Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Just Wondering - 5 Star Ratings

Just Wondering is going to be a weekly feature here at Better Read Than Dead. Each Thursday I will be addressing a different book blog related topic. Feel free to jump in with your opinion. Leave a comment or grab the button, write a post, and link back here.



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What is it about a book that makes it a 5 Star read?

This question is very subjective and it varies greatly from person to person. Many people believe that a book needs to be perfect in every aspect...spelling, grammar, world-building, character-building, and readability. Others can ignore minor spelling and grammar mistakes as long as the book pulls them in and captivates them in some way. I, myself, fall mainly into the latter of the two categories.

Most people notice I give a lot of 4's and 5's. I will go on record as saying that some of my 4's should probably be 3's but all of my 5's, well they remain 5's in my book. I read to escape from reality...sometimes reality truly blows. When I sit down with a book, I need to be immediately drawn into the world I am escaping into. The first thing I notice, the first thing that will drop a book to a 4, is a slow beginning. I don't need a lot of descriptive writing in the first several pages. I need a reason to keep reading, some event that makes me NEED to know more. If after thirty or so pages, this hasn't happened...the book will not be getting a 5.

The second most important thing to me is the characters. If I don't feel a connection to the characters, what is the point in reading the book. If I can't feel chemistry between the characters, then they are not believable and won't hold my attention. My brain rebels against fake characters, constantly chanting "quit reading, quit reading, quit reading." The majority of books rendering this problem do not get finished. Me caring about the characters and their well-being is half the mission of making me care about a book. Don't just tell me a character can do something and expect me to believe it. Prove that the character has the ability to read minds or cast love spells. Prove that the boy is worth the girls time. Prove the girl is worth the boys attention.

The book absolutely must make sense. If I have to keep flipping pages to figure out what the heck is going on...well, not a five. Tons of books use a before/after scenario...I'm fine with that, I even enjoy it; but, something has to signify the change between then and now. A scene break or chapter change. Something.

Spelling and grammar are definitely important parts of the reading experience; however, a few minor errors won't knock a book out of the running...as long as I can make sense of it. And...as long as I am captivated by the story, care about the characters, believe what the author puts out there, and I can follow the story in a logical manner.

So...basically, all that narrows down to these five things.
  • Immediately captivate me
  • Make me care about your characters
  • Prove to me that you believe what you write (Yes, I know this is fiction we are talking about but I am talking about the author's undying commitment to the story.)
  • Lay the story out so that it makes sense
  • Keep the spelling and grammar mistakes to a minimum 
Now, am I saying that any book I rate a four or below didn't meet these standards. Absolutely not. Some stories will stand out, be more captivating or go that extra mile, give it that extra "umph." Generally speaking, I love reading, anything and everything. I fall into books and live there while I am reading them. I read very few books that don't score at least a four. Partially because it is hard for me to read an entire book that doesn't call to me and while three is "above average"...average just isn't good enough for me.

What qualities about a book earns 5 stars in your opinion? 

And...every month I will be holding a giveaway. One of my followers, who leave a comment on one or more of my "Just Wondering" posts or link a post to the linky will win their choice of a newly released book from that month (or any book I review that month). Each contest will end at midnight, last day of month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


27 comments:

  1. I'm pretty stingy with my 5-stars. A 5 star has to be AMAZING. It has to captivate me, make me care, basically EVERYTHING you've said. It has to have that certain je ne sais quoi that makes it transcendent, something unforgettable and utterly absorbing. No pressure or anything :D

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  2. I agree with you. I should probably be way stingier but when the reading pulls me under, it is difficult for me to discern the mechanical stuff so all I know is the subjective and for a story to pull me that deep in, it deserves accolades. LOL.

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  3. For me, 5 star books just give me a different sort of feeling when I'm reading them. I'm so completely captivated that I'll refuse to put the book down to do anything else. All I'll care or think about until I've finished reading it is the book.

