Welcome to my book rating system!

First of all, you should know that I am a very demanding reader!

So please, don’t be put off by my rating if there is a book you want to read.

My ratings are based on two things: my general enjoyment of the book, and whether it surprised or impressed me.

For me to enjoy a book, it needs to hold my attention with:

• A topic that interests me
• Strong movement in the plot
• Good writing and editing. (If I can’t follow the story because it is too wordy or interrupted by errors and fluff, I’m gone).

Simple!

For a book to level up its rating, it needs to impress me with:

• A distinctive writing style
• A developed mood and setting
• Defined and recognisable character voices
• A greater purpose to the story, such as social satire or any intentional message to provoke self reflection

When I give a book a lower rating, it doesn’t necessarily mean it was a bad book. I might have really enjoyed it, but it was too light and generic to impress me. These books are highly consumable. They do what you expected, and they do it to the best of their ability. You read them, and then continue on with life.

I am looking for meaty books I can sink my claws into, that will leave a lasting impression on my mind.

Some examples

A book I enjoyed but did not impress me: Any book by Michael Crichton. Cheesy, action-packed, glorified movie screenplays. 2/5.

A book that impressed me but I didn’t enjoy: The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara. I could never shake the feeling that the story was dragging and I wanted it to end already, but the writing was so incredible that I couldn’t stop reading. This book was very difficult to rate. 2/5.

A book that completely caught me off-guard with its incredible style and twisted plot: Everything Under by Daisy Johnson. 5/5.

Penalising books

I do deduct 1 mark from books that I feel depict sexual violence irresponsibly.

You can read more about why I do that here.

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The problem with sexual violence in storytelling

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