03-20-2013, 08:32 AM | #31 |
Serpent Rider
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Go to your profile page, and under your picture there is a bunch of data:
How many ratings [average in parenthesis] How many reviews Etc, etc... My average is 2.97. Which means I enjoy most of the books I read. It also means that I am not ecstatic about every book. Which I find to be realistic. Not every book is Tolkien or Austen or Dickens. Last edited by Ravensknight; 03-20-2013 at 08:36 AM. |
03-20-2013, 09:40 AM | #32 |
Wizard
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Hey thanks! My average is 3.09. I'm actually surprised it's that high. I guess I like a lot of books, but I LOVE very few books (in fact I had no 5 stars in 2012). I am trying to have fewer 1-star books. I have hard time quitting books, and then when I finish, I'm annoyed that I didn't quit sooner. So I started an "abandoned" shelf and I'm trying to quit bad books instead of finishing them.
eP |
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03-20-2013, 09:59 AM | #33 | |||||||||||||
Witcher
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As a matter of fact I just read this article today on that topic http://karinacooper.com/psa-the-stro...haracter-myth/ Quote:
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03-20-2013, 10:31 AM | #34 |
Wizard
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I frequently see 1-star reviews by the same people on Goodreads - I attribute it to there being people out there who just like to complain and they probably complain online because the people around them in real life don't want to listen to them anymore.
I only look at the average rating of a book to get a general idea of how good the book might be, but it is misleading for books in a series because people who didn't like the first/second book in the series probably quit reading, and only the fans are left reading #10, giving it a higher average rating. Talking about review on Goodreads in general, why does the MR User CP give you an entry for your AIM ID (and I'm sure very few people use this anymore) and not a Goodreads profile entry? I'd love to follow reviews/ratings/currently reading for MR members that have similar tastes in books as I do - only if they chose to make their GR profile public of course! |
03-20-2013, 10:56 AM | #35 |
Wizard
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Well... at least she is finding things better than "Sturgeon's Law" would indicate.
Luck; Ken |
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03-20-2013, 11:09 AM | #36 |
Media Junkie
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There are people out there that are just determined to be unhappy no matter what. I used to work in the hospitality industry. You'd learn to spot them. I could predict with a fair degree of accuracy when someone checked in whether or not there would be complaints about the room, etc. There were times that I felt sorry for the spouses of such unhappy people.
As far as goodreads, I happen to have a 3.45 average. It's not because I'm uncritical or have undiscerning tastes. It's mainly because I usually wait until I'm a good 100 pages in before indicating that I'm reading a book, unless it's a trusted author. By then I'm usually reasonably satisfied with a book or have long since discarded it. I do that because goodreads really needs to make it easier to mark a book as "read but unfinished". I find I have to remove the book entirely and then re-add it, if I want to rate it and keep it in my book shelves but don't want to mark it as "read". It's a hassle. That's a major shortcoming in goodreads, in my opinion. If anyone knows how to do that, please clue me in. Last edited by usuallee; 03-20-2013 at 11:14 AM. |
03-20-2013, 01:29 PM | #37 |
Grand Sorcerer
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It's easier to criticize than to praise, and usually more fun.
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03-20-2013, 01:48 PM | #38 |
Inharmonious
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There certainly are. As a student, many years ago, I worked part-time as a waiter for a few months. Every weekend I was astounded by the number of people who went out on a Saturday night with the express purpose of having a really, really bad evening and making sure everyone knew about it.
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03-20-2013, 03:03 PM | #39 | |
Guru
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I don't think there's any requirement that a rating be objective. If the books manage to give you enjoyment, they deserve a good rating. Toss an extra star on them. Say, "If loving Deathland is wrong, then I don't want to be right." |
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03-20-2013, 04:32 PM | #40 | |
Are you gonna eat that?
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03-20-2013, 04:45 PM | #41 |
Wizard
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I figure someone like who the OP describes just balances out the rabid fans who rate some drivel at five stars. I read some of the extreme reviews and wonder if we read the same book.
I checked my LibraryThing reviews. I give right around 3 stars on average. I notice that for my entire library of books the members show a bimodal distribution, higher numbers of people rating the same books as 2 or 4 stars than 3. |
03-20-2013, 04:46 PM | #42 |
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It depends on whether you see the ratings of the book as measuring "greatness" or how much you enjoyed it. If you enjoyed it, I see no reason to give it a lower rating.
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03-20-2013, 08:17 PM | #43 |
Witcher
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I think all 4 of you above posters are overlooking the fact that it's not just ratings (which would be nothing special by it selves) but the rabid, hateful reviews coupled with ranting which I found shocking in this woman's case.
Last edited by Geralt; 03-20-2013 at 09:05 PM. |
03-20-2013, 11:58 PM | #44 |
Plan B Is Now In Force
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Unless a book is really a train wreck in regards to plot, characterization, grammar, etc., I'd rather just put it aside halfway-read than bother to write up a negative review. If I'm not into a particular genre, then I'm not going to waste my time reading books in it. If I don't like a particular author's style, ditto. Reading is too subjective for one review to be the definitive word on the work.
I'll write up a negative review on a really half-assed piece of writing as a public service to other readers, if it doesn't deliver on its hype - and especially if it abounds with factual errors that should have been caught when it was being edited. |
03-21-2013, 01:06 AM | #45 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Either way, Goodreads is for all readers, and (short of actionable libel) readers get to choose how they respond to books. If you don't like or agree with her reviews, don't follow her. |
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