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.
Comments from the peanut gallery are welcome.
I know exactly what you are talking about as I have encountered the same difficulty with my blog. I’ve thought about eliminating the rating, but I think it’s helpful for people who read the review to get a simple summary of what I thought in the form of a rating. I am also considering going through my reviews at the end of the year and maybe adjusting them in one, probably lengthy, post. I plan on doing a couple of posts at the end of the year/beginning of next year to summarize this years reading and it might be a good time to do it. Anyway, just some ideas I’ve thought about.
I think you should change them if you want. I feel the same way when I look at how I rated a book on librarything. A book’s rating feels one way right after you read it and then differently weeks, months later. Especially when you look at several books rated the same but you don’t feel the same about them. Some books improve on memory, some don’t.
It’s your listing and it should reflect how you feel. It’s not on your permanent record.
You know, it’s your blog, so you can do whatever your little heart desires!! There have been a few times that I change a rating within the first week after I read a book, but after that I just let it go, even if I know longer agree. I’ve found that my ratings fluctuate +/- 1 depending on my mood, what I read right beforehand, etc. I don’t think rating books is exactly a scientific process!!!
I think you should feel free to adjust your ratings given time and new insight. I repeatedly wish that I could do this (maybe I too will start) because I tend to have “ratings inflation” particularly with classic or avant-garde works that everyone else holds in high esteem.
I have a few that I might not have rated so highly too but it doesn’t seem right to change them now,IMO. Plus, I look at it this way: I rated them as fairly as I could in comparison with the books I had read at the time. My knowledge base is going to be constantly expanding and so will my opinions and ratings.
I guess for myself, I am just going to try to be more stingy with my upper ratings from here on out, saving them for the best of the best.
There’s my .02. Your mileage may vary.
You could always write the newer rating next to the old one and say why you have changed your mind. This would cover all bases. It would be interesting to see which ones changed, which go up and which go down. Like you say though, it’s your blog at the end of the day so do what makes the most sense to you.
I guess this is the reason why I gave up rating. I would fuss over it for quite awhile before finally assigning a rating and then ending up not happy with it. I now just do the reviews and say whether I liked it, loved it, or didn’t care for it. It’s less stressful!
I struggle with ratings too. This is my second attempt to do it, the first one ended in disaster when I couldn’t decide or got too picky about it. This time around I went with a very basic 1-5 scale, and somewhere along the lines decided that if I wanted to put a .5 on there I would. My reasoning was exactly as you asked, it’s my blog, I can do what I want! I would leave them alone myself, but if you feel that they need to be different, it’s your blog! Change ‘em! But if you do, I’d make a post explaining why, what about the book made you change your mind, etc.
Can I say again how much I love this new look?
I don’t even do ratings. I’m not even happy about having to give students grades! I’m not about to inflict more grading upon myself! And like you say, what might be a 3.5 now could be a 4.5 if you read it again next year.
But since you do give ratings, I think it’s up to you whether you change the ratings, and I wouldn’t consider it an ethical dilemma, because whether you change them or not, it doesn’t hurt anyone. The only thing I would take into consideration is that if you change ratings now, a few months from now you might feel like changing them back.
Also! I would have read LotBP either way, because the topic intrigued me, and I did know you hadn’t read it yet. Really, it was already on my wishlist.
Lots of great comments here! I know what you mean about ratings changing – I’ve seen that in my own reviews as well. But here is another way to look at it: at the time you gave the rating, that is what you thought of the book. Maybe if you read it today, you’d change it…but, on that day, at that moment, that is what you thought. Personally, I don’t intend to go back and adjust my ratings for just that reason – it is too much work to do and I’m not even sure anyone really cares but me *laughs* People might notice that on my blog, my “review” format only allows me to rate on a 0-10 scale…but, my personal rating scale is 0-5 (because I like that scale better). So even on my blog right now, things aren’t entirely clear!!
Like Lisa, I struggle with the ratings too. But still, it’s your opinion and decision…what we enjoy doesn’t mean the other readers will enjoy it too, although it’d be good if we’d state down our thoughts on why we like or dislike the book. As for changing the ratings, I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it, after all our preferences do change along the years, maybe just list down the reason for doing so and that’ll do, just my two cents.
I agree with everyone who said that since it’s your blog you should do what feels right for you. If you’re worried about just changing the rating without notice, you could just add a little note to the review itself.
The scale of which you speak is so hard for me to determine that I simply write something like: “Loved it, you have to read it.” or “Don’t bother.” Now, coming from a teacher who must differentiate between an A, B, or C that’s a little weird, but I get my grades on straight percentages. I think it’s hard to arrive at such a score with a book. You’re doing great.
That’s why I don’t give numerical ratings on my blog. I do it in my private journal and I always end up changing a few by the end of the year. Go ahead and change them. It’s your world.
I think that it is more ethical to go back and change them, if you’ve realized that you were inaccurate. If it were me, I might leave the original rating up (strike it out, perhaps, so that it’s crossed-out but still visible) and add the revised rating alongside.
I don’t like to rate books, myself – it’s so hard, and feels arbitrary. My 3.5 might be another reader’s perfect 10, and a book I cherish might be garbage to the next guy. I’m not even a “this is a favorite book” sort of gal. The closest I come to rankings is the level of enthusiasm with which I gush over a book…
That’s the coolest thing about book blogging, and book reviews, if you ask me. We all have different techniques, different aesthetics if you will, and every person can find and write what works for him/her…
I, too, believe that that’s a personal decision. I don’t think it harms anything to go back and change them at this point. But will you feel you need to go back and change them every 6 months taking everything new into consideration? And there certainly wouldn’t be anything wrong with that either…if you didn’t mind spending the time.
I think all your readers certainly know that they may or may not agree with your rating of any particular book based on their own particular quirks and experiences and preferences. So I don’t think you’re “cheating” any of us by changing them.
Good luck with your dilemma!
I’ve wrestled with the rating issue, too. I decided to stick with continuing to use a rating system (as opposed to ditching it, just posting a review) and to just judge each book on its own merits. Some may be very entertaining and get a 4/5, for example, even though the writing isn’t anything worth jumping up and down about. I seldom go back and change a rating – if I do, I’m iffy about it, in the first place. Last year, I did a summary of the year’s reading and included lists of favorites. That’s one way to let people know what really ended up sticking with you. But, as many have already said . . . blogging is terrific, if only because you have the freedom to decide what content you want to use. Go with what feels right to you.
I’ve gone back and changed my ratings. I don’t think it makes much difference. If someone decided they wanted to read a book after reading my review they probably already have so changing it now affects only newcomers who are reading past posts.