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Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

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PROMPT: This topic is inspired by Krysta @ Pages Unbound who posted about it earlier this year. How do you read star ratings from other bloggers/readers? Do you consider star ratings seen on a book blog, Bookstagram, or BookTok differently than ratings on sites like Goodreads? How much does a star rating affect your decision to purchase/borrow/read a book and does it depend on whom/where the star rating comes from?

Happy Friday! Hope you are well and that you had some great reads 🙂 here is a collage of our shenanigans throughout the week:

From left to right: she was watching the kids play at the school playground near the park we visit and some kids came and said hello to her. She was so happy. In the middle pic, my husband is walking her while I was at the butcher’s shop, and I took a sneaky picture of them. The last one, she learned how to climb on the sofa, and before bed, she climbed and went to snuggle with her dad. They had a cute father-daughter bonding moment 🙂

How do you read star ratings from other bloggers/readers?

This is a tricky question because I think everyone’s rating system and meaning behind the rating differ greatly from one person to the next. When I read the whole review, I can grasp the meaning of the person’s rating altogether. But if I base my reading on the sole rating, I will be in for a difficult time. As I have done in the past, the stars, per se, don’t hold much meaning unless there is a review backing it up. At least this is how I view it, because I have seen people rating, for example, a book 3 stars, which is considered low, but when I read their review, they actually really enjoyed it. And of course, the opposite is true: 3 stars = bad experience.

I guess the short answer would be that it really varies and depends on the review as a whole.

Do you consider star ratings seen on a book blog, Bookstagram, or BookTok differently than ratings on sites like Goodreads?

I do actually. I tend to give more weight to ratings I see on the book blogs I follow, as well as on BookTube. So to an extent, I could say that blogs and BookTube for me are more valuable and trustworthy when it comes to the ratings, and I would consider them over the others. Mainly because during the years I have found which platforms and people I can trust with similar tastes in books to mine, and others for when I want to venture out of my comfort zone.

I am saying this because with the other platforms, the ratings might not always be genuine, especially on TikTok and instagram are renowned for following trends more than expressing their own opinions, and sometimes it seems like they’ve not read the book at all. So I tend to stay away from these spaces.

As for Goodreads, I am primarily using it out of habit and because I have some trustworthy people in there. But it’s not high up when it comes to the ratings, as I have noticed that I tend to go against the grain on that platform. I think there are a lot of ARC reviewers who tend to give generous ratings… At least this is my observation and feeling about that platform. Although I do enjoy their book recommendations and some groups.

How much does a star rating affect your decision to purchase/borrow/read a book and does it depend on whom/where the star rating comes from?

Like I mentioned in the previous question, book bloggers and BookTubers tend to carry more weight for me when I’m deciding what book to pick up next. That said, a high or low rating has never completely discouraged me from reading (or not reading) a book.

I might go into it with a few reservations, but mostly it just makes me more aware and a bit more critical while reading. I pay closer attention to the story and try to see whether the things someone else loved or disliked resonate with me in the same way.

I hope that makes sense! I’m not always the best at putting my thoughts into words 😀

Let me know your take on this! Happy reading and have a great weekend!