This is how I rank books I’ve read.
[link to my goodreads account]
Goodreads uses a scoring system where you can give a book a number of stars out of 5. The usefulness of a scale like that is in using its full range, for instance if I were to rank all books 3, 4, or 5, the scale has really become a 3 point scale and has lost some resolution.
So I’ve been scoring books based off these semantics:
1 star: “Did not like it”. Really not a fan. Wouldn’t recommend, and would probably actively recommend against reading it. Some books have this score, which is surprising because it likely means that I finished reading it (and probably shouldn’t have). Either not worth the time I spent reading it, or made me upset for having wasted my own time.
2 stars: “It was okay”. Reasonable. Not life changing. Not going to recommend it. Pretty much totally neutral. Most recently I read a book about ‘tips for sleeping better’ which I gave a 2. It’s pulp, probably pretty good pulp, but pulp nonetheless.
3 stars: “Liked it”. Worth the read, probably wouldn’t recommend it readily. Most books get this score. High quality average book.
(4 and 5 I’d both call “favorite” or “top books”)
4 stars: “Really liked it”. Really good, I would recommend this to a friend looking for a read. This book will stick with me and become good intellectual fodder to chew over, or a story which I still think about. Probably if you know me you’ve heard me spout some knowledge or something from this book.
5 stars: “It was amazing”. 10/10, everyone should read this book. I’ve never read a book twice but I should really probably read this book twice. Or thrice. This score means the book has drastically changed my worldview, broadened my imagination irreversibly, and/or given me whole new language for thinking and talking about certain ideas.
Viraj's Notebook 