I’m not sure where the star rating system first originated. (Curse you, internet, for failing to provide immediate trivia information!) I believe it became well-known by its use in the Michelin hotel and restaurant guides, which have been giving stars to deserving establishments since 1926. Now? Star rankings are everywhere. From football stadiums to random hotel sites to amazon.com to this new-fangled GoodReads.
Originally, the star itself was a marker of quality. To be singled out by Guide Michelin with a star was to be raised to the firmament, put above lesser establishments. (See what I did there? ;o) Pretty quickly, however, Michelin added two- and then three-star ratings. Three stars represented the very best restaurants and hotels. As of this year, there are only 79 three-star restaurants in the world.
Michelin, like some redoubtable academic stronghold, has resisted ratings inflation over the years. The new reader-based internet rating systems for books has not held up so well. In fact, the whole system seems to be plunging from the sky in a ball of fire, like some Sputnik/Skylab/Challenger disaster of literary proportions. The whole thing is blowing up faster than I can read the latest review kerfuffle on Amazon or GoodReads.
The first time I really noticed how rapidly book reviews were becoming inflated was when a friend lamented that she’d gotten a “bad rating” for her book on GoodReads. I sympathized with her and went to see the damage. The review wasn’t vituperative or even particularly harsh, and then I noted that the reviewer had marked the book with 3 stars.
But wait! What? 3 stars? I hesitated, confused, as I scrolled back up to pass my cursor over the offending rating in question. The hover text obligingly popped up: “3 of 5 stars, liked it.” That was what I thought. 3 stars means the reader liked the book. That was the presumption upon which I’d based all of the ratings I’d doled out on GoodReads. Not that I’m all that adept at remembering to enter the books I’ve read and my ratings of them, but there were several good books I’d rated at 3 stars. Because I liked them. Not loved them. Not felt gushy and world-altered. Just liked. You know, in a positive, hey, I enjoyed reading that kind of way.
So how the heck did 3 stars became a “bad review”?
Oh, right… the same way a C became a bad grade, when we all started expecting to be above average. When we all started expecting our work to be deemed “amazing,” or “brilliant,” or “earth-shattering.” When we started getting our little feelings hurt if we weren’t deemed geniuses by everyone who read our stories.
It’s not that I don’t understand. Yes, when my first book comes out later this year, I will hope for mostly 4- and 5-star ratings. That would be very nice. We all want to be loved and admired. But it’s crazy when we expect that. Because like the old Freshman Composition teacher I am, I still want a system of evaluation to maintain its credibility. I still want there to be standards for what makes a student essay a B+, as opposed to a C. I don’t think “average” is a “bad grade.” I don’t think marking that I liked a book should be interpreted in a negative way.
The truth is, I don’t think most books I read are 5-star books. There are a few. Books that just blow me away. Books that have changed the way I think about the world. Books that I can re-read over and over and never get bored. Those are 5-star books. Maybe I’m just a bitch, but generally the highest rating I’ll give, even to the aforementioned dear friend, is 4 stars. Because although I think some of my friends are very talented writers who’ve written enjoyable books, I don’t feel like going around proclaiming they’re works of genius, just … because. For the sake of friendship. To be nice. That’s not really what book reveiews/ratings are for, right? Or is it?
A Theme
I won’t even get into the question of writers rating their own books at 5 stars. Do I think my forthcoming book is a 5-star book? No. I think it’s pretty good. Mostly well-written with some nicely crafted characters. The plot’s no beauty pageant winner, but that’s just it. Not every book is gonna be the winner. The Pulitzer Prize–only goes to one book. Not every student essay is an A++++++++++++++++
Which is not to say that everybody should have the same 5-star book. Ridiculous. The joy of such reader-centric sites as GoodReads is that each reader can expound on the virtues of their favorite books. The other side of that coin is that every reader can discourse on the failures of the books they deem deserving of 1-star ratings.
The problem, as I see it, is when we get sucked into a system of over-rating books, because we’re afraid of offending someone or being attacked for our honest opinion. Having been lambasted for giving my honest, but not cruel opinion on books that I thought were less than stellar, I’ve all but given up rating books on GoodReads. I cringe in anticipation of my entry into the land of stars and reviews and revenge ratings, but there doesn’t seem to be an alternative…
Bryn Greenwood 
Good post, Bryn. I rate things similarly to you. If I finish a book, though, it’s usually worth three stars because it held my attention enough to finish. I rarely finish books that I don’t at least “like.”