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  4. I usually gave 5 stars to those books that really caught my attention and captivates me from the beginning up to the end of the story. A book that still lingers in my mind even after days of finishing it. The story that touches my heart in a most special way blended with amazing characters that I end up loving and adoring and makes me wanna get them from that book and make them mine... Those books that are heartbreaking and stunning and compelling and hauntingly beautiful... these stories usually affects me in such a way that I won't ever forget it. =)

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  5. A five star book should have good world-building and characters that are believable . The problems should keep you interested as to how the characters will solve the problem without being overly outrageous. The plot should captivate you and keep you reading way past your bedtime. Books with cliffhangers will usually get four stars at the most because of the ending. A five star book should be amazing the entire time and should not need a cliffhanger to keep you interested.

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  6. A Five Star Book is one that no matter the grammar or setting, takes me away from the real world. It is a book that I get lost in and have to be yelled at or tapped to come out of. It is a book that I can't stop obsessing about or recommending to other people. It is a book that when it is done, I either need to have another book ready in hand to jump right into to take my mind off of it for a minute or one that can't be followed by any other book for days. It is how the story draws you in and makes it feel almost as if you are a part of the story, one of the characters even, the one that they don't write about, the one who could truly be the narrator if your part actually existed. It is 100% about the way the story makes you forget that it isn't real. Those are the makings of a Five Star Book.

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  7. A five star book is one I cannot put down. Sometimes I could not even define what it is, but I am drawn in & feel compelled to read to the exclusion of all else. Make me a believer in the characters & world.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  8. I absolutely HATE spelling and grammar mistakes in books. How can you be drawn into a story where the author can't even tell the difference between there and their? It's awful. Just because a person knows how to write, doesn't mean that they should be published. That's part of what bothers me about these nook and kindle books. People can self publish these books now, and they are awful. It's sad to me, that standards have fallen so far. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

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  9. What makes a 5-star book for me is when I'm so drawn into the world, the characters, their feelings and their story that I keep thinking about them long after I finish reading. When they become real people that I talk about with my friends, I know it's a great book.

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  10. That is so true. There have been books that I thought didn't deserve 5 stars but after a week I was still thinking about them, well that definitely means something. Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. I completely understand your point of view and to some degree, I completely agree. When I say I can tolerate some errors, I mean like one or two. Even professional editors miss things from time to time. I have read my share of terrible books from self-pubbed authors. For the most part,they have been okay. There have been several I have refused to review after reading them because they were so terrible. One even had multiple character confusion scattered through it. At some point the character was charging toward himself with a sword. Really? No.

    A great story-line with intense and complicated characters can pull me through a few mistakes.

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  12. Couldn't have said it better myself. Not knowing why a book is so captivating is something that intrigues me to no end.

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  13. What a great response. I agree entirely. When I finish a book and set it down, I typically do not review it immediately. Part of that is because I need to know how I feel about the book in a few days. If there is something there that I just can't forget...well, there was something special in it.

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  14. MIchelle, there is definitely a way to end a book by tying up lose ends and still leaving something that makes you want to read the next book. When I read a cliffhanger, I feel like the books hasn't met my expectations to some degree.

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  15. Oh, yes...the characters we want to take home. I love them. Any book that brings tears to my eyes will rank high on my charts. To me, that is the truest kind of connection...caring enough to shed tears.

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  16. I'm pretty strict with my ratings, for a book to deserve a 5-star rating, it has to be mind-blowing for me. A book that "speaks" to me. A book I'm going to reread again and again :)

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  17. I have basically the same process for 5-star ratings too. I'm very character and emotionally driven with my reading. If I can't connect with characters or emotion, the rating starts dropping. Haha. I also agree in the whole making sense department. Yes, I may read a lot of Paranormal/Fantasy, but an author can most certainly even make those characters and worlds seem very real and believable if written well and makes sense. Haha.
    Great meme. I'll have to participate when I can. :)
    Hope you're having a fantastic weekend!
    <3
    Pixie
    http://the-bookaholic.blogspot.com

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  18. Oh, I forgot about rereading. That is a very important point. Nice answer.

