Friday, January 30, 2015

Discussion Question: Do You Recommend a 3 Star Book?

If you give a book a 3 star rating and someone asks you if you recommend reading it, how do you respond?  Sometimes I think 3 star books are misunderstood.  I mean, to me, a 3 star rating means the book was good.  Is good not good enough? Obviously you would recommend a 5 star book, and probably a 4 star book if the person is a big reader (I mean, if they only read a few books a year, you probably wouldn't even recommend a 4 star book).  But what about the 3 star book?  In my head, I know a 3 out of 5 is good, but at the same time, it's more average, there's usually something not so special about it.  It means I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't read it again.  

If it's the first book in a series and you rate it 3 stars, does that mean you read the second book in the series?  Only if it gets great reviews?  Or are you done?  

What's interesting is that I generally stay away from books if the Goodreads average rating starts going below a 3.5.  But why?  And then it means I feel bad for rating a book 3 stars because I know if a lot of people do that, people reading the reviews are more likely not to read the book.  So 4 has become my modal rating.  Now that's also due to the fact that I know what I like and I only read books I want to read, but at the same time, I feel like I inflate my ratings.  

What about you?  Do you recommend a book you give 3 stars to?

Posted by:  Pam

7 comments:

  1. 3 star books are tricky. I wouldn't recommend them all, that's for sure. With my rating system, three is, like you said, average, at best. Typically if it's a three it wasn't too great, it didn't stick out and I had problems with it in multiple ways. There are some three star books I would recommend to someone though.

    --Amber

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  2. What a great question! I've never really thought about it, but I don't think I recommend my 3 star reads all that much. Because you're right, they were good, but they were just average. And when I'm recommending a book, I want it to blow that person's mind. But then I do feel bad because I still liked those books... and generally if it's a series, I will try to continue it unless the 2nd book gets terrible reviews.

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  3. I'm not fast to recommend a 3 star book. Yes, 3 stars does mean it was good, but to me it also means it was average and nothing special. And usually if it's the first of a series and I only give it 3 stars, I usually won't continue unless I hear absolutely AMAZING things about the rest of the books.

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  4. Haha, I've had these exact same thoughts! If a book is lower than, like, a 3.6 on GR, I generally steer clear - but a 3 star to me is usually GOOD. Sometimes it's disappointing or a little bit "meh" but usually it means I liked it and, if it's a series, I will continue on. It just didn't "wow" me, which is usually what it takes to get at least 4 stars from me.

    Great discussion!

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  5. I will often recommend a 3-star for avid readers. For me, a 3 star is a book that I enjoyed. A 4-star is one that I think of and enjoy AFTER I have finished reading (a pretty high bar). Having said that, I agree with the decision not to read a book that goodreads has ranked at 3. There is so much grade inflation that a 3 is not really a "good" book on good reads.
    On amazon, the grade inflation is so bad that I won't consider reading a book with a score less than 4. Do others have a different "scale" for amazon reviews?

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  6. Yes and no. My response depends on the person and the book. I think we have similar ideas of a 3 star book. Most the books I write reviews on are 3 star books. They're good, and if they're "meh" for me personally, they're at least well written. I don't think that it's "not good enough" to recommend but whenever you're recommending a book - or maybe this is just me - there's a little bit of that nervousness, like, what if this person doesn't like this book? And if you rated the book 3 stars, well, maybe the book is more likely to not work for that other person than say, one of your 4 or 5 star rated books.

    "If it's the first book in a series and you rate it 3 stars, does that mean you read the second book in the series? Only if it gets great reviews? Or are you done?" -- Yes. Only if I hear that it's amazing + I sensed some sort of potential in the series. For me that's the most important factor. Not even the stars. If there's *potential* in the author or the book, I will look into other work or the other books in the series.

    "What's interesting is that I generally stay away from books if the Goodreads average rating starts going below a 3.5." -- Ahh, I wouldn't do that though because I feel like "controversial" books are ones that get below that... Or award-winning books because people tend to judge award winners more harshly. And controversial doesn't necessarily mean bad.

    "Now that's also due to the fact that I know what I like and I only read books I want to read, but at the same time, I feel like I inflate my ratings." -- I would too if I rated books. And I also now only read books I want to read. Or I'm trying to. No more time to read stuff that's just not as promising!

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  7. Simple answer - yes. Complex answer - depends on my specific likes/dislikes and what I think the person asking will like/dislike. But 3 stars means I liked it. it didn't blow me away or glue me to the pages, but it was an enjoyable reading experience overall so I would recommend it to others and I would likely read the sequel. BUT if I start seeing the sequel getting terrible ratings and the reasons why align with my dislikes then I might not... But I think three stars are misunderstood too. And you have to consider who is giving the rating. There are some people who rarely if ever give 5 stars so 3 and 4 stars might be more like my 4 and 5 stars.

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