Ratings, ratings. This is my first year blogging and rating books. As I look over my list of books I’ve read this year, I’m not happy with some of the ratings I’ve done. I try to compare each book I read with others (obviously!) to see where I would place it. I’ve found that some books that I’ve given a “4″ should really be a “3.5″. There are quite a few I would change to 1/2 point to even one point less. I don’t think there are any that would increase.
What are the ethics of this? I guess it’s my blog and I can do what I want to, but should I really change my ratings? I could list all the ones I changed and the reasons why. Should I just start from here and leave my former ratings alone, or is it acceptable to go back and change a few as long as I explain myself.
I finished this book two days ago, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this with my Book Awards group in September, and I have many things I’d like to talk about and discuss with them first before I write any kind of formal review.
I guess I will write one later. Lay Ter. (If you’ve read this book, you know what this means!)
I was disappointed in this book. I expected great things after loving The Handmaid’s Tale earlier in the year. I was especially disappointed as it was over 500 pages; it could have easily lost about 100 pages of detail. I guess that’s my main gripe about it. It just seemed too detailed for me. Also I correctly predicted almost all that happened. Long, too detailed, and too predictable. But still, Atwood does know how to turn a phrase, and that is why it still gets a 3.5 star rating.
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19, ESV)
The God of Small Things
The Blind Assassin
