How I Rate Books
The main goal of this site is to inform you, the reader, about media that I think is worth your time. While most reviews come with a short description of what I did and didn't like, I also make sure to include a star rating to help you quickly understand how I felt about a book.
My rating is a grade between 4 and 1 stars. A high score indicates a strong recommendation, the middle two are "yes but" and "no but" respectively, and the lowest is reserved for books I absolutely couldn't stand.
Rating books with this method can be tricky. There are plenty of popular books that don't do it for me, or widely panned books that I love. It's important to remember that my rating is not a measure of something's objective goodness; it's whether I thought it was worthwhile and think people with similar tastes will as well.
It's also worth noting that my ratings skew high: I get to choose what I read and I tend to choose things I think I'll enjoy. Keep that in mind when you see how many things earn a 4. It's a very different grade than a perfect 10 on something like IGN's rating system.
With that out of the way, let's go through what exactly each score means and provide some concrete examples!
: Yes!
A 4 star rating is both my highest and my most common score. Books in this bracket can be recommended emphatically. They may not be perfect, but I never felt bored while reading them. A 4 usually means that a book excelled in multiple areas and the result is more than the sum of its parts. Another way to earn a 4 is to succeed so highly in a specific area (such as characters or prose) that any concerns are dropped by the wayside; they didn't stop my enjoyment.
If you want to see the absolute cream of the book crop, you can check my list of books that were been the best thing I read that year
Here are some recent books that earned 4 stars:
Old Man's War
In grade school, I was marked down on a short writing assignment because I spent the whole time describing how a space desk/computer would work. Scalzi clearly had no such discouragement and spends a lot of time describing those systems. It's a good time though, and his designs are well thought out. Builds its world well and grapples with some of its ethical questions.
In grade school, I was marked down on a short writing assignment because I spent the whole time describing how a space desk/computer would work. Scalzi clearly had no such discouragement and spends a lot of time describing those systems. It's a good time though, and his designs are well thought out. Builds its world well and grapples with some of its ethical questions.
The God of the Woods
Despite its name, there's nothing supernatural at play. Instead, you get a story archetype I love. A multi-generational, deeply interconnected mystery set at a summer camp in the 1970s. The cast is large, but well developed. Literary themes are present, but not overbearing. Explores its themes, and the surrounding woods, delightfully well. Made for an especially good summer read, but will delight at any time of year.
Despite its name, there's nothing supernatural at play. Instead, you get a story archetype I love. A multi-generational, deeply interconnected mystery set at a summer camp in the 1970s. The cast is large, but well developed. Literary themes are present, but not overbearing. Explores its themes, and the surrounding woods, delightfully well. Made for an especially good summer read, but will delight at any time of year.
Not Till We Are Lost
Keeps increasing in scope and complexity. Keeps being an absolute blast to learn about this take on the universe.
Keeps increasing in scope and complexity. Keeps being an absolute blast to learn about this take on the universe.
: Yes, but...
Most books that earn a 3 could have been a 4, but something held them back. Maybe it was a plot that didn't quite line up, poor pacing, or bad prose. Whatever it was I was annoyed enough about its shortcomings that I have to qualify this recommendation with a "I liked it, but wish they hadn't done XYZ".
Here are some recent books that earned 3 stars:
Finder
The good parts were fun: a heist, a well-realized space station, and plenty of sci-fi elements. There was some good depth to the characters (helping this book punch above its weight in that regard). But clumsy opening, inconsistent storytelling, and a less-than-satisfying central mystery held it back.
The good parts were fun: a heist, a well-realized space station, and plenty of sci-fi elements. There was some good depth to the characters (helping this book punch above its weight in that regard). But clumsy opening, inconsistent storytelling, and a less-than-satisfying central mystery held it back.
The Road
Just as dour as I'd heard. Does a great job building the world by describing its edges instead of explicitly explaining What Happened. The relationship between father and son is dire and desperate in a touching way, but actual characterization felt too infrequent to really sink in. The story itself was also pretty inconsistent, coming and going as it pleased. Its strongest parts were its small conversations and moral quandaries between protagonists, but I was weirdly bored through a lot of the rest of it. Easy to see how it's influenced other post apocalyptic media over the years though.
