"If it's Jesus or sex it goes on Storygraph" made me laugh. It is amazing how different readers are in our ratings criteria. Yours is very different from mine, and I think it is helpful to know what someone's criteria is since the differences matter if you are taking a rating into consideration on a book. I tend not to look at ratings that much and stick to reviews when I am thinking about reading a book.
Haha, I wasn't sure if I should leave that in or not! I agree, we really do rate our books differently. I know some readers are more "technical" in terms of what would be needed for them to dish out a 5 star and I'm learning that I am much more of an emotional reader and if I know I want to reread it again some day it usually gets a 5! Yeah, I think the actual review is better than the "star" rating too in many ways. :)
This was a great tag and I am so excited you started your reading journal :) Cannot wait to see it when you are ready!!! Thank you for tagging me! I love how everyone has a different system to rate their reading.
Thanks, Heather! I was so excited when I watched your videos about it and it's been fun setting it up! I can already feel myself slipping a little behind, though. I need to catch up on it this weekend! :)
The way you throw out 5 stars! Lol. And I feel you on the one star, I just appreciate honest reviews too. So I like when a book channel or page has a mix of reviews. But yes you don’t have to trash the person
Me too! The review usually helps me figure out if I would like the book rather than the star rating. It’s funny how everyone’s experience of reading a book can be so different! :)
Thanks Fred! It’s a great tag and I’ll be looking forward to hearing your thought process with ratings if you have time to do this one. Glad we have similar thoughts on what a 5 star book feels like. It’s so subjective in terms of the rest of the stars, that’s for sure! :)
Terrific responses to this tag, Farrah. 😊 I appreciate you tagging me. I’m way behind on tags. 🙃 In fact, Jessica @JessBookgirlTV tagged me back in July for this one. 🤦🏻♀️ I’ll eventually get to it, and when I do, I’ll tag you (and Jessica). 🥰
Every time I hear one of these videos... it just reinforces more and more why I don't do star ratings 😅 Everyone is just so different... and that is a beautiful thing 🤗
Haha, thanks MJ! I looked up my Goodreads acount after I filmed it and found my one random little 2 star rating, so I guess I only usually work within the 3-5 when it comes down to it! :D
You are so sweet! I’ve definitely done one stars on goodreads. I try to balance good and bad with 3 stars if I write a review, but one stars are getting a full reader beware rant. 😂 I’ll try to work this in soon! Thanks for the tag in this tag! 😊
A "reader beware" rant, lol! I can't wait to watch your video if you end up doing this tag! It's funny how different everyone's criteria is for each "star". Thanks for watching, Kat! :)
Thanks for the tag!! I have already done it though, so I won't be doing it again. :P 50 pages before giving up on a book is a good rule to have. I don't give up very often, but I find myself doing it more often now.
Oops, I'll have to check out your video! Yeah, I've gotten better at letting books go that aren't working too. I just stopped reading one last week because I couldn't get into it! Life's too short ;)
This is an awesome booktube tag! The way people rate books is so varied. I am also attempting to get better at DNF'ing books. If I'm not liking something, the book often just ends up in book purgatory and I convince myself I've not officially DNF'd them and will read them later but they continue to collect dust on my shelf 🙈 It can be hard to do! I find myself reading a lot of 3-4 stars because while I don't give many lower ratings, I'm also super picky about 5 star ratings. So the majority end up in the mid range. I want to get better about being more specific with my ratings though. Really wish goodreads had a 10 star scale or we were able to use decimals 😝 I also really like the idea of having a very special category of books you would rate 6 stars if you could! It's where I would put the books that I would reread and have no notes on 😊 This was really fun to watch and get to know more about the way you read books! Thank you for the tag! I've been so busy recently so I think this will be a great wee video to do 💚
I love your comments so much! They’re nice and beefy like mine 😊. Yeah, it’s so interesting how we can read the same books, but give such different ratings because we all have different ideas of what each star represents. My 3 star could be someone else’s 1 star 😂. I’ve seen a few people use a 10 point system which I might try someday. I know what you mean about book purgatory. Why is it so hard to just let them go?? 😂 What I’ve started doing recently, is when I decide I don’t want read it anymore, I just skip to the end and read the end and then I feel like I finally have closer and can move on. 😂. Thanks for watching and hope you have a nice weekend!
This was an informative tag. I appreciate how everyone has their own rating style. I’m the same when it comes to not rating DNFs. I created an exclusive shelf on Goodreads so I can mark books as a DNF, and I’ll write a brief review, but I don’t rate them.
