Goodreads ratings become more granular

issybird · 10-08-2026, 07:24 PM

As of October 5, it’s possible to rate books on Goodreads with half and even quarter stars. I just noticed it this evening.

I know this is a change that a lot of people have wanted for a long time. It never seemed that important to me (and certainly quarter stars are hard to parse), but I admit that I’ve thought it would be useful to have a 3½ star rating. Three stars is my baseline and there certainly have been many books which beat basic expectations but still didn’t rise to four stars. I’m going to try to avoid the temptation to use the ½ star to augment other levels.

Uncle Robin · 10-08-2026, 10:54 PM

When I heard of this the idea I took it as proof that The Storygraph especially is finally becoming big enough for Amazon to notice. Goodreads is infamous for having added NO new features for more than a decade, TSG started with 1/4 stars more than 6 years ago and it seems has now reached the point where Amazon decided it needed to slow the migration

nana77 · 10-08-2026, 11:36 PM

While I have not a lot of content to chart on, anyway, I was to think Storygraph relied - mostly - on Goodreads as for the books' descriptions, thought it doesn't seems always the case:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216752459-star-wars
https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/...f-02ec014631a3
I mean, in there Storygraph has a correct authors' details.

Uncle Robin · Yesterday, 04:49 AM

My comment had absolutely nothing to do with book descriptions. I was referring only to the recent change in Goodreads RATING system, mimicking the rating system TSG has used since its inception. On social media, the lack of that more granular "scoring" system has been mentioned A LOT as a major factor in users deciding to leave Goodreads for TSG.

As I said above, Goodreads has had a well-earned reputation for changing absolutely NOTHING about its core functionality for more than a decade, so the sudden decision to ape a feature TSG (and other similar sites) offers suggests that migration is becoming something of sufficient concern to Amazon to overcome its laissez-faire inertia.

drofgnal · Yesterday, 04:59 AM

I'm not sure how useful it is. I typically don't think of my like for a book in that granularity. I use 3 stars for just ok, 4 for good, and 5 for excellent. on the other end, 2 stars was I finished but is was a slog, 1 star horrible DNF. I might could find use for 1/2 stars, but 1/4, I doubt it.

Does this mean when you finish an amazon book on a Kindle and it asked you to rate it, you'll be given fractional choices now?

Terisa de morgan · Yesterday, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I'm not sure how useful it is. I typically don't think of my like for a book in that granularity. I use 3 stars for just ok, 4 for good, and 5 for excellent. on the other end, 2 stars was I finished but is was a slog, 1 star horrible DNF. I might could find use for 1/2 stars, but 1/4, I doubt it.

Does this mean when you finish an amazon book on a Kindle and it asked you to rate it, you'll be given fractional choices now?

According to an email I got from goodreads about it, I suspect no, Because they mention that, if you rate from your kindle, you can later adjust the rating at goodreads.

Maxbet · Today, 09:17 AM

think half stars are a nice addition, but quarter stars might be a bit much. Sometimes a book feels better than a 3 but doesn't quite deserve a 4, so a 3.5 makes sense.
Personally, I find a few sentences explaining what someone liked or disliked about a book much more useful than a very precise rating. Especially with classics, where personal taste can make such a big difference.

10-08-2026, 07:24 PM	#1
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 22,220 Karma: 241025665 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	Goodreads ratings become more granular As of October 5, it’s possible to rate books on Goodreads with half and even quarter stars. I just noticed it this evening. I know this is a change that a lot of people have wanted for a long time. It never seemed that important to me (and certainly quarter stars are hard to parse), but I admit that I’ve thought it would be useful to have a 3½ star rating. Three stars is my baseline and there certainly have been many books which beat basic expectations but still didn’t rise to four stars. I’m going to try to avoid the temptation to use the ½ star to augment other levels.

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10-08-2026, 10:54 PM	#2
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,788 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	When I heard of this the idea I took it as proof that The Storygraph especially is finally becoming big enough for Amazon to notice. Goodreads is infamous for having added NO new features for more than a decade, TSG started with 1/4 stars more than 6 years ago and it seems has now reached the point where Amazon decided it needed to slow the migration

10-08-2026, 11:36 PM	#3
nana77 Wizard Posts: 3,146 Karma: 4444444 Join Date: May 2025 Device: Kobo Forma, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	While I have not a lot of content to chart on, anyway, I was to think Storygraph relied - mostly - on Goodreads as for the books' descriptions, thought it doesn't seems always the case: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216752459-star-wars https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/...f-02ec014631a3 I mean, in there Storygraph has a correct authors' details.

Yesterday, 04:49 AM	#4
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,788 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	My comment had absolutely nothing to do with book descriptions. I was referring only to the recent change in Goodreads RATING system, mimicking the rating system TSG has used since its inception. On social media, the lack of that more granular "scoring" system has been mentioned A LOT as a major factor in users deciding to leave Goodreads for TSG. As I said above, Goodreads has had a well-earned reputation for changing absolutely NOTHING about its core functionality for more than a decade, so the sudden decision to ape a feature TSG (and other similar sites) offers suggests that migration is becoming something of sufficient concern to Amazon to overcome its laissez-faire inertia.

Yesterday, 04:59 AM	#5
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,528 Karma: 10827780 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	I'm not sure how useful it is. I typically don't think of my like for a book in that granularity. I use 3 stars for just ok, 4 for good, and 5 for excellent. on the other end, 2 stars was I finished but is was a slog, 1 star horrible DNF. I might could find use for 1/2 stars, but 1/4, I doubt it. Does this mean when you finish an amazon book on a Kindle and it asked you to rate it, you'll be given fractional choices now?

Today, 09:17 AM	#7
Maxbet Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2026 Location: Brazil Device: none	think half stars are a nice addition, but quarter stars might be a bit much. Sometimes a book feels better than a 3 but doesn't quite deserve a 4, so a 3.5 makes sense. Personally, I find a few sentences explaining what someone liked or disliked about a book much more useful than a very precise rating. Especially with classics, where personal taste can make such a big difference.