Thoughts of a Bookworm #4: The Two to Three Star Controversy

There has been a lot plaguing my thoughts for the last few months. Despite having quite a lot of things go off in my real life it seems like I’m still pulled back to the same thoughts about the book community. It is the one thing I keep seeing every time I log back into my social media and if I’m being honest, I’m not pleased.

When did the book community feel so much like a kid's playground?

To put into context it seems like there has been a great divide by what should be considered a good book. let me explain...

If you read a book and think that it is amazing, brilliant, rate it five stars and give a good review. But what about the books that you really didn't like? Surely you should be able to give it one or two stars if you feel like this is required? Nope, this is blasphemy. According to some, this counts you as a coward. You should have stopped reading it as soon as you realised that you hated the book.

Well, I'm sorry but I strongly disagree.

You can't really call yourself a reviewer if all you do is praise books. That is not really reviewing at all. That is stroking the ego of the Author. Or how I like to call it mates rates.

You may think that I’m ranting about something that might sound insignificant but really just think. What would happen if we rate everything as good? No one would know the difference between a good and a really great book that changes your point of view entirely.

The reviews are for the readers. For everyone, whether they like a certain genre, are of a certain age or only have enough to buy only one book at the store. So of course a review has to count. Not be biased.

You wouldn’t ask a film or food critic to give a good rating because it was by a certain director or cooked by a famous chef. What makes books any different?

Comments

Angels and Demons

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'A tragic bush fire sparks a beautiful friendship between a young girl and a baby koala. Ruby is dreading changing schools as her autism makes it hard to befriend other kids. But when her dog finds a baby koala and her family agrees to foster it, Ruby quickly becomes the koala's best friend. Ruby loves quiet and routine, which makes her a perfect koala carer! A talented artist, she names the koala Pablo - after her favourite artist. Through looking after Pablo, Ruby befriends a neighbouring girl who loves painting as much as she does. Soon Pablo is well enough to move to a koala kindergarten. But is Ruby ready to move to her own new school?' If you want to give your child a heart-warming little story about how a girl on the autism spectrum looks after a koala joey; makes a new friend; comes to terms with important life-changing events in her family life and factual information about the ongoing, upsetting tragedy of Australia's bushfires then this book is a must in an...

The Fabulous Kiera Cass's Books!

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My Favourite Books... So Far

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Holding up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

It genuinely feels as though I have not been able to talk to you all in a millennia. The amount of space needed during these last three months have been exhausting to say the least. However, it is always refreshing and a lovely feeling being able to write again, on what I thought as my one way to escape during a certain period of my life. Things have been different in terms of how I've had to shape my life now. But hopefully this all good for the end result. So, to start off the new year with a bang, why not review a book that I finished on the last day of 2016? 'Holding up the Universe' is about two specific people during high school, where they have to encounter problems concerning the way that they both are, as well as how they are able to overcome it, it terms of acceptance as well as getting help from the people that they love. It tells of the story between the two characters Libby and Jack, who, not only have the problems of acceptance as high school st...