When I posted a recent review on Goodreads (Dean Bakopoulos’ Summerlong, which I loved!), I noticed a so-so average rating (3.56 stars) and some fairly scathing one and two star reviews. This got me thinking about some other books I loved where my rating and Goodreads’ average rating didn’t align and I realized that some of my very favorites were on this list!
I rated every book below 5 stars…and check out the corresponding Goodreads average ratings.
I know that some of these are love/hate type books (The Dinner, The Truth And Other Lies), which could explain the ratings disparity. The Beautiful Bureaucrat might just be too weird for some people. But, I was really surprised by the average rating for some of these books because I’ve heard others (in real life and in the small corner of the blogging world where I hang out) speak mostly positively about them (The Interestings, My Sunshine Away, The Unraveling of Mercy Louis).
What does this all mean?
- Is my taste in books just that different from that of Goodreads raters?
- Is my view of a 3 star rating different from that of Goodreads raters’? I give 3 stars to books I find not painful, not great, just kind of okay (and, I don’t recommend books I rate 3 stars to others). Do others view 3 stars as a more positive rating?
- Is this a small indication of the beauty of the book world…readers have different tastes, there is something out there for everyone, and there’s always going to be room for spirited discussion about books?
What do you think? How do you view 3 star ratings? And, what are some of your favorite books that have received so-so average ratings on Goodreads (or other sites)?
Goodreads ratings are a mess – I don’t trust them for much of anything, especially newly released books. The first thing I look at is how many reviews a book has, because if the number of reviews is low those ratings are ridiculously skewed (that’s probably the issue with The Beautiful Bureaucrat, which isn’t released yet).
That’s a good point about the number of reviews. Small data set. I also noticed that, for some of these books, my GR friends ratings were significantly higher than the average rating.
I am not on Goodreads, so I really can’t say, but I usually pay attention on Amazon, for example, as to the amounts of reviews then how many are rated four or five stars compared to lower rated reviews. That usually gives me a good idea of what to expect.
If you really want to know, your taste in books is usually different than most people. You “discover” gems, whereas most people just read whatever, but keep in mind that’s not a bad thing, you gravitate towards reads that make you think.
I look at the ratings on Amazon as well and, at least for Summerlong, they were pretty comparable to GR.
And – I’m OK with having different taste than most people…and, yes, I generally like books that have substance. Sometimes I definitely enjoy some lighter stuff, but I don’t like it to be completely mindless.
I don’t put too much stock in GR ratings, as I have NO idea the tastes of all the people rating books on there. I’m more inclined to read a book suggested by a trusted source, 3.2 GR rating, be damned!
3 stars for me isn’t a BAD rating. For me, it essentially means I liked it just fine, but it wasn’t overly special or different. 4 is it was great, and 5 stars is I loved it!
Really interesting post!
Oh yeah – if a trusted source recommends a book, I don’t factor in the GR rating before reading it. Like with The Dinner. But, if I’m deciding whether to request a certain ARC that blogs I follow haven’t really been talking about yet, I will look at the GR ratings. But, maybe I shouldn’t 🙂
I agree…3 stars isn’t bad…it’s sort of “fine, kind of meh” for me. But, I guess the bottom line is that I generally only recommend books I’ve rated 4 or 5 stars to others.
I think online reviews are so skewed in general – I hope it gets better with time. I think Netflix & Foursquare are a few companies leading the way on doing it better – Netflix in particular is pretty great with their “Our Best Guess for Emily” – I think it’s usually fairly accurate. There’s so much data, it just needs to be mined in a way that’s meaningful and useful. I’d love to see Goodreads do a “best guess for you” rating, based on what it knows about my taste, or maybe show me the average star rating from my Goodreads friends. (I do like how they list my friends reviews below – that’s somewhat helpful.)
I usually give 4s and 5s for books I really like, but I don’t view 3 as too bad – I’d still occasionally recommend it, depending on what I know about the person and what they like.
I just joined Netflix so I’ll need to check out their Best Guesses for me! And – I love that they’ll guess what you would rate a show/movie rather than just recommending new things that you might like. I’d love for Goodreads to do something like that! I do like how GR shows your friends’ ratings for a particular book, but an average rating for your friends would be a great addition too!
