- The Vampire Knitting Club…Nancy Waren (Audio) 3.5/5 Paranormal Cozy Mystery
I needed something light after the last book. This was an easy listen. Along the lines of most cozy mysteries with a good narrator.
- Told after supper - by Jerome K Jerome. 4/5 A short stories about ghosts on Christmas Eve.
- Pre-Raphaelite Women - by Jan Marsh. 3/5 About life of women, which the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood used as a models. Has a lot of pictures. Low mark because of feminist propaganda.
- Stitches and Witches…Nancy Warren (Audio) 3.5/5 Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Not too different than the 1st book in the series.
I started it but didn’t finish it. I really liked I LET YOU GO,
I have been meaning to ask. How to you all determine the ranking you give your books.
I understand 1 would be bad and 5 is just about perfect.
But…do you have a certain standard to hold them by? Other than you liked it or didn’t.
I need a clear set of rules for myself in order to determine what to rate things. Right now I have a pass or fail system.
Either I would read it again or I wouldn’t. Only super special ones would I actually own.
Which isn’t helpful to those on this site who would like to see the rating system.
Thanks for any help/advice.
I would never rate something 1 or 2 because I wouldn’t bother finishing a book that I thought was that bad. 3 stars is a good book, but not great. If I really like it, I give it 4 stars. 5 stars is reserved for a book that is amazing in all respects.
The 5-point scale is essentially a Likert scale that runs from bad (1) to good (5).
I think of it this way:
(1) POOR - Awful book, poorly written, not worth my time or the paper it was written on. Might not finish this book. Tiresome.
(2) FAIR - Not particularly enjoyable, didn’t like it, but might have some merit.
(3) GOOD - Reasonably well written, entertaining or made cogent arguments (depending on genre). Average. Most books rate a 3, no more, no less. Wouldn’t read again but glad I read it.
(4) EXCELLENT - Above average. Very happy to have read the book. Very entertaining/interesting. Might read again someday. Would recommend to others.
(5) OUTSTANDING - Loved, loved, loved the book. Sad to put it down, will definitely read again, want for my own library. Recommend this to everyone. Excited to have had the opportunity to have read this book. Rarely do books get a 5.
Here’s a description of the Likert scale:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html
@EllenDeKnitter
Thank you. This is absolutely perfect. It helps my brain to see the numbers defined this way. Also to see that most books are going to fall into the (3) category helps as well.
You’re welcome. I’m glad it helps. You’ll have your own ideas about where things fall on the scale, but I do find it helpful to hear how others think about the rankings.
Happy knitting and happy reading!
I was especially glad to see that you thought most books would fall within the 3/good/average.
Very few books do I absolutely love enough to keep around and fewer still do I walk over to the garbage can and throw away.
I thought I was just a fussy reader. Turns out… I fall within what is accepted as ‘normal’. lol.
And today, with all that is going on around me. I take as a huge compliment.
That scale is just perfect, that’s pretty much how I rate books (though I might reread a 3 just to see if a second reading gives me more to think on).
5: Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Milton, a nonfictional account of the activities of a British group dedicated to winning World War 2 by any means necessary. Very readable, great fun, and makes Inglorious Basterds look pedestrian and unimaginative. 5/5
- The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter…Theodora Goss (Audio) 4/5
A fun listen that included many Victorian era monsters (Jeckyl and Hyde, Moureau and some of his creations, Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
- Cheaper by the Dozen - by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. 5/5 Excellent book.
My January 2020 books
- Breezy Friends and Bodies: A Chinese Cozy Mystery - A Raina Sun Mystery by Anne R Tan –Cozy Mystery
- Death by the Seaside: A Lady Hardcastle Mystery Book by T E Kinsey – Cozy Mystery
- Cover Her Face: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery by PD James – Mystery
- Hercule Pirot Double Sin by Agatha Christy – Short Story
- Murder in the Manor: A Lacey Doyle Cozy Mystery by Finoa Grace – Cozy Mystery
- Jeopardy in January: A Calendar Mysteries by Camilla Chafer – Cozy Mystery
- Sweet Revenge: Sweets Shop Cozy Mysteries by Maisy Morgan – Cozy Mystery
8: Curtain, by Agatha Christie. Her last Poirot story, and a tour de force. 5/5
7: The Moon Pool and Other Stories by A Merritt. Pulp fantasy adventures, rather over-melodramatic and the title story is far too long, but amusing enough. 3/5
I never read much of her work, but always meant to. Sorry to hear about that.
8: Drood, by Dan Simmons. A Gothic fantasy thriller involving Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. To be honest I found it a massive disappointment - bloated, repetitive, garbled and a waste of a good idea. 2/5
- Cover Her Face. P.D. James 4/5
(looking forward to reading more of these books to see how the author developed the main investigators character)
- European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman…Theodora Goss (Audio) 4/5
The 2nd installment in the series. Just as well done as the 1st.
9: Fool, by Christopher Moore. A comic fantasy loosely based on king Lear. Very rude and bawdy but entertaining. 3/5
- The Thirteenth Tale…Diane Setterfield 4/5 (Historical Fiction/Gothic Suspense)
Not one that kept me up all night. Very bizarre & sad.