Just as dour as I'd heard. Does a great job building the world by describing its edges instead of explicitly explaining What Happened. The relationship between father and son is dire and desperate in a touching way, but actual characterization felt too infrequent to really sink in. The story itself was also pretty inconsistent, coming and going as it pleased. Its strongest parts were its small conversations and moral quandaries between protagonists, but I was weirdly bored through a lot of the rest of it. Easy to see how it's influenced other post apocalyptic media over the years though.
The 22 Murders of Madison May
A fun enough premise (multiverses and murder). I liked how it grappled with the implications of what happened to previous versions of characters when new ones arrive. But for all its excitement, a weak supporting cast and an uninteresting villain left me feeling unsatisfying in the end. It's a good beach book, but lacks staying power for me.
A fun enough premise (multiverses and murder). I liked how it grappled with the implications of what happened to previous versions of characters when new ones arrive. But for all its excitement, a weak supporting cast and an uninteresting villain left me feeling unsatisfying in the end. It's a good beach book, but lacks staying power for me.
: No, but...
Welcome to the bottom half! Books that earn a 2 have more hits than misses, but there are redeeming qualities. It can also mean I would have scored it higher, but I was so put off by something (such as bad writing) that I couldn't rate it higher. If you're a fan of this genre you might still find the book worthwhile, but I'd start elsewhere.
Here are some recent books that earned 2 stars:
Passable in Pink
A great John Huges parody from someone who has clearly immersed themselves in it. Unfortunately, the actual story feels like it's silly for silly's sake and isn't compelling in and of itself. The audiobook was produced well, but I found myself bored of the way they wrote jokes and found a plot to tie them to (rather than the other way around).
A great John Huges parody from someone who has clearly immersed themselves in it. Unfortunately, the actual story feels like it's silly for silly's sake and isn't compelling in and of itself. The audiobook was produced well, but I found myself bored of the way they wrote jokes and found a plot to tie them to (rather than the other way around).
Nomadland
Really superb journalism. Does a good job capturing the allure of the open road, as well as the drawbacks. But, as a read? It's... hard to follow and sort of boring. Too many people and places mentioned. Only a very thin narritive throughline. I'm super curious to see how they turned this into a movie.
Really superb journalism. Does a good job capturing the allure of the open road, as well as the drawbacks. But, as a read? It's... hard to follow and sort of boring. Too many people and places mentioned. Only a very thin narritive throughline. I'm super curious to see how they turned this into a movie.
High-Rise: A Novel
I liked it less than I thought I would. It was bleak and matter of fact, but didn't quite sell me on the descent into the mob. It was an interesting enough take on the social structures that emerge in the lack of anything else, but one clearly written by an old white guy. I don't think he earned the brutality that played out. I did like the absurdity of some of it, but overall it didn't land for me.
I liked it less than I thought I would. It was bleak and matter of fact, but didn't quite sell me on the descent into the mob. It was an interesting enough take on the social structures that emerge in the lack of anything else, but one clearly written by an old white guy. I don't think he earned the brutality that played out. I did like the absurdity of some of it, but overall it didn't land for me.
: No!
The lowly 1 is my rarest rating. Because I mostly read things I (hope to) enjoy, for something to earn a 1 it's got to really fail across multiple areas. As long as a book has reasonable plot, cast, or characters, I'll usually find enough to like about it that it earns a 2. Earning a 1 means I feel bad for having spent time on this book at all.
Here are some recent books that earned 1 stars:
The Haunting of Hill House
Found the writing style dense and hard to follow. Bits of dialogue felt very witty, but most of the narrative felt disjoint and scattered. There wasn't a satisfying narrative conclusion. At least it was short.
Found the writing style dense and hard to follow. Bits of dialogue felt very witty, but most of the narrative felt disjoint and scattered. There wasn't a satisfying narrative conclusion. At least it was short.
The Adjacent
I really wanted to like this. It seemed like Cloud Atlas, which I was into. This had a worse frame and less likable characters, so I never made it through it. Just couldn't bring myself to.
I really wanted to like this. It seemed like Cloud Atlas, which I was into. This had a worse frame and less likable characters, so I never made it through it. Just couldn't bring myself to.
The Phoenix Project
A fiction book that reads like boring nonfiction. It describes the woes of an IT manager working on a project that's behind schedule. Dialogue was forced, characters like stereotypes from an office manual. I didn't even finish it.
A fiction book that reads like boring nonfiction. It describes the woes of an IT manager working on a project that's behind schedule. Dialogue was forced, characters like stereotypes from an office manual. I didn't even finish it.