Alright, so my review process is I read a book, then I handwrite my review, then I build my blog post and edit my review as I type it up for the blog post (there are usually a few small word choice changes made to every review). It's a pretty simple and streamlined process I think, and it works well for me (and gives me a reason to buy notebooks and pens, which is always a good thing.)
The way I determine ratings is, like I've mentioned in a past post, a bit analytical. I have a mental checklist of things a book needs to do to remain at five stars, and every book I read starts at five stars. My list is as follows:
- Book is relatively error free.
- Book maintains my interest.
- No major plot holes.
- Pace flows smoothly throughout (some fluctuation in pace is to be expected).
- Resolution doesn't seem rushed.
- Book is the right size for the story.
When these things are missing, the book starts to lose stars. The most common issue I find in the books I read is too many spelling and grammar errors, and it really is a big pet peeve of mine. It can also affect my perception in other areas like the book maintaining my interest (can't stay too interested if spelling errors keep yanking me out of the story) and the pace of the story flowing appropriately (again, the pace can seem skewed by being pulled out of the story.) Basically though, if I rate a book 3 stars, I will list two reasons why (possibly three if there were two areas that were only kind of lacking, like the book got a little boring because it drug on a little unnecessarily). If I rate a book 1 star, there will be several examples given of things that were lacking in the book. It's an arbitrary rating system, but it works well for me. - Katie
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