- Whenever you have something you want to share, just spill it (you know you want to). Just create a post of your own, grab the button thingy above and then add your post link to Mister Linky below.
- I will be here every Saturday, but you need not commit to a weekly post. Post when you have something to share.
- Posts can be rants about something you are reading, or a deep, dark secret. All I ask is that the post relates to reading or blog reading in some way. If you want to piggy-back off of what I post, then that’s okay too.
- Posts can be as short or as long as you like and can include more than one topic.
- The goal is to get to know one another better.
Here’s mine:
I’ve asked myself this question a million times but does it really matter if I use a rating system for my reviews? Right now, I do not. However, I about 6-8 months ago, there was a
Twitter conversation about the issue and some bloggers mentioned that they won’t visit blogs that DO NOT employ a rating system of some sort. Really? I was surprised to hear this.
I know that there are plenty of blogs that do use them, but I would never avoid a blog for not using them. Would you?
For me, stars just don’t mean much to me. I would much prefer to read what a blogger has to say. There are some bloggers that have completely different rating systems. Bethany over at Dreadlock Girl has her ‘Stellar Five Chicken Book’ award which I think is brilliant. She awards this to books that are exceptional. Click here to see an example of it. Diane over at Bibliophile by the Sea has a unique rating system as well. Diane assigns ‘faces’ to her reviews to let us know whether or not she liked them. Sort of reminds me of the pain chart at the hospital but it’s clear and I know right away what she thinks of a book. For an example of her system, click here.
I use the rating system on Library Thing and Goodreads but I always feel weird doing so. Also, I have to tell you that when I heard that people may not visit without a rating system, the rebel in me automatically decided not to use one. Isn’t that funny? I’m like a little kid sometimes when it comes to stuff like this. So as it stands now, no ratings for me and I blow raspberries (phwwwtttt) at anyone that won’t visit because of it.
However, I realize that they won’t see my virtual raspberries which is sort of funny in and of itself.
If you’d like to include your own confession, enter the name of your blog below and then add the permalink to your post. Or, if you aren’t quite ready to post your own confession then comments are fine too 😉
Book Chatter 
LOL I definitely wouldn't stop visiting a blog just because the reviewer doesn't use a rating system. I think each blogger/reviewer should do what works best for her/him. I use a rating system, but I've gone back and forth about whether to post my ratings. I find rating the books I read helpful on a personal level and so it's something I do more for myself than for my readers.
Ha. Everyone has their preferences about what kind of blogs they'll visit. I used to not rate but now I do. I've heard people say rating is an excuse to not think more critically but they actually force me to think a bit more about what I felt about a book. While I prefer reviews with ratings, I like all kinds of reviews and visit blogs that do all kinds of different things!
I was shocked to when I heard of some not reading reviews when they easily couldn't tell if you liked it from a rating system first. I can see why some people do it. And I can see why some people don't. Personally, I don't because it doesn't feel natural to me. If I lose some readers from it . . . well, oh well, I guess.
I don't have a rating system but I did start giving my reviews a one-word review at the bottom. But as moms across the world would say, "If they avoid you for something as stupid as lack of ratings then they aren't the kind of readers you want anyway." The fact that they won't see those raspberries because they won't visit your ratingless blog makes the raspberries all the more poignant. And humorous.
I agree that not visiting because there is no rating system is just churlish.
I don't like rating systems. I started using one because of Library Thing, but I totally agree with you that it is weird: often it seems arbitrary and inappropriate. I hope readers basically take them with a grain of salt and read the actual review if they want to know my impressions of the book!
Your rating-less blog would never keep me away Ti! I guess I like to see ratings, just because sometimes it isn't all that clear how the reviewer felt about the book. You get the reasons the book is good, then perhaps a few faults, then I am left in the middle somewhere. I guess it must be because I am a numbers person. I started a ratings system maybe 6 or 8 months ago. I'm not altogether certain is it is the best system, but I feel good puttiing something down.
I'm with you on this one. I'm not comfortable giving a rating. It's just something I don't like to do (unless I have to.) I find that almost everything gets a four anyway!
Great topic Ti. I like visiting blogs with some sort of rating system (it's just me), but I want to get a feel for what the person thought of the book. With so many choices out there of what we can read, I hate wasting my time on a real BOMB.
So you can "blow me the raspberries, or not"..LOL, but I LOVE your blog so no matter what you decide, you are not getting rid of me that easily….LOL
Thanks for linking my rating example; I appreciate it.
Have a great weekend.
All – If I used a rating system I would have to use one with a bit more flexibility.
Diane – I get what you mean. I would hope that if someone read a real bomb and they did not use a rating to reflect how they felt about it, that their feelings would be apparent in the review but you never know.
