A Five Star Rant

Before I churn out another word of a review- I’d like to add that I am again changing my review style. Why, you say? Well, here’s the rub. I like or love books for different reasons. Some may be knockout potential award-winning novels, while some may be “mere” entertainment for entertainment’s sake. I might love them equally for completely different reasons, and give them different ratings, but they both rock. For example, some may be a literary joy, with words rolling off the page and causing me to breathe in occasionally or be swept away by their greatness. Another might be a pulse-pounding, joke/action-fest that I can’t put down. In the grand scheme of things, the literary masterpiece would deserve higher acclaim, right? But this isn’t the grand scheme of things, this is my puny brain, and my dodgy tastes, so I rate them both equally, at least in the five-star rating system that now rules the world.So here’s my problem – we, or at least I – cannot quantify art, entertainment or anything else subjective. So what do we do? Give everything five stars? Give everything one star? Kick the star nonsense out the window (ya hear me Goodreads?) and give none? So, here is what I am going to do. I am going to write my reviews, something I love almost as much as reading the darn books. I am not going to apply a single numeric value to any book, except on “review sites,” and I’ll just make those up. Maybe roll a die or something. Or ask my kids for a number between 1-5. Who knows.

If you’re still reading my rant, just remember one thing – if you really want to know what I think of a book, read my review, as all my “star ratings” will be arbitrary. Just like everyone else’s.

Rant over, peace out.

Al