So let’s shuffle things up a bit and talk ‘Halfers’ on this week’s #WednesdayShuffle!

No, not heifers. ‘Halfers’!

So, what’s this ‘halfer’ I speak of?

The hubs and I went to dinner awhile back at one of our favorite restaurants from our early years together. Since we hadn’t been there in forever, he asked me if I thought it still as good as I remembered, and I told him that out of 10, I would probably give it 6 1/2 stars. His reply? There’s no such thing as ‘halfers’ in ratings!

So it got me to thinking… When I rate books, I give a lot of half stars!

If you look at Amazon and Goodreads, neither offer the ability to give half stars, so you have to round either up or down. The kicker with both of them is also that their rating scales don’t match up, so you very well could give a book a totally different rating on each platform.

Let’s say I read a really good book but might have had a tiny little niggle with it…

On Goodreads, I might have more than ‘really liked it’ at their 4 star rating, but with its niggle, could I say ‘it was amazing’ and give it 5 stars? But on Amazon, I could totally give it 5 stars, because I really did ‘love it’ overall. And just the same, on Amazon if ‘I like it’ at 4 stars, on Goodreads the equivalent would only be one of those controversial 3 star ratings… Whether the book is ‘okay’ or I ‘liked it’, this is not a bad rating by any means my friends!

I’ve also noticed that a lot of reviewers really give the Dewey Decimal System a total work out with their ratings with everything from ‘.25’s to ‘.275’s. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, but they can be pretty confusing.

So what’s the answer? I have no idea. Does anyone really care? I’m not sure!

I look at the ratings, and I’ve purchased books even though they’ve been bad just to see my own thoughts and oftentimes ended up loving them. I know that authors, and especially Indie Authors, need our ratings – good or bad really – to gain exposure, but if I’m going to take the time to write a review, I want to be able to give both the author and the book justice when I share my thoughts.

Personally, I rate books based on each of the platform’s individual rating scales and then average it on my blog or something along those lines…

Do you think there’s a ‘right’ way to rate a book? Should there be more consistency amongst social media platforms?

Do tell!

And back to the books…

I’m currently flying through the Brayshaw Series by Meagan Brandy, and lawdy, lawdy, lawdy, this is a very consuming and suspenseful series!

And let’s not forget about the music!

I’ve recently fallen in love with ‘Dissolve’ by Absofacto! It catches my ear with its groovy beat every single time I hear it on the radio, but I swear I can’t remember the band’s name – yes, I’m old. They’re definitely worth remembering though, and I can’t wait to check out more of their music!

Don’t forget to let me know your thoughts on book ratings in the comments below!

Make it a great one! 

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