How do you rate books on Goodreads?

By looksbridge

I use Goodreads a lot for recommendations, and I’ve basically gone by their star meanings when I rate things. Like, ** is “it was okay,” *** is “liked it,” **** is “really liked it,” and ****” is “it was amazing.” (I also map **-ish to “didn’t like it,” but I usually don’t go that far.) I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy, so naturally those get higher marks from me. But whenever I pick up something outside those genres, I end up feeling kind of guilty giving it a lower score, even if I think it’s still a good book. For example, I thought *The Color Purple* was genuinely worth reading, but it’s not really something I’d choose for fun, so I gave it 3 stars just to stay in line with the system. Same kind of thing with *War and Peace*—I can tell it’s important, but I’m having a hard time getting through it. I’d say it’s more like okay than “liked it,” so 2 stars. And I know I’m probably not always the target audience, but I still wonder… do people actually think *War and Peace* (over 4 on Goodreads) is more enjoyable than stuff like *Jurassic Park* or *To Kill a Mockingbird*? Like, does the average reader really feel that strongly at the 4-star level? It makes me question my own rating a bit, even though it’s my experience. I really want to read more variety and perspectives that aren’t aimed at me, and I’m glad I’m doing that—but I still feel weird about calling things “just okay.” I’ve even thought Goodreads could split the ratings into two parts: regular stars for whatever algorithm stuff, and then a separate thumbs up/down for “worth reading even if you didn’t love it.” How do you personally rate books you think are worth your time even if they’re historically dated or not really for you? Or if you just didn’t enjoy them much overall? For what it’s worth, here are a few of my ratings: *The Gunslinger* — ok ** *Piranesi* — ** *The Giver* — liked it *** *Hitchhiker’s Guide* — *** *Rocket Boys* — really liked it **** *Shogun* — **** *To Kill a Mockingbird* — amazing ***** *The Martian* — ***** *Winds of War / War and Remembrance* — ***** And yeah, I know everyone has their own opinions.