Thanks, Sarah! That's a great idea to make a DNF shelf. I think I might try that! Yeah. I agree, for me, I just feel too unfair to rate a book if I didn't read the whole thing. Thank you for watching! :)
Thanks for the tag, I tried to film this one ages ago and kept messing up so I never posted it. I consider myself a bit of an easy touch for 5 star ratings too but I think you are even more generous than me 😂
Oh, good! If you do the tag, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Haha, yeah, if I love the book so much, I slap on that 5 star rating adn sometimes I can be blind to the criticisms about it! :)
You are far nicer than me. I generally don't leave written reviews for things I rate a 1 or 2 star unless something in particular is bothering me. I also don't DNF much.
@@bookstalgic I can respect it on one hand. I have friends who are writers and I'm terrified to read/talk about their work because I'm afraid I won't like it and will hurt their feelings. Though my presence on BookTube is largely anonymous to them. Also, I do have a fear of talking about political books publicly as well. Especially because I am largely moderate which makes me an enemy to everyone, lol.
Yeah, that’s understandable. I had a few random indie writer contact me on IG about wanting to read their books, but I feel like my fear of hurting their feelings would make me give them a better review than might be deserved. And yeah, there will be no talk of politics on my channel either! Religion is interesting for me in terms of how it shapes the way people think and live their life, but I’m nervous of people getting crazy in the comments so I shy away from that too. 🎉
Yes, exactly! Bored, but not horrible and don't really recommend is my version of a 3. It's funny how for some people, a 3 star is totally different. :) Thanks for watching, Hilary!
Great video. As a spouse of a fledging writer, I appreciate the sensitivity to writer. True story, for the time being, books are not written by the bots and those pen-weidlers have feelings that can be disrupted when they are looking for their audience. I mean Stephen King - don’t care. My wife - do care. As I get ramped up with my book tube channel, I will tackle this one. I have been working on my rating system this year to find a healthy balance between my analytical brain and my emotional brain. Balance!
Thanks Steve! Yes, if it's a big author that's totally different than a smaller indie author. I give those indie writers so much credit for putting their work out there like that. I hope your wife has a great experience when she starts to have her stuff read by others. I hope you do this tag once you start making videos. Totally with you on the balance! :)
Great tag and responses! I also never rate one star books. I don't see the point as they go straight to my dnf pile as well.Totally agree that terrible reviews will harm the author, especially if they are small, self-published authors. I have heard crazy one star reviews saying horror/ extreme horror is just not the genre for me... well then why did you even pick up the book? I do give two star reviews, but very seldom. I don't give out five star ratings as often as I used to because in my mind it has to be a book that completely blows me away. The story and characters need to resonate with me long after I put the book down.
Exactly, Cliff! The 1 star ratings I see are usually someone on a rant, but in reality, it just wasn't the book for them. That 1 star drags the average rating down so much, I would feel too bad doing that to an author. Yes, my 5 star books are always one that I know I will re-read and have a physical copy on my shelf. It will be interesting to see if they hold up and remain 5 stars for me down the road, though! :D
I’m also easy with my 5 star ratings. I also round the numbers up a 4.51 star book will become a 5 star. I do have a 5 plus shelf on my goodreads account. Well my 5+ star books get a place on my favourite shelf.
Sounds like we have similar review styles, Annie! I always like to make sure I have a physical copy of all the books I rate as 5 stars so I can keep them in my collection. :)
We can't all agree on the amount of stars a book deserves and all opinions matter. That's how we get averages and that's petfect. I really liked your comment on what you keep private (Jesus related books and trashy books). I laughed out loud. Thanks! 😄
I agree, Martine! There's a book for everyone, that's for sure. Haha, glad you enjoyed that comment, I wasn't sure if I should've edited it out or not! :D
I agree with your thought process. Lately, I've stopped rating anything, because my perspective may be off. A story will resonate with someone else differently. Also, I'm appreciating stories differently with life experience. There's books I see in a whole new light now that my hair turns gray and my knees ache😊 Jesus and sex. Jesus first 😂
Haha especially during Lent! 😂. Rating is so subjective so I always take it with a grain of salt, and I totally agree with you! As we go through different life experiences, we resonate with books differently so how can we really rate that? Yay for gray hair and achy knees! I’ve been in that club for a while lol 🥳, It’s nice to hear from you, Albert!
