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| Disclaimer: IABB Confessions are submitted anonymously and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of either IABB or the graphics artists who design them. IABB and the graphics artists merely provide the platform for the airing of the anonymous confessions. |
I've taken a week or two (or four) to sit on this confession, just to let my thoughts percolate a little bit more before hitting you with my thoughts on it, and because I have to start writing reviews again now that Joood - Hooligan of Platypire Reviews has had some time to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, I figured this was as good a time as any to address this particular pile of garbage.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the standard book rating system has 5 stars. That's what we get on both Goodreads and Amazon, and so it's what many bloggers also use as the standard. But sometimes using a 5 star rating system just doesn't adequately represent your feelings on a book. Sure, you have to pick a full star rating on Amazon or Goodreads, but you can use any sort of star fraction you want within the text of a review. And speaking as a reviewer, sometimes you just have to use star fractions in your reviews.
There are a ton of reasons why a reviewer might love a book, have nothing bad to say about it in the review, be a new fan, and still only give a book a 4.5 star rating.
I've read books where there was just something that didn't quite sit right with me about the book, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on what it was, so while I couldn't talk about it in the review, it affected the rating. And since I couldn't quite pinpoint what was bugging me, I couldn't justify deducting a full star for it.
Other times, what I've not liked about a book has been extremely petty, and I KNEW it was petty so I didn't harp on it in my review and only deducted part of a star for it. "But Katie, if you knew it was petty, why did you let it affect your rating/review at all?" Because this is my blog, damnit, and I do what I want. Also, my ratings and reviews are supposed to reflect my experience with the book, and that petty shit was part of my experience.
But what I want to know is how anyone gets a 4.5 star review and thinks the reviewer wasn't pleased? That's a damn good rating. It's near perfect. You want a full five stars for your book? Be perfect in the eyes of that reviewer. But guess what, you will NEVER be perfect in the eyes of every reviewer because it's all subjective. Don't expect to get a perfect rating from a reviewer who didn't think your book was perfection.
The kicker of this confessions is the dig at reviewers for not being connoisseurs of great writing. I'm not sure if the confessor realizes that's a double edged sword though. I mean, if these reviewers reading your book aren't connoisseurs of great writing, what does that say about your book exactly?
Finally, you wish authors could review reviewers? So do it. Post that shit on your blog. Own up to your opinions like reviewers do every day. By all means, let the world know that unless a reviewer sings your praises, you have no use for their review. And then, let me know how that worked out for you.
Oh, and as a final fuck you from me, I will no longer be rating in full stars on this blog. I know most authors will not care (and will surely round appropriately to determine what their rating would have been otherwise), but in case I ever stumble upon one of your books and rate it on accident, I want to be sure to give it anything but a full star rating. You're welcome. - Katie
There are a ton of reasons why a reviewer might love a book, have nothing bad to say about it in the review, be a new fan, and still only give a book a 4.5 star rating.
I've read books where there was just something that didn't quite sit right with me about the book, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on what it was, so while I couldn't talk about it in the review, it affected the rating. And since I couldn't quite pinpoint what was bugging me, I couldn't justify deducting a full star for it.
Other times, what I've not liked about a book has been extremely petty, and I KNEW it was petty so I didn't harp on it in my review and only deducted part of a star for it. "But Katie, if you knew it was petty, why did you let it affect your rating/review at all?" Because this is my blog, damnit, and I do what I want. Also, my ratings and reviews are supposed to reflect my experience with the book, and that petty shit was part of my experience.
But what I want to know is how anyone gets a 4.5 star review and thinks the reviewer wasn't pleased? That's a damn good rating. It's near perfect. You want a full five stars for your book? Be perfect in the eyes of that reviewer. But guess what, you will NEVER be perfect in the eyes of every reviewer because it's all subjective. Don't expect to get a perfect rating from a reviewer who didn't think your book was perfection.
The kicker of this confessions is the dig at reviewers for not being connoisseurs of great writing. I'm not sure if the confessor realizes that's a double edged sword though. I mean, if these reviewers reading your book aren't connoisseurs of great writing, what does that say about your book exactly?
Finally, you wish authors could review reviewers? So do it. Post that shit on your blog. Own up to your opinions like reviewers do every day. By all means, let the world know that unless a reviewer sings your praises, you have no use for their review. And then, let me know how that worked out for you.
Oh, and as a final fuck you from me, I will no longer be rating in full stars on this blog. I know most authors will not care (and will surely round appropriately to determine what their rating would have been otherwise), but in case I ever stumble upon one of your books and rate it on accident, I want to be sure to give it anything but a full star rating. You're welcome. - Katie
It pains me to say this, but I completely agree with this.
ReplyDeleteBecause we're basically the same person, even though neither of us really wants to admit that. :) - Katie
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