I think that’s generally true of my reading habits as well. Anything below 3 stars tends to be a DNF. If I like it well enough to read all the way through, I like it enough to give it 3 stars.
Good post, Bryn. I always liked to think of the grade C as “complete.” Do people strive to be “average”? No. But, I also think as books go, “liked it” it always better than “disliked,” and I’m with you- there are only a handful of books I’ve read that I would give 5 stars. I like the youtube system of evaluation- thumbs up or thumbs down.
That was always how I tried to explain the grade of C to indignant students: “You did the bare minimum in a satisfactory manner.”
I was wondering if a system of an even number of stars would be better. So there was a clear like/dislike, but then why isn’t the 5 star system good enough? 3 seems so safely neutral, how could anyone get upset over a 3? (But they can, let me assure you.)
Yup, makes sense to me, and that’s how I handled grading (when I did such things, which I’m very thankful I don’t do anymore). Most things I read would probably get 3 stars. There are very few books that get me all hot and bothered.
Very few student essays for that matter. 😉
Good post! I’m wondering at this overall feeling of entitlement. Is it a generational thing? A ‘sign of our times’? It seems that with books (along with…well…everything else) so many feel entitled to praise and accolades. And that entitlement attitude seems to exist on a hedonistic treadmill – so if three stars was good at one point now it *must* be four….then five…then…well you get my meaning. I think some authors lose sight of the fact that their art is out there and there are people who are enjoying it. If they ‘only’ like it that should be wonderful! They took the time to (in a lot of cases) buy your book, read it AND rate it? AND it got a positive rating? That’s a lot to ask of a person not to mention a stranger! Instead of being bummed that this rating (that will have no affect on the person’s life whatsoever) wasn’t as high as they wanted it to be, they should be happy for all of the aforementioned factors.
And I agree that most books/movies/music/paintings etc just won’t blow someone away to the point where they give it a five star rating. I like ratings that are honest…they help me as a reader. Book reviews aren’t there to soothe the fragile egos of authors, they are there to help readers.
I think the flip side of the sense of entitlement is the culture of what I call “I love ice cream!” Really? You love ice cream? You don’t just enjoy its taste? We go overboard in our reactions/attachments to all sorts of things. So when someone doesn’t love our work, we assume they must hate it.
Great post, Bryn! I think a 3 is def good for a book I like. If I find very few faults and love a book, it’s a 4. I’ve never rated a book a 5 but I can think of 1 or 2 that I might. It would have to be damn near perfect though, which doesn’t come along often. But you’re completely right, any of these ratings are good. A 3 is a book I’d actually rec to a friend, not a bad review at all.
These sites are awesome for rating things. I love reading reviews. I don’t care if it’s books or crockpots, I will pour over reviews and see what people have to say. But purposeful inflating (or deflating for that matter), is pointless.
I’m starting to lean toward posting reviews, but declining to rate things numerically. It just seems like the numbers get you in trouble. And yes, 5-star books? Great Works of Literature, that’s what I think of as 5-star books.
Just popping back in here because I realized, with some irony, that the first book I rated on GR I gave five stars. It’s still going to be an exception. In fact, I don’t plan on rating any books unless they are five star-worthy to me, simply because I’m not interested in reviewing. But if I was that excited about a book, I want to share it.
This got me thinking in a little more detail because this book is in no way great literature for the ages. Compared to 99% of the books in its genre though, it stands out for me and for very specific reasons. So I’ve realized my rating is partly a relative thing. When I’m thinking about a book, I’m thinking about it not in relation to every book out there, but to every similar book.
And while I do believe that contributes to the overall issue of rating inflation, it makes sense to me to do it that way. It’s the same way if I were grading an honors class versus a remedial class. ‘A’ work in one wouldn’t be equivalent to ‘A’ work in the other. But I guess this is my personal philosophy on ratings, just like there are many philosophies on grading. Anyway… I’m done rambling. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
I think that’s a totally valid way of address the ratings question–as one of comparative value. Looking at my own past ratings, it seems that in my mind what differentiates a 4-star book and a 5-star is something very similar. The 4 stars tend to be books that I consider the best of their kind. Books that stand out in their genre or style. The 5 stars tend to be books that I consider better than any other books I’ve read. So for example, were I to rate Lolita, I would give it 5 stars. Among the best books I’ve ever read. I gave The Way We Live Now 5 stars for that reason. It stands out to me on par with such books as Vanity Fair, but is rarely given that pride of place.