I don’t view a 3 as bad…just kind of not memorable and not worth recommending to others. BUT, I’ve been finding myself rarely giving a rating below a 3 these days because I tend to not finish books I’d rate 1 or 2 stars. So, I guess a 3 is my lowest rating for books I actually finish?!
I feel the same – with my shelves CRAMMED with good books to read, I rarely pick out and then finish one that’s not great. I JUST gave a 2 star review on GoodReads for a book I finished this morning – I think it might have been my first 2 star this year. The only reason I finished it was that it was so short and fast moving, and I wanted to see if the end would redeem it. (It didn’t)
I’m definitely more likely to finish a bad book if it’s short! And, I gave a 2 star today as well…for a DNF. Decided I should start rating those…with a note saying how far I read.
Sarah, this is so interesting! I do think that Goodreads ratings are kind of crazy; like you’ve mentioned, there are just so many different types of readers there and I think their views are all over the place. I’m with you on the ratings, too; I would never give a book that I enjoyed on any level a rating of 3. I actually looked back and found that I rarely give a 3 at all; it’s usually a 2 or a 4 – ha! I’ve really, really enjoyed the books I’ve read that you’ve used as examples in this post; I gave them 5 stars, as well.
I kind of realized that I rarely rate anything below a 3 anymore b/c I don’t usually end up finishing the books that would get 1 or 2 stars! So, 3 has sort of become my de facto lowest rating. Maybe I’ll start rating books I don’t finish so people don’t think I pad all my ratings 🙂
I find that it’s so hard to know what the ratings all mean – there are just so many different tastes out there. I could look up a book in a genre I don’t normally like, pick out a book with an awesome rating and hate it just because it’s not my taste. So, sometimes I think people are reading and rating books that aren’t for them; whether it’s because they were sent a free copy, or because it was recommended by a friend with different tastes, or because they just weren’t in the mood for it. I look at the ratings, but don’t always go by them. I use them mostly to rate my own books for future reference.
Interesting post!
Rating for future reference is definitely a reason I do it too! I don’t always go by the overall GR ratings, but I do pay attention to them…maybe too much it seems! It is kind of interesting sometimes to see how you come out against the average rating.
Wow that is interesting! I often feel that way about movie reviews that I have an inverted response to the critics but I never considered it for books. Now I’m curious enough to get on goodreads and see how my opinions compare 🙂
Oooh….now the critics are a whole other topic of conversation! I often come out differently than critics…on books and movies. I went through a streak a few years back where I had particularly bad luck with award winning books. That’s gotten a bit better recently (I think?).
I don’t think 3 stars is a bad rating. When I give it, it’s usually for books I enjoyed, but didn’t consider outstanding (4 star) or spectacular (5 star). These are books that I’m not sorry I read. Two stars are for ones I kinda wish I hadn’t spent the time with. One star is for ones I hated so much I skimmed, or didn’t finish. I’m not to concerned about whether my ratings agree with the Goodreads averages.
3 stars for me are for books that aren’t particular painful, but that I’ll probably soon forget. I guess I could regret having read them in some cases. I don’t usually rate books I don’t finish (I mark them as DNF on my GR account and add a comment about why I gave up), but maybe I should start!
Interesting! I’ve had similar experiences though, especially because I am a rather strict rater on GR (I very rarely give 5 starts). On GR, I usually dismiss the rating because I don’t know the taste of the readers who’ve rated the book. On Amazon, I see how many people have given the book how many stars to get an idea of what’s going on with the book. I usually read some of the 1-star and some of the 5-star reviews to get an idea of what people liked/didn’t like. More often than reviews, I go by the “recommended for you” or the “since you liked this, you might like that” feature.
I do tend to read a sample of 1 and 5 star reviews….and I also like the 3’s. Someone who is so-so and can point out some positives and negatives. And, I’m definitely hearing I need to throw that GR average rating out the window!
I pay more attention to the ratings that my Goodreads friends give than the ratings in general.
But that said I tend not to give 5 star ratings unless I really really really loved the book. Loved it so much I want to buy it. For instance with The Interestings I gave it four stars.
I do like how GR shows your friends’ ratings and pay attention to those as well. I need to start focusing on those and entirely disregarding the overall rating it seems!
