My Book Rating System – Living Outside the Stacks

I finished my first two reads of 2025 last week and started to post my reviews when I realized that I’d updated my rating system and hadn’t shared it with you all. But before I go into detail, let me preface this by saying reading and rating books is very subjective. I’ve read reviews where people have deducted points because they were reading outside of their usual genre {and out of their comfort zone}, and didn’t “get” the subject matter. I try really hard not to do that. My goal is to read and rate each book on its individual merit {unless it’s series, then you have consider continuity between books}. I also understand that every author has a particular voice, however, I do allow room for growth {unless the change is so drastic that it’s hard to even identify that writer with the book}. Mostly, though, I try to be fair and helpful to you, the author, and myself.

Many of the books that I review are either borrowed from the library using Libby. Libby is a free app that allows you to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines from your library. You can access content on any mobile device as long as you’re connected to the internet. In the event my library doesn’t have the book that I want to read, I will purchase it from Bookshop.org. Bookshop.org allows you to buy books online while supporting local, independent bookstores. I have an affiliate relationship with Bookshop.org, with the proceeds going to the purchase of more books. Last, but not least, I also receive free books for review through NetGalley. NetGalley helps authors and publishers promote their books by providing advanced digital and audiobooks to reviewers to read, rate, and review. NetGalley also has fun side ventures like digital reading journals, Instagram contests, and so much more.

No matter how I receive the books that I read and review, I’ll always disclose if they were gifted. Transparency is key.

HOW I REVIEW MY BOOKS

PRINT AND DIGITAL BOOKS

Full transparency, I choose the books I’m going to read based on their covers, then I read the description. Unless it’s an author I’m familiar with, then I’ll just read the description and decide whether I want to read the book from there. Once I decide to read a book some of the things I consider during my review are:

Storyline – Does it make sense to me? Do the beginning, middle, and end flow to logical conclusions? Are there side stories and do they advance the plot?
Characters – Are the characters relatable? Do they show any growth from the beginning to the end of the story?
Setting – I’m a visual reader, meaning I see what I’m reading like a movie playing in my head. If the author can make me see the scenery, feel the textures, and smell the smells, the rating will go up.

AUDIOBOOKS

Narrators can make or break a book for me. Voice actors have to become the characters in the story. Their voices replace my imagination to an extent, so they have to make me believe every emotion, every action, etc. Listening to an audiobook is an immersive experience so I consider the voice(s),

HOW I RATE MY BOOKS

⭐ – Hated it and probably DNFed it. Before I DNF a book, I’ll pause it, read something else and come back to it later. If I still can’t connect with the book, I’ll put it down for good. I hate to do that but I also don’t want to waste my time on a book that I don’t enjoy.

⭐⭐ – While I’m not a fan of the book, I was able to find a couple of positives, however, I won’t recommend the book to anyone. If it’s an ARC copy, I probably won’t DNF it, but will read it out of obligation. I will review the book without being mean, but I’ll definitely share what I didn’t like about the book.

⭐⭐⭐ – I enjoyed the book and will recommend it, but it’s not on my list of “must reads.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is one of those books that changed my life, provided serious escapism, or helped me see the world differently. This is one of those books that I’ll regularly reference in conversation.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Absolutely loved this book and will share it with everything and everyone. I feel this way about books that make me do research, stretch my imagination, or cause me to grow as a person.

Additionally, I like to share who I think the books we best for like book groups or class discussions. I used to find this type of information particularly helpful when I was teaching history and I wanted to add a nonfiction novel to the course. In recent months, I’ve also had to consider spiciness levels {they range from 🌶️ to 🌶️🌶️🌶️}. And, last, but not least, I include trigger warnings because reading should be an enjoyable experience.

IT’S YOUR TURN

How do you rate your reads? Do you rate your reads? Have you ever DNFed a book? Talk to me in the comments below and tell me how you rate and review books.

BOOKISH THINGS

Bookshop.org – Shop for books selected by me, for you!

NetGalley Professional Reader – I receive free ARCs from NetGalley to review on my blog and share on Instagram.

The StoryGraph – A reading app that shares all the nerdy details of my bookish life.

THANK YOU

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you like what you read, please consider sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest. While I pay for many of the items I share on this blog out of my own pocket, some items are gifted to me {I always disclose those items}.

Come back soon,

LET’S CONNECT

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AFFILIATE INFORMATION

As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support.

Reading and reviewing books brings me a great deal of happiness. If you’re a reader, I’d love for you to visit my online bookstore, Living Outside the Stacks, to make your purchase. If you purchase from my shop, I’ll receive a small commission and you’ll also support indie bookstores. If you need help staying organized, but want to keep it pretty, I invite you to give Artful Agenda a try. It’s a digital planner inspired by paper planners. Use my code: RD1191716. Artful Agenda connects effortlessly to your Google and Outlook calendars and works across devices.