If I had to guess, most reader-raters don’t take any of this as seriously as the writers do. Always destined to cause problems.
Great post! I rate books exactly the same way. I rarely give five star reviews. Most of my reviews are four stars, some are three. If I didn’t care for the book, I won’t usually rate it because I feel bad giving it one or two stars.
It’s so weird how much synchronicity there is in the Universe – or in this case just Earth. The same discussion is going on in the wine world, drawing the same conclusions. The 100 point scale has become all but meaningless when no one pays any attention to ratings below 90 anymore and if it’s an expensive wine it darn well better get 95-100! It completely negates the value of the rating.
However, in the case of books, I am guilty of giving 5 stars, but this is often in context for me, which has to be taken into consideration if anyone even cares about my reviews. If it is something that stayed with me, was pefect for my mood and struck no false notes, IMO, then it is deserving of superlative appreciation. It has nothing to do with literary considerations. I have rarely given 2 stars and then only for famous, prolific authors who I feel have done a disservice to readers by not only phoning it in, but actually writing a poorly crafted book. These are authors who have proven they are capable of so much better, and I say so in the review. I would not give a bad review for a debut or lesser known author, but I wouldn’t rate them highly if I didn’t like it either. I would just decline to post a review. In the case of both wine and books, it all becomes quite subjective and whilst ratings are helpful, in the end we have to trust our own tastes.
Great post discussion, Bryn!
You know, I was wondering about that! I was trying to remember the last time I’d been in to the liquor store and seen any wine with a review clip with a posting below 90. Like, if it’s not a 90, it’s not worth bragging about? I tend not to give 2-star book reviews, either, unless I actively disliked a book. After all, that’s my understanding of what 2 stars meant. It seems, however, that much of the world has taken a bit longer to catch up on the issue. The great debate of grade inflation has been going on at universities since my very first year as a graduate teaching assistant. In fact, I remember very well what the supervisor at my last college teaching gig said when I departed: “I’ll miss your stern but reliable grading habits.” I presume because I tended to grade on a strict bell curve that meant only 1 or 2 students out of any class received an A.
I agree with you. Three stars not only isn’t a bad review, it’s a review that can be useful and might get read more often than the four and five stars. Reading multiple reviews that say different versions of “I loved it.” and “It’s great!” doesn’t give you as much information about the book and insight into whether you will enjoy the book as a thoughtful review that reveals any flaws or disappointments. Not everyone is bothered by the same things.
That’s certainly true of my reactions when I’m checking out reviews to decide whether to buy a book. The 5-star reviews tend to be as useless as the 1-star reviews. As gushy and vague as the others are vicious and vague. In the middle is where you’ll find the most meaningful comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the book.
Chiming in late here…
There are many reasons for the “grade inflation” on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, one of which is that “grades” given to books on these sites have come to affect purchasing decisions by publishers, bookstores and libraries. They show up linked to the websites of the latter two categories. And they are gamed and manipulated all the time by people with agendas, both for good and for ill of authors. There are companies that literally pay for five star reviews. There are trolls who have grudges against either individual authors and/or their viewpoints. The system is rife with manipulation and abuse. And it’s one thing when you have readers who read the reviews and make thoughtful decisions based on thoughtful analysis of the work. Another when decisions that help or hurt authors are made based on numerical rankings that may or may not have any real meaning.
When you have a situation where authors’ sales are hurt by not enough 4 & 5 star rankings, it’s a pretty sad commentary on the state of things, IMO. I’d advocate removing the star rankings altogether but I’m guessing that will never happen.
That’s certainly my motivation for deciding not to do ratings anymore on GoodReads. It seems like the star system is being used for many things, but not particularly for helping readers decide what to read next. As you say, so much manipulation of the system by the various players turns the whole thing into a game. Unfortunately one that gets pretty serious when it affects people’s livelihoods.