It’s Friday and once again I’m late with, but participating in Let’s Talk Bookish. This week’s topic is inspired by a post Krysta has published over on Pages Unbound. Let’s discuss reading star ratings, because we all interpret them differently, or don’t we? This is interesting to find out!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted by Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Since April 2022, this meme is hosted by , Aria @ Book Nook Bits and since February 2025, Dini @ DiniPandaReads is the co-host. Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and share their love by visiting each other’s posts.

Prompts: 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?

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?

I tend to put more trust in star ratings from book bloggers than in those from e.g. social media reviewers. Not that these are invalid or less, but book bloggers often like to go a little deeper in their reviews. Simply because we have the space, and therefore are able to nuance things more and better. Social media reviews are so limited considering length and space, people can’t just put all their thoughts on there. Furthermore, many content creators do create content to feed the algorythm instead of giving their honest opinions. Of course there are genuine reviewers out there, but social media is such a popularity contest these days and this unfortunately found its way to bookish spaces as well. The type of books discussed on social media differs a lot from blogs as well, which totally affects the review, star rating and reading audience. Moreover, there is not much room for any explanation, which I think is necessary to understand a star rating better. 

Don’t get me started on