Basically, the idea is that I rate how strong the pull of the book is. Is it a book you'll have no problem setting down? Or will it be one of those books you attempt to read whilst drying your hair and cooking dinner simultaneously? The Imperative Factor of the book will tell you. Or, at least it will tell you the Factor it had for me.
For the record, I do still use the 1-5 rating system, mainly for my own
Last Resort - You're in the doctor's office. Your iPod just died, you've read the magazine in front of you twice, and the television is playing infomercials on a loop. Now is the time to break out this book.
Like a Train Wreck - A book that sucks you in despite your best intentions and/or wishes. You want to look away, but you just can't. You hold on, hoping it will get better. (It probably doesn't.)
Stash in the Glove Box - Not really good, but not really bad. You can easily put it down without any hard feelings for a couple weeks until the next time you need it again.
Lunch Break Read - A book that's interesting enough to keep you coming back for more, but it's just missing that special factor that makes you feel like you never want to leave the story.
Staying in Tonight - A great book. It's not quite compelling enough to keep you from much-needed sleep, but curling up on the couch with your nose in its pages is a great way to spend the evening.
Stay Up 'til 2 AM - A fantastic book. Totally worth sleep deprivation to finish it, despite the your slight resemblance to a zombie the next day.
Read Through the Apocalypse - A mind-blowingly, stunningly, adjective-defyingly amazing book. Nothing will come between the two of you. Come friends, dates, 4 AM, store-wide book sales, or the apocalypse, you will not be torn away.
History of the Imperative Factor Rating System
When I first started my old blog, I used the typical 1-5 star rating system, but I learned pretty quickly that I didn't like using it for my reviews. For one, I have a weird hang-up against giving books 5 stars unless they ARE actually flawlessly epic in every way, whereas I see 5-star reviews all over the place on other blogs. I have nothing at all against this, but because of this, it seemed like I was putting down books with my ratings even when I wanted to elevate them. Then there's the possibility of the A-F letter grade system. I can see the appeal of this one, and I contemplated changing when I moved here, because that is the system Racquel uses. The problem lies in the fact that, as a grade-obsessed college student with only one B on my transcript ever (*knock on wood*), I have a very skewed view of the letter grade system. A horrible book would probably receive a C from me, while a C is, apparently, an "average" book to most people. Again, skewed perception of my ratings would happen. Ergo, I decided to stick with my Imperative Factor system.
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