Discussion Post - What Do Star Ratings Mean To You?

PART 2 (2/3)

To see part 1 of this discussion click here

How much do the star ratings depend on whether you buy a book? 

If l am being honest, usually before l buy a book the star ratings on goodreads are the first thing l look at. Not the star ratings of random people but the star ratings of my blogger friends and other friends. I often do this when l am asked about a review book too. Simply because l don't always have time to go and read through lots of book reviews, l like to read some but l don't feel l get enough opinions from one or two reviews so star ratings is the next best way.

Positives of star ratings 

Fast opinion

Like l said above, it is a very quick way to find out the general feel about a book without spending 30 minutes, which you may not have, on reading reviews.
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Yiota said - I check the rating when i want a fast opinion on the book.

Undecided

Mel said - (Star Ratings) can sway me if I'm undecided about giving a book a go.
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More likely to read a book with higher rating

In some way l just think this is pretty natural. If your looking to buy a laptop and one has 5 star rating and another 3 star rating then your more likely to pick the 5 star. For me, if l can only afford to buy one book at that time, l am more likely to pick the higher one.

Ricki said - If a lot of people rate it high, I am more likely to try it.

Stephaine said - I may be more inclined to read a book that has a lot of high star ratings on Goodreads/blogs

Jackie said - Star ratings do somewhat influence whether or not I buy a book.  Of course if I find several 2 or 1 star ratings, I am not going to waste my time.  Any rating 3 or above is a possibility for me. 

Miss Page Turner said - 3-5 stars ratings are always ok. 1-2 I start thinking why a book got that rating and if I really want to read it.

They are important to me

Mickey said - Star ratings are very important to me. I check Goodreads for the stars, blogs of the stars, and those make a difference when picking a book. 


Karen said -  If I've not seen a lot of reviews for a book I fancy, I will go off the star ratings on Goodreads - for instance, if I've been offered a self-published book for review and I can't make my mind up whether to accept it, I will check out the star ratings on Goodreads if there are some there already. I very rarely purchase a book with a star rating of less than 3.5, so yes, they mean a lot to me.
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Lisa said - I glance at them and they do play into my decision just not as much as the blurb.
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Jules said - I do think that star ratings are important, if a book has quite a low rating I may still read it but I would be more likely to try and borrow it before buying it. 
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Liz said - A lot. I use the ratings system on Goodreads frequently; I usually read all the 1 star reviews first, then work my way up.
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Debz said - . Of course, if the average rating is 2 stars it probably isn't as good as something that has an average of 4.5 stars.

Negatives of Star Ratings

I do believe that there can be negatives from star ratings and sometimes l try to find time to read reviews on books which are split in opinions. For books where opinions are split l do think it's important to try the book yourself as sometimes you will either love it or hate it.
Also l have noticed, since blogging, how everyone's star ratings work differently. For example l know some bloggers who seem to 'easily' give 5 star ratings whereas l know a few others where they LOVE a book but only give it 4 stars. This definitely needs to be took into consideration. 

Different standards

This is the main issue l think with star ratings. Some people will give a 5 star rating much easier than others might do so.

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Yiota said - Everyone have different standards.

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Booketta said - I don't take much notice as I think a view is subjective.

Judge book by other ways

Well, l think everyone does this before looking at star ratings anyway. I mean your looking at the star ratings because you have already read the blurb or seen the cover, right? But l know some people let the book speak for itself, which l think is great because you may just love it even though other people haven't.

Ricki said -  I try to let the book speak for itself (although I do greatly judge a book by its cover).

Just because others love it ..

doesn't mean your going too! This has been proved a few times for me, l have read a few books which are really popular and l haven't enjoyed. Everyone has different tastes and sometimes you just don't connect with the characters.

Booketta said - I have read highly rated books and been disappointed.

Phanee said -  If I like the story, I'm not that easily influenced by a few negative reviews! It works the other way too. If a book has got fantastic ratings and I am not particularly drawn to the story, then I won't rush to read it. 

Stephaine said - If the reviewer has explained well why they liked/din't like a book then I use this to make a judgement because their likes and dislikes may be different to mine.

Jackie said - If there is a book that is rated a 2 that still sounds interesting to me, I still might take a chance on it.

Miss Page-Turner said - I mainly focus on what the reviewer listed under positive and negative aspects. 

Don't care for star ratings 

Ria said - The star rating doesn't change for whether I've bought a book, borrowed it or been sent it.

Tandra said -  Like I mentioned before, only my opinion really matters
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Thank you -
It's because of you guys we have a great discussion!
Yiota - Splash Of Our Worlds
Booketta - Booketts'a Book Blog
Mel - Mels Random Reviews
Ricki - Reading Challenged
Phanee - Funny Wool
Mickey - I'm A Book Shark
Thinking Cat - Cat's Thoughts
Stephaine - Books Are A Girl's Best Friend
Karen - The Slowest Bookworm
Jackie - Books & Tea
Lisa - Lisa's World Of Books
Jules - The Great, The Good and The Bad
Kirsty - The Overflowing Library
Liz - Planet Print
Ria - The Beaucoup Review
Debz - Debz Bookshelf
Miss Page Turner - Miss Page-Turners City Of Books
Tandra - Awesome Sauce Books