My Rating System

OK maybe I'm kidding myself and getting too serious about my book reviews but when has that ever stopped me? 

I love books.  A few years ago I came to the realization that there are more books out there than I can possibly read.  Which is depressing.  So it became obvious to me that I could not waste my time on books that simply weren't worth my time.  My ratings are based on that concept.

You probably won't see a lot of the top rating (***** - 5 stars) or the bottom (* - 1 star).  I certainly HOPE I won't have lot of * ratings.  That would mean I'm wasting a lot of my time.  So let's examine those first.

* - Forget It.  A book so bad that I stopped reading it.  Usually it's bad writing that makes me quit.  My rule is if I find myself yelling at the author about their writing while I'm reading it I put the book down.  Authors should be invisible behind the story and the characters.  Simply a bad book in my opinion and not worth anyone's time to read it.


***** - Put It In Your Library - There's no higher compliment than wanting to put a copy of a book in my library.  A keeper.  A book that I know I will read again and again and again.  What kind of books are in my library?  To Kill A Mockingbird,  Winesburg Ohio, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Amber, All the Nero Wolfe novels, James Herriot's  All Creatures books, Lamb by Chrisopher Moore and anything by Lewis Grizzard.  That's only a sampling.  You never know when you're going to come across a book in this class.

So what's left?

** - Not Impressed - Book that I probably finished but had serious problems with in the plot, the character or the overall writing.  If you treasure your reading time you won't want to read this book.  There was something that kept me going but the bad outweighs the good.

*** - Good Read - A book to enjoy, a book that carries you through the story with characters you care about.  Book probably has a few small problems, the writing is solid but not spectacular.  I would probably read more by this author but might not go looking for any more.

**** - Recommended Read - These are the books that take that next step.  Top quality writing that includes compelling characters and well crafted story lines.  These are authors that I will certainly go looking for more of their work.  You get to the end and wish there was more.

So that's if you just want the short hand recommendation on what I'm reading look for the ratings.

Peace