I never Rate a book. I give you my thoughts on it. And I only talk about or give you my thoughts on a book that I liked. Books that I didn't like, chances are I DNF
I have a Goodreads; but I don't really take my ratings seriously. I am a bit discreet I suppose; I zero-in on aspects of a book and try to disentangle it, whether it be on paper or in my head. Books are primarily a means to an end. Of course, that doesn't mean I get no enjoyment - but that's generally not my style. Sex in books is a definite no for me, as I do not wish to indulge on any sorta impassioned state that clouds judgement and distorts my convictions. However, some of the books I have read did have such things in them (Infinite Jest, lol), but like I said it is a means to an end.
The actual reviews are definitely more important than the ratings, for sure. And we all have different experiences with each book and different motives for reading so it's hard to take any of it seriously anyway! :)
@@bookstalgic Oh yeah, I agree. But taking other people's perspectives into consideration has never been a strong point of mine. Always want to have my cake and eat it too. The only thing I've ever eaten are my words.
"If it's Jesus or sex it goes on Storygraph" made me laugh. It is amazing how different readers are in our ratings criteria. Yours is very different from mine, and I think it is helpful to know what someone's criteria is since the differences matter if you are taking a rating into consideration on a book. I tend not to look at ratings that much and stick to reviews when I am thinking about reading a book.
Haha, I wasn't sure if I should leave that in or not!
I agree, we really do rate our books differently. I know some readers are more "technical" in terms of what would be needed for them to dish out a 5 star and I'm learning that I am much more of an emotional reader and if I know I want to reread it again some day it usually gets a 5! Yeah, I think the actual review is better than the "star" rating too in many ways. :)
This was a great tag and I am so excited you started your reading journal :) Cannot wait to see it when you are ready!!! Thank you for tagging me! I love how everyone has a different system to rate their reading.
Thanks, Heather! I was so excited when I watched your videos about it and it's been fun setting it up! I can already feel myself slipping a little behind, though. I need to catch up on it this weekend! :)
The way you throw out 5 stars! Lol. And I feel you on the one star, I just appreciate honest reviews too. So I like when a book channel or page has a mix of reviews. But yes you don’t have to trash the person
Me too! The review usually helps me figure out if I would like the book rather than the star rating. It’s funny how everyone’s experience of reading a book can be so different! :)
Great video! That IS an excellent tag! I'll do it this Tuesday, 3/19 for Tag Tuesday.
Thanks, Reney, I'll look forward to your video and seeing how you rate your books! :)
Good tag! I like that you’re a generous reviewer. It’s nice to focus on the positive. 💜
Thanks, Kaitlin :) I'm definitely rating with my emotional response, rather than how technically good a book is. :)
This is terrific. Thank you for tagging me, Farrah!😊
Thanks Pat, I'll be looking forward to your video if you decide to do this one, especially with your experience as an English lit teacher! :)
Great answers Farrah! I'm the same way on how you rate a book five stars. Thanks so much for tagging me - this sounds like a great tag :)
Thanks Fred! It’s a great tag and I’ll be looking forward to hearing your thought process with ratings if you have time to do this one. Glad we have similar thoughts on what a 5 star book feels like. It’s so subjective in terms of the rest of the stars, that’s for sure! :)
Terrific responses to this tag, Farrah. 😊 I appreciate you tagging me. I’m way behind on tags. 🙃 In fact, Jessica @JessBookgirlTV tagged me back in July for this one. 🤦🏻♀️ I’ll eventually get to it, and when I do, I’ll tag you (and Jessica). 🥰
Haha, I hear you! I am really behind as well. I guess it's nice to have a backlist as we won't run out of video ideas! :)
Every time I hear one of these videos... it just reinforces more and more why I don't do star ratings 😅 Everyone is just so different... and that is a beautiful thing 🤗
Haha, I know, star ratings are sooo subjective. My 3 star is probably someone else's 1 or 2 star :D
This is wonderful! 👏🏻👏🏻 You are so nice in your ratings. I think I’ve given a book one star once, maybe. 😂
Haha, thanks MJ! I looked up my Goodreads acount after I filmed it and found my one random little 2 star rating, so I guess I only usually work within the 3-5 when it comes down to it! :D
Nice! Thanks for tagging me. This is perfect timing since I just did an entire video on a 1 star book review. 😂😂
You're welcome, Nicole! I'll be looking forward to your answers to the tag and to see what each start rating means to you! :)
You are so sweet! I’ve definitely done one stars on goodreads. I try to balance good and bad with 3 stars if I write a review, but one stars are getting a full reader beware rant. 😂 I’ll try to work this in soon! Thanks for the tag in this tag! 😊
A "reader beware" rant, lol! I can't wait to watch your video if you end up doing this tag! It's funny how different everyone's criteria is for each "star". Thanks for watching, Kat! :)
Thanks for the tag!! I have already done it though, so I won't be doing it again. :P
50 pages before giving up on a book is a good rule to have. I don't give up very often, but I find myself doing it more often now.
