Book Blogging 101 - Should I set up a Rating System?

Spawned from the Big Sis, Little Blog program, Book Blogging 101 was born. Do you have a question? Leave it in the comments section or email me parajunkee at gmail dot com

Q. Should I Set up a Rating System?


To answer this question, Parajunkee's View has brought in back-up. Please welcome to PJV my BBB (Best Blogger Buddy) Emily from What Book is That?  If you like this post, please support her blog by becoming a follower.

Book Blogging 101: Establishing a Rating System

One of the ways to make your blog unique is through the rating system you use with each book you review.  There isn't a set or expected way to rate books, but here are some common ways to do it:

-Assign a letter grade to the book (this is the one I use)

-Star system (5 being the best, 1 being the worst.) Many people personalize the graphic they use to reflect their blog design or the theme of their blog.  I've seen skulls, zombies, bats, butterflies, cupcakes, hearts, mushrooms, you name it.

-Math! Some people use fractions to express their opinion of a book (out of five, out of ten, etc.) I've seen bloggers who rate a book across a certain number of categories, tally the scores, and figure a percentage!

-Nothing! Some people opt out of a rating system entirely.

That's all well and good, but, you might be asking, who cares? Why should I bother with a rating system? Isn't that just more work?

Well...yes and no.  Sure, it's an added element to put in your reviews, and if you tend to free-form your reviews and just write what you think when you think it, then quantifying your opinions like this will be different from what you're doing now. 

On the other hand, and here's the part where I reveal a secret to all of you, I (and I'm sure I'm not alone on this one) tend to skim reviews.  I read the title and author and, if it's a book I've read or am interested in finding out more about, I check for the "last word" to find out whether or not the blogger liked the book.  From there, I decide whether I want to read the whole thing.  I'll be honest, having ratings that are graphically displayed or easy to understand (a letter grade, numerical score, or pictoral rating) are a lot more likely to grab my attention and make me want to read the entire review.  From there, it's a hop, skip and a jump away from me subscribing to your blog and becoming a regular reader and commenter.

Does it matter whether the review is positive or negative? Honestly, not so much.  If I LOVED a book and I see in my skim of another review that the blogger gave it one star out of ten, I'm going to read that review and see where the difference of opinion lies.  If I hated a book and someone else loved it, there's room for discussion there too.  Bottom line: having a visible, visual rating system is a way to grab attention for your reviews.

What rating system you're going to use is a personal decision, but above all else, be consistent.  I decided to use letter grades because they're kind of a universal way to express either success or failure, but you can use anything you want.  Just pick it, stick to it, and use it consistently, and your readers will be able to tell easily whether you liked the book you're reviewing or not.

Show off your raters...or post a follow-up. Leave the link here.