Sometimes I think I am writing a real bomb of a review and then when I go back to read it it wasn't as scathing as I thought it was when I first wrote it!
For some reason it feels totally natural for me to use the rating system on LibraryThing, but I have no desire at all to use one my blog. You have to read the review, even with a rating system, to see WHY a person liked the book to have any idea if you would, so what's the point, really, on a blog? Nothing against those of you who do, it is just why I don't see a point to do it or pay any attention to the ratings of those who do, except occasionally when I'm trying to get a handle on just how much someone did or didn't like a book. On LibraryThing it is different, because many people's ratings join together to form some sort of consensus.
First, I would never stop visiting a blog just because they don't use ratings! I recently stopped rating books myself, because it seemed like they were all 4 or 5 stars. If I'm not enjoying a book, I don't finish it. There must be a better way, but I haven't found it – lol!
That said, I do like seeing some sort of rating system on other blogs. Good topic!
If someone won't visit a blog because he or she does not employ a rating system, it makes me wonder if that person bothers to read what is written or only looks at the rating. Doesn't matter really. We all have our likes and dislikes.
I've written about this before, too. I don't rate books, because I don't *really* know what I think of them until later, after there have been weeks or months for me to continue to think about them, or forget them completely. Each blogger should do what they are most comfortable with. And blog readers will go where they may! Hallelujah for choices! 🙂
Lezlie
Lezlie – You bring up an excellent point. Sometimes I'll read a book that stays with me for awhile. Often, after I've thought about a book for awhile I will change my opinion of it. This happens a lot with book club books.
I completely agree with you – I wouldn't NOT visit a blog because they didn't use a rating system. I use one, but it's not that black and white for me.
I'm not into the whole rating thing. I feel like most of the time the way I feel about a book can't adequately be summed up with stars. I use it on Library Thing just because I use stars to know that I've read something, but the amount of stars I choose is usually just a gut reaction and is subject to change even after a few weeks (months?) have passed.
I can't believe that people wouldn't visit a blog simply because it doesn't have a rating system. I mean, if you're not interested in reading a review or some comment on the book and you're just looking for stars, why read blogs at all? Just shuffle on over to Amazon or LibraryThing or someplace like that and look at stars. *scratches head, shrugs*
In other news, one of these Saturdays I'm definitely going to have a confession, but I'm waiting until I feel, how you say, mature enough to write about it in a thoughtful way instead of just a…ranty way! 😉
I think chosing not to visit a blog because the reviewer doesn't use a rating systme is ridiculous and rude. It's like telling the reviewer, I don't care what you write about the book or what your review says, all that really matters is your rating. Sheesh, why don't you just cut off your foot thern? Sorry, but silly stupidity is annoying.
I think rating is good because it lets others know whether or not the reviewer liked the book but the written review expounds on that and gives the details. I'd much rather have the written review than the rating if I had to chose one.
It felt good to get that rant off my chest…thanks. I would never not read a blog because it did or did not use a rating system. If I had any rules about what book blogs I read, I have a feeling I would miss out on a lot.
I used to rate and then I stopped but now I'm thinking about doing it again. I love it when someone has ratings, esp the unusual sort.
I think readers can tell how you felt about a book from the review you write. I find it really difficult to put an arbitrary number on how much I liked or disliked a book. On Goodreads, I'm constantly saying something like "if I could give this half stars, then this one would be a 3.5." And a book I think is a 5/5 might not be a 5/5 for you so I think it's more important to know what the book's about and it's high and low points.
Interesting question. It's never really dawned on me to use a rating system. (Maybe that's keeping me from getting lots of readers!).
I feel like if I did a 5 star system, everything would end up being a 4, with an occasional 3 or 5. I do enough research into every book I read that I can't imagine I'd pick a book that ended up as a 1 or 2, and it's rare to find a 5.
I am fine with you not doing a rating system, and hope that you are with me not doing it too!
What a great topic. It's funny that someone would not read a particular blog because the blog didn't use a rating system. I started with a rating system but it made me really uncomfortable. And when I got uncomfortable, I stopped writing reviews. The moment I ditched my rating system, I started writing more reviews 🙂 I think whether you want to use a rating system or not is very personal decision, and I rarely do more than glance at ratings myself. I'm more interested in the words in the review!
It doesn't bother me to read reviews without ratings, but I have to admit that I look for them when I read a review. I think it helps me to get a better overall view of what the reviewer felt about the book.
I’ve enjoyed reading your ‘confession’ and all the comments. I’m in agreement with almost everyone else – a rating system is not what makes me read what a blogger has to say about a book. Reviews by those who have rating systems are as interesting to read as those without. The real factor is how well the blogger communicates the story and message of the book and whether they entice me to read it or not.