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  19. Hey Pixie! Glad you stopped by. I love paranormal and fantasy because it takes you out of our world to a complete different spot. Their are authors who pick you up and drop you smack dab in the middle of a world that doesn't exist, yet you feel like you are there. Great answer.

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  20. A 5 star reads usually have everything or almost everything on what a reader wants to find. Mostly there must be at least some romance in the book. And actions, heart-ache and sitting-at-the-edge-of-my-seat moments.

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  21. I agree with you about most of it. I have to admit that I became a little more harsh in the ratings in the last year. I just know that there are more than a few books that I gave them 5 starts, but if or when I read them again, they'll probably get 4 or 4.5 stars & I know that there are some that maybe have gotten 4 stars will get lower rating. They're not a lot, but there are some ;) I don't give easy 5 stars rating anymore - the book would have to blow me away to get it. I also want to be captivated from the start, but even if that happens later, I don't mind, as long as it's not halfway through the book. I also want the story to keep my attention through all the book, not to lose me sometime in between. Also, connecting to the characters or at least liking them is really important. The grammar errors don't really effect the rating (only once I was really annoyed with that, but there were just too much grammar & spelling errors). I love great world-building, but I don't mind if there isn't one. Depends on the book. Also, I hate too predictable books - I want to be surprised. Also, I don't want to be any loose ends - I want the story (in the book or the series) to be wrapped up so everything fits. Other thing that I especially love is the authors's voice & writing style. If that's what I call magical (which is not often) & I've loved the story, than will probably get 5 stars ;) For me - anything between 4 & 5 stars means that I've loved that book, but there's a different level of love. In the end, my 5 stars rating means that since I've started the book I couldn't put it down & depending on the genre - I laughed or I cried or I was on the edge of my sit, etc, at the same moment I couldn't wait to see what will happen next, yet I didn't want the book to end, I loved the characters & the story & in the end when I've finish it - I'm already looking forward to reading it again & maybe even planning when I'll read it again & I know that when I'll read it again, I'll love it & enjoy it even more. Those are the books that are getting 5 star rating from me now. Also, 4.5 rating means they were great books & almost amazing ;) I didn't use 4.5 3.5 etc rating before, but that didn't really worked anymore, some books just deserved more than 4, but still maybe not 5 or I liked them a lot, but they didn't deserve 4 stars rating, so they had to get 3.5 etc. I might have forgotten something to mention, but I covered most of it.
    LOL I forgot myself, maybe it would've been better to write a post on my blog, but it's done now ;) Great theme!

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  22. I am not stingy with my 5-star ratings. If a book grabs my attention and is unputdownable, has amazing characters (character-driven storyline), leaves me thinking about it for a long time (incredible storytelling or life changing), makes me want to read it over again or recommend it to others, moves me emotionally, is well-written...these are all important to me. Honestly, I just love a good book. This is probably why I don't have a book blog...I'm probably not objective enough, but I'm learning, lol ;)

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  23. Making me care about the characters is everything for me
    yep thats my priority

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  24. A 5 star book to me is a book I wont put down until I finish it, even if that means reading for 4 hours straight. Also the characters have to make me feel like I can relate to them & their emotions. Oh & having a great cover is just a plus.

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  25. A 5 star book is a book that makes me re-read it again and again. The characters or events will make you think about them during the day, when you work, have rest...

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  26. Usually I rate a book 5 stars is when it captures my attention throughout the whole reading process, makes a big impression that I'll remember it for very long, I love it so much that I immediately think of shelving it under my "Favourites" pile, and that I'm sure I'll go back and reread again in the near future. Haha. Thanks for this amazing giveaway!

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  27. for me its a good plot that makes me go on and on and on! i have to like the characters and the books HAVE to be fast-paced most of the time. There are exceptions

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