It’s no secret that the Goodreads and Amazon 5 star rating system is sorely lacking in finesse. Ratings are, of course, purely subjective by nature, but that does not mean that there cannot be criteria by which a book is judged that give a bit more accuracy to the relative merits of that book.

This system is my system, and a work in progress.

Here is the formula as of the beginning of 2016:

Q is for quality of writing and more or less breaks down like this:

5 — a masterpiece

4 — fantastic throughout, quotable, wordsmithy, poetic

3 — well written with moments of the above criteria/ a page turner

2 — A good read with few hiccups

1 — flawed

E is for enjoyment of the reading experience

5 — flawlessly readable/thought provoking/quotable

4 — page turner/few to no skimming/difficult

3 — ok read/worth finishing/needlessly difficult

2 — amateurish

1 — unfinishable/crap

I is for emotional impact

5 — unforgettable/transcending/tears

4 — quotable/laughs

3 — fun/moving

2 — problematic

1 — gag

Q x E + I = (score)   30 max

This system should provide, more than anything, some separation among the 4/5 star books, and give a clearer guide to books that were great because I loved them vs great because they are triumphs of style ( I hope).