Oops, I'll have to check out your video! Yeah, I've gotten better at letting books go that aren't working too. I just stopped reading one last week because I couldn't get into it! Life's too short ;)
This is an awesome booktube tag! The way people rate books is so varied. I am also attempting to get better at DNF'ing books. If I'm not liking something, the book often just ends up in book purgatory and I convince myself I've not officially DNF'd them and will read them later but they continue to collect dust on my shelf 🙈 It can be hard to do!
I find myself reading a lot of 3-4 stars because while I don't give many lower ratings, I'm also super picky about 5 star ratings. So the majority end up in the mid range. I want to get better about being more specific with my ratings though. Really wish goodreads had a 10 star scale or we were able to use decimals 😝
I also really like the idea of having a very special category of books you would rate 6 stars if you could! It's where I would put the books that I would reread and have no notes on 😊
This was really fun to watch and get to know more about the way you read books! Thank you for the tag! I've been so busy recently so I think this will be a great wee video to do 💚
I love your comments so much! They’re nice and beefy like mine 😊. Yeah, it’s so interesting how we can read the same books, but give such different ratings because we all have different ideas of what each star represents. My 3 star could be someone else’s 1 star 😂. I’ve seen a few people use a 10 point system which I might try someday. I know what you mean about book purgatory. Why is it so hard to just let them go?? 😂 What I’ve started doing recently, is when I decide I don’t want read it anymore, I just skip to the end and read the end and then I feel like I finally have closer and can move on. 😂. Thanks for watching and hope you have a nice weekend!
This was an informative tag. I appreciate how everyone has their own rating style. I’m the same when it comes to not rating DNFs. I created an exclusive shelf on Goodreads so I can mark books as a DNF, and I’ll write a brief review, but I don’t rate them.
Thanks, Sarah! That's a great idea to make a DNF shelf. I think I might try that! Yeah. I agree, for me, I just feel too unfair to rate a book if I didn't read the whole thing. Thank you for watching! :)
Thanks for the tag, I tried to film this one ages ago and kept messing up so I never posted it. I consider myself a bit of an easy touch for 5 star ratings too but I think you are even more generous than me 😂
Oh, good! If you do the tag, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Haha, yeah, if I love the book so much, I slap on that 5 star rating adn sometimes I can be blind to the criticisms about it! :)
I have not done a tag for ages, I will think about this
I hope you do it! I would love to know your rationale for how you rate books since your reviews are so good and thought out. :)
You are far nicer than me. I generally don't leave written reviews for things I rate a 1 or 2 star unless something in particular is bothering me. I also don't DNF much.
Haha, I have too much guilt. On the downside, I only have 3-5 stars to work with lol.
@@bookstalgic I can respect it on one hand. I have friends who are writers and I'm terrified to read/talk about their work because I'm afraid I won't like it and will hurt their feelings. Though my presence on BookTube is largely anonymous to them. Also, I do have a fear of talking about political books publicly as well. Especially because I am largely moderate which makes me an enemy to everyone, lol.
Yeah, that’s understandable. I had a few random indie writer contact me on IG about wanting to read their books, but I feel like my fear of hurting their feelings would make me give them a better review than might be deserved. And yeah, there will be no talk of politics on my channel either! Religion is interesting for me in terms of how it shapes the way people think and live their life, but I’m nervous of people getting crazy in the comments so I shy away from that too. 🎉
Three-star is my bored rating also. It's usually a matter of enjoying the characters but wishing they were doing something else.
Yes, exactly! Bored, but not horrible and don't really recommend is my version of a 3. It's funny how for some people, a 3 star is totally different. :) Thanks for watching, Hilary!
Great video. As a spouse of a fledging writer, I appreciate the sensitivity to writer. True story, for the time being, books are not written by the bots and those pen-weidlers have feelings that can be disrupted when they are looking for their audience. I mean Stephen King - don’t care. My wife - do care. As I get ramped up with my book tube channel, I will tackle this one. I have been working on my rating system this year to find a healthy balance between my analytical brain and my emotional brain. Balance!
