Discussion
Topic: Books
Does anyone else feel uncomfortable rating certain books you dislike because maybe it's not the book that's bad, just a difference in preference.
AutisticJester
in
Fantasy Book Club
8 comments
Road Master I certainly do. I usually try to preface with something like, "This book just didn't work for me.". I try to explain in a way that is as unbiased or non-judgmental as possible. Or in a way that clearly states this was my personal experience with this book. Unless it's The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Then, I just flat-out hate it and it's the worst book ever and I don't understand why it's popular.
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AutisticJester Most books, I just give a flat-out rating because I'm certain of how I feel about the book without feeling biased. But there are times when I come across a book that's well written and entertaining that I, for some reason, don't like. Maybe I don't like the subject matter.
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Road Master In those cases, I try to specify that. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book, that I could point to. Characters were well developed. Pacing was good..." Whatever strengths the book does have, that I can objectively point to. Then, "I just couldn't get into it." or, "The plot just didn't grab me.". Something to that effect. I might even add something like, "Might be good for somebody who likes a slower paced, character based book with a bit of romance..." or whatever. Sometimes, there is no good explanation. I'll try to offer something like, "By all accounts, I SHOULD like this book. But I just didn't. I don't know why.".
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Sarah Ortinau Nope.
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Madison C No, because I rate things based on my own preferences, not anyone else's.
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Madison C If it's a book that I didn't completely hate or that I truly think other people might enjoy then I'll say that it "wasn't my cup of tea" but I don't give it more stars just because of that.
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Carol Blakley Quite a bit!
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Glowbunny I sometimes struggle with that too, especially when it's an author that I feel is talented and I've enjoyed other works from them. I sometimes think how I feel about this work also reflects on other, completely separate works I liked more. And I also struggle when the story was well crafted, but didn't resonate with me. Like others have mentioned, I tend to fall back on qualifiers - "this just didn't resonate with me" or "not my genre" or something like that. I do understand that ratings are about how individuals receive a particular work, so if you don't like it - for whatever reason - it's perfectly acceptable to write an unfavorable review. It's just hard when feelings and logic do not aline. *Sigh*
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Brian strong Books are a matter of personal préférence. I have no problem rating popular series like Stormlight Archives low since too many characters don't interest me. If it's a popular book I do mention the reasons I don't like it.
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Brandon Reed Sometimes I feel compelled to include in my review that I was probably not the target audience, or that I didn't like it due to hangups that might be considered personal. However, all content rating is subjective, so you shouldn't feel bad about saying, "This wasn't a good experience for me."
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Max Edge Sometimes yeah. I mean there's things to consider like author's intent and subject matter. But I also think that if you didn't enjoy a book, you should be allowed to say you didn't like it, ya know?
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