Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmay
I guess it depends on who you ask, CI Bond. I happen to think 5-star novels are "so good, I'd read it again." It doesn't need to be The Greatest Work of Fiction Ever To See Print to earn a 5-star review. Many people agree with me, which is why so many books by indies and non-indies have them. To me, a 3-star book is so-so. I finished it, but might not recommend it to my friends. Beauty (and good fiction) is in the eye of the beholder.  |
The truth is that it is very rare for any book to receive a five (or even four plus) star review. I'm not talking about individual reviews, but about the average for the book. You and I probably have very different opinions on books. I know many folks here on MR who would rate books very differently than I would. For example, there is an entire thread here on "classic" books which I don't really get because I don't enjoy that type of books.
The point is that a fair set of ratings on a book that is interesting to me ranges from say 3.5 to 4.3 . When I see a rating around 5-ish, I suspect the ratings are only from insiders.