Thanks Steve! Yes, if it's a big author that's totally different than a smaller indie author. I give those indie writers so much credit for putting their work out there like that. I hope your wife has a great experience when she starts to have her stuff read by others. I hope you do this tag once you start making videos. Totally with you on the balance! :)
Great tag and responses! I also never rate one star books. I don't see the point as they go straight to my dnf pile as well.Totally agree that terrible reviews will harm the author, especially if they are small, self-published authors. I have heard crazy one star reviews saying horror/ extreme horror is just not the genre for me... well then why did you even pick up the book? I do give two star reviews, but very seldom. I don't give out five star ratings as often as I used to because in my mind it has to be a book that completely blows me away. The story and characters need to resonate with me long after I put the book down.
Exactly, Cliff! The 1 star ratings I see are usually someone on a rant, but in reality, it just wasn't the book for them. That 1 star drags the average rating down so much, I would feel too bad doing that to an author. Yes, my 5 star books are always one that I know I will re-read and have a physical copy on my shelf. It will be interesting to see if they hold up and remain 5 stars for me down the road, though! :D
I’m also easy with my 5 star ratings. I also round the numbers up a 4.51 star book will become a 5 star. I do have a 5 plus shelf on my goodreads account. Well my 5+ star books get a place on my favourite shelf.
Sounds like we have similar review styles, Annie! I always like to make sure I have a physical copy of all the books I rate as 5 stars so I can keep them in my collection. :)
"If it's Jesus or sex, it's not going on Goodreads!" 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆
Thanks for doing the tag!
Hahahah, thanks for watching! It was a great tag :)
We can't all agree on the amount of stars a book deserves and all opinions matter. That's how we get averages and that's petfect. I really liked your comment on what you keep private (Jesus related books and trashy books). I laughed out loud. Thanks! 😄
I agree, Martine! There's a book for everyone, that's for sure. Haha, glad you enjoyed that comment, I wasn't sure if I should've edited it out or not! :D
The sex and Jesus comment reminded me of the song Rock Me Sexy Jesus from the movie Hamlet 2. It's worth looking up on TH-cam.
Looking it up now lol
Yup, that was worth the look. The moonwalking on water :D
I agree with your thought process. Lately, I've stopped rating anything, because my perspective may be off. A story will resonate with someone else differently. Also, I'm appreciating stories differently with life experience. There's books I see in a whole new light now that my hair turns gray and my knees ache😊
Jesus and sex. Jesus first 😂
Haha especially during Lent! 😂.
Rating is so subjective so I always take it with a grain of salt, and I totally agree with you! As we go through different life experiences, we resonate with books differently so how can we really rate that? Yay for gray hair and achy knees! I’ve been in that club for a while lol 🥳, It’s nice to hear from you, Albert!
Lol...Jesus and sex is a good rule of thumb 👍🏽😅
LOL, only on Storygraph! ;)
“If it’s Jesus or sex…”. 😂. I’m guessing the irony of that one didn’t hit you when it came out of your mouth. 😉. Thanks for the tag!
Haha, it didn't hit me then, but it did now! :D Looking forward to your video if you end up doing this one!
No technique on my side, I rate according to the general feeling I had reading the book. 😅
Yes!! Glad you are another emotional rater rather than picking apart the technical aspects of a book. :)
How do you like StoryGraph? It's what I use over Goodreads.
It’s grown on me! I actually really like it. I like the stats you can generate at the end the the year too. :)
Hope you are reading something good. Best wishes.
Thank you and hope you are reading something good as well! :)
I never Rate a book. I give you my thoughts on it. And I only talk about or give you my thoughts on a book that I liked. Books that I didn't like, chances are I DNF
Thanks for sharing your process. I don't like to do too many negative reviews. :)
I have a Goodreads; but I don't really take my ratings seriously. I am a bit discreet I suppose; I zero-in on aspects of a book and try to disentangle it, whether it be on paper or in my head. Books are primarily a means to an end. Of course, that doesn't mean I get no enjoyment - but that's generally not my style.
Sex in books is a definite no for me, as I do not wish to indulge on any sorta impassioned state that clouds judgement and distorts my convictions. However, some of the books I have read did have such things in them (Infinite Jest, lol), but like I said it is a means to an end.
The actual reviews are definitely more important than the ratings, for sure. And we all have different experiences with each book and different motives for reading so it's hard to take any of it seriously anyway! :)
@@bookstalgic Oh yeah, I agree. But taking other people's perspectives into consideration has never been a strong point of mine. Always want to have my cake and eat it too. The only thing I've ever eaten are my words.