Let’s talk about anything bookish!
It’s time for book blogger confessions, people!
I’d like to think that I don’t change my book ratings, but actually, I do. That isn’t to say that I cheat on my ratings because I got an ARC, or I’m a part of a tour, or because I’m besties with the author (I don’t have any author BFFs, anyway), but I have my reasons.
Now, I don’t mean that changing a rating is bad per se. I think that finding out the reasons why a reader/reviewer changed a rating is very important. Of course, if you do change a rating for all the wrong reasons then I would question the validity of the other reviews.
Why the heck would I change my ratings?
- When I rate up. Okay, so that doesn’t sound like it’s a good thing right? Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. But let me tell you this, I have had times where I DNF’d a book BUT when I re-read them again, I absolutely fall in love with the story! You might be asking why I would read a book that I already DNF’d? Simple. I read another book by said author and I loved it, so I decided to give that book another try. I can even give you an example! I read One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean and I LOVED it. So, I decided to go and read Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake, a book which I DNF’d before. AND I WAS BLOWN AWAY! It has now been one of my favorite books by Sarah MacLean and I don’t regret changing my opinion.
- When I re-read. There is something about re-reading a great book that makes it even better. Sometimes, when I re-read the books, I give them an extra half or full heart. One example would be Cinder by Marissa Meyer. When I first read Cinder, I thought it was okay and gave it 3 hearts. I wasn’t even very positive with my review. But then, I read Scarlet and Cress so I decided to re-read Cinder, and I gave it an extra heart! I think it was because I fell in love with the whole Lunar Chronicles universe so when I re-read Cinder, I fell in love. Which reminds me that I have to review Cinder again.
What I haven’t done is rate down. There has never been an occasion to, nor do I want there to be. I mean, that’s basically saying that a book that you liked sucked when you read it again! That hasn’t happened yet, thank God!
Let’s Discuss
Are you guilty of changing your ratings? Share your reasons why below!
Early last year, I went through and changed a bunch of ratings on my blog. I had gone back and read some of my old reviews to see if I could catch typos or make certain paragraphs flow better, and then I would notice how high of a rating I gave a book, and I would think, “Why did I rate this five stars? It doesn’t even compare to Harry Potter” (Harry Potter being a five star book in my opinion). And then I would drop the review from five stars to four stars or even three stars.
I didn’t even re-read the book either. Honestly, when I first started blogging, my ratings were really inflated because I was afraid of being negative. Even if I thought a book was worth three stars or two stars, I would bump it up to four or five stars. So, yes, I change some of the ratings. I don’t feel guilty about it though!
I agree, Jackie! Rating books really is a personal thing. I hardly downgrade books tho, especially when I rated them 5 because I immediately rate books right after reading so that rating may be a tad bit influenced by my current feels after reading the book. That being said, that might not be a great idea! But still. 🙂
I think a majority of reviewers initially give inflated ratings when we first start. I think I was on Goodreads and just started rating the books that I read…and these were books that I haven’t read recently.
Great discussion topic! I have changed my ratings a few times — as in, less than five. I agree that it’s generally for the reasons you stated– picking up a DNF and actually finishing it and/or re-reading and re-evaluating my rating.
Eva @ All Books Considered recently posted…Review: The Big Rewind by Libby Cudmore
I don’t ever re-read so I don’t have this issue. LOL! Sometimes I DO consider changing my ratings later, but so far I’ve stuck to my original ratings!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye – Bookish Backdrop, Review Preview & Giveaway
I no longer rate books, but back when I did there were a few times that I changed the rating after thinking about the book more. Sometimes my initial reaction to a book changes after I’ve distanced myself from it a bit, and in some cases have calmed down lol.
You have a point here! I never really thought about that!
I haven’t changed a rating that I remember but I have re-read books I liked that i didn’t fully enjoy the second time around and lower the rating, which royally sucks because two of those books were books I had adored and LOVED LOVED LOVED! So I picked them up again and was surprised to see they weren’t as great as I believed. I don’t rate books I DNF because as you, I could pick them up again.
As Shannon said in her comment, when I started blogging, I wasn’t very critical. If I loved it, I loved it. I didn’t pay much attention to the characters development or anything critical for a story. Then I started getting more involved in the blogging community and visiting blogs and that made me realize I had to focus on everything while reading because I expect the same back. So that’s when I noticed my ratings going from almost 5 stars average to 3.5 or 4.
Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews recently posted…Are ARCs the reason behind blogging?
So far, the faves I re-read have still remained faves. I don’t know what I would do if they wouldn’t 🙁
Oh, and I also agree with you and Shannon, the first time I used Goodreads, I just rated books willy nilly, most especially those that I had read before. ha ha
I can only think of a handful of times I rerated up- and they all included finding out that a book was going to have a sequel and I had been stabby about the ending. But I HAVE rerated down. Mostly, it’s because I had been way too lenient back in the day, when I first started rating stuff. And I will see someone’s review pop up on Goodreads or something, and I will see that I rated a book I didn’t even really like 4 stars or something. SO then I get mad at myself, and reevaluate the rating, and it usually goes down. I don’t do it often though, just if it makes me twitchy when I see my rating from years ago 😉
Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight recently posted…Three Book Wishes: A Forbidden Wish Giveaway!
I think the tricky thing is the half star rating. I always ask myself this: should I rate up, or down? But mostly I stick to my gut and rate up or down depending on which way how close they are to the full star. But that’s only because star ratings are crazy! I don’t think I’ve actually changed my ratings down, tho. Unless I rated it by mistake, because damn fat fingers on a tiny screen. LOL
I think the only time I change it is I have done a re read and if I had DNF a book previous and read it again and liked it. I rarely change my ratings. Of if on my blog its for example 3 1/2 stars on goodreads I will round it up to 4 stars.
Same here! But I actually haven’t re-read a book yet that I rated down! I mean, I re-read my favorites, so I know I’m not going to rate them down! My half star ratings on Goodreads actually depend on how much that half star really is to me, so I either round up or round down. I usually think about how close that rating is to the full upper or lower star.
I think on both your examples I could see why you would change the rating. Personally, I don’t rate books that I DNF, for the reason that I might decide to read them in the future or I just didn’t get far enough to give it a 1 star rating. I also don’t re-read books, EXCEPT my favorites which always have a 4 or 5 star rating from me 🙂
It’s funny because I also gave Cinder 3 stars but have loved the other Lunar Chronicles books. Maybe I should take a page out of your book and give it another go! As for changing ratings, I do it very seldom. When I see a book I read five years getting 5 stars and recognize that it had issues I will usually change it. I don’t like to, but I sometimes do.
Alise recently posted…Review: Night Study by Maria V Snyder
Nope. But my ratings are super simple…thumbs up and thumbs down. I won’t re-read a book I gave a thumbs down to. 🙂
Terri M., the Director recently posted…Magic is Real and Comes With Great Responsibilty
Hmm.. well, I wouldn’t say I have changed my ratings, per se, BUT. I know for a fact that there are books I loved & rated high, that if I were to read now I wouldn’t love as much. So I don’t lol I guess that would be considered rating down. haha
But there are books where my ratings have changed. The Raven Boys is one. When I read it, I gave it 3 stars but gave it 4 on audio, about a year later. I don’t reread often, so this usually doesn’t happen often with me 🙂