I don’t rely on goodreads ratings in general, but do use it to see which of my friends have read a book and what they thought of it.
As for the 3 star rating… that’s a good book, but not one I’m going to go out of my way to recommend.
Great post, I love these types of discussions. Ratings on subjective works of art (where I include books) are so widely varied and skewed as to be useless unless you know the reasoning (i.e., personal scale) of the people behind them. I’m in Katie’s camp. For me, a 3 is a good read. I’m a pretty tough grader, since 5s are handed out very rarely (something I absolutely loved without reservation and would read again – not a huge rereader) and 4s are books I really liked that stood out but fell just short of the 5 category. Other people hand out 5s and 4s much easier than I do, some even more strictly. I also think that the more ratings you get, the closer you’re going to end up in the 3 neighborhood regardless. I love having this conversation, though!
Well, I don’t trust Goodreads or Amazon truthfully for the star ratings and even some of the reviews. There is something hokey going on with many social media review sites. I listen to my gut and to the reviews and comments made by blogger friends and acquaintances. 3 stars to me means good read, worth my time, might recommend to some friends. 4 means very good experience reading it, and 5 means I loved it and highly recommend it. (I am an easy grader– I like to show my love for a really good time by handing out many 4s and 5s.
Just my opinion. I don’t think you grade too highly– I think some people are too critical and snarky with their comments.
I’m definitely seeing that a 3 means different things to different people. I once had an author contact me because I rated his book a 3 on GR, but said to “skip it” on my blog. And, I always say “skip it” for a 3 book. I only recommend “read it” for 4 star books. But, that also means I have a lot of 4 star books since I like to be choosy about handing out 5 stars.
Interesting question! I think some of what must be happening for some books is that there’s a lot of high and a lot of low reviews, so they settle out somewhere in the middle. And what others have said too, if there aren’t many reviews yet that can mess with an average. Either way, that just shows it’s good to get lots of opinions before making decisions about whether to grab a book or not!
Most of my ratings are higher than the Goodreads average. I do give some 2 or 3 stars and for me a 3-star is just so so, 2 star was an effort to complete.
I would guess it’s just a reflection of the fact that everyone likes something a little different. Even for less controversial books, like The Interestings, I’ve seen mixed reviews from bloggers I follow and I’m sure goodreads is the same way.
GR is often skewed by # of ratings. However, 3 star ratings for me are for books I enjoyed but used a formula plot well but still kept me invested the whole time but didn’t wow me with writing style or characterization etc.
I have to say that I don’t pay much attention to the ratings when I look for a book, what I like to see (and that’s what I like from Goodreads the most) it’s the ratings/reviews of “my friends” on GoodReads. Sometimes when I don’t know a book, I just check if any of my friends has review of it and I buy it depending on what they say or their rating.
About your question about 3 stars, I also rate 3 stars the books I like but I’m not sure to recommend because I don’t find them “really good”.
It’s already been said by numerous commenters but Goodreads rating are kind of a mess. And don’t get me started as to why they can’t figure out half stars!
When I rate books there I adhere to what, in my mind is meant by the Goodreads Amazing. That’s a pretty high bar and so I don’t give a lot of 5s. To me, a 3 is not bad. It means I Liked the book and would recommend it but didn’t love it. 4 is a Love. People tend to think 3s aren’t good but for readers like me, they are. A 2 is what is not good.
I’m suspicious of too many 5 star ratings especially before a book released. Usually means people who won it or are paid. As for books I’ve loved that others on Goodreads, there are too many to count!
Wow, now I’m tired from all that math- I need to go read! 😉
I’m not on Goodreads, so maybe I’m not qualified to comment . . . but I really don’t like rating systems at all. The question is: am I rating the book on how much I enjoyed it? or by whether it succeeded as a literary effort? For example, I just read Among the Ten Thousand Things, by Julia Pierpont. I have no idea what the Goodreads ratings are, but the professional reviews have been glowing. I disliked the book and didn’t really enjoy reading it, but I thought it was well written and imaginatively constructed. I didn’t connect with it, but I could appreciate the author’s artistry and I can imagine many other people would enjoy it. So how many stars would I give it? Who knows? Similarly, I don’t read or enjoy romance novels, but If I read one that was well done, how would I rate it? I don’t think ratings and algorithms work when it comes to books. In a way, books are like people. You connect with them, or you don’t. And sometimes the people you don’t connect with are truly wonderful people.
