I wanted to finish the book, but boring / repetitive / actively frustrating.
1 star - books that are objectively bad, that I did not enjoy. Has only happened a few times - a local history book that was plain inaccurate, an obnoxious celebrity memoir.