When I am asked to rate a book, I always feel like 5 stars or even 10 half-stars are such limiting options.
Let’s say, I love the unfolding of the story but the ending was terrible (Girl on the Train). I’d still give it 5 stars. Or, what if I love, Love, LOVE the book and will tell all my friends that they should read it but it’s not for everyone because it is extremely sad (A Little Life) – yep, 5 stars. How about Grady Hendrix’s really scary and inventive, My Best Friend’s Exorcism? Fantastic scary story, but is it on par with Toni Morrison’s Beloved? You see what I mean?
So, I’m going to try something different and see how it goes. I’m going to use a 100 point scale. Just like grading papers. Here’s the rundown:
1-20: I will probably try to forget that I read this book.
20-40: Passable effort, but overall did not care for this book.
40-60: Either the story, the idea or the writing is good, but there are major flaws.
60-80: Now we’re getting somewhere; liked it; may recommend to friends.
80-90: Loved this book and will recommend it to friends.
90-99: I probably will not be able to shut up about this book.
100: (Not sure this is an achievable score – we’ll see.)
For those who prefer a 5-star rating system, I have categorized books that way as well. Let me know what you think of my score-out-of-100 rating system!