My rating system is summed up from my 5 year old: 3 stars are “liked it”, 4* is “loved it” and 5 stars is “super loved it.” He is a different kind of reviewer, he “super loves” everything he rates on Goodreads. Me, 3* is a book I like and would pass on to a friend because they may like it more than I do and it wasn’t that awful that it’s a waste of time. Most books are a 3 for me (though Goodreads would show my average rating otherwise because of my overly enthusiastic 5 year old).
I don’t usually look at Goodreads ratings before I read a book, because they are just so all over the place. Once I finish a book and rate it, however, it can sometimes be very entertaining to read through others’ reviews. There was a book I read last year that I gave 2 stars – only because it was free as part of the Kindle First program – and I was astonished to see that it had an average rating above 4 and that people were raving about it. I used to be a bookseller, so that experience was just further proof that different people have different tastes. I will almost always read a book that is recommended to me by a friend, but I don’t think I have ever read one based on its ratings on GR.
This brings up an interesting point in general about how people use review sites. I’m actually working on a lengthy blog post about it – that I will probably never finish – because I have noticed so much discrepancy between sites like Amazon and Goodreads for books, or TripAdvisor and Zomato for restaurants, etc. It’s a great reminder to use these sites for research but to ultimately take them with a grain of salt unless you have a personal connection to the reviewer.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post, and sorry for my lengthy response!
I do love reading others’ reviews after I’ve read the book (and at least drafted my own review)…can definitely be entertaining! And, interesting to see how differently people can perceive the same thing. I do look at the GR average ratings before I read a book, but that’s not a factor in deciding if I should read a certain book…more of a curiosity after I’ve decided to read something.
I’d love to see your post on review sites when you get it done. I like how you’re planning to include ratings sites beyond books. And, no worries about the lengthy response!
Oh yes, the old GR rating conundrum. I have read many books that averaged out in the 3 star range and simply loved them. Now when I go on to look up books, I want to know what my reading friends thought because we have similar tastes and I trust their thoughts more than the star rating.
This is such a great reminder that, if a book sounds interesting, I should just go for it regardless of the average GR rating. I’ll admit that the star rating can give me pause when I’m considering a new read, and I’m probably missing out on all kinds of great things that way.
Keep in mind the big difference between GoodReads and Amazon: you can leave a star rating on GoodReads without leaving a review. Amazon requires both.
This difference can lead to strange unintended consequences. For example, there are people who use the GoodReads rating system to “triage” their to-be-read lists. In other words, they build their list of books and then give 5-stars to the ones they want to read right away and 1-star to the books they want to read at sometime in the future. Those frivolous 1-star ratings can be quite damaging to newly published books with few ratings. Without text reviews attached, who’s to tell the true meaning of their ratings? That use of the ratings system seems unthinkable to me and I hope it is rare, but people do strange things. I think Amazon’s ratings are much more reliable.
Oh my gosh – I had no idea people used GR ratings to categorize their TBR lists! That does strike me as unfair for the authors…and other Goodreads users who look at the ratings.
My biggest gripe with GR is that there is no official “DNF” designation. I created my own DNF category, but I feel like there should be a box to check that should somehow get factored into the overall ratings…or if you DNF past a certain percentage it counts toward the overall rating.
Hi Sarah — I saw your link to this post on Twitter the other day and wanted to weigh in. A couple of years ago, I was on GR on my laptop, and as I hovered over three stars, a sort of pop-up thing came up that said “I liked it.” Then, “I really liked it” for four stars and “I loved it” for five stars. Those phrases helped me recalibrate my GR ratings. I actually give more three star ratings than I used to because I don’t see it as a “bad grade” anymore. I probably give more “four star” ratings than I should and, like many other GR users, I’d love to be able to use half stars.
I echo the comments above about checking out the reviews as well. I can usually tell by the tone and quality of low reviews if I would trust/respect that reader’s opinion on a book.
It is such a personal matter what each star rating means to each person! I realized I was using too wide a range for 4 stars and have now started using 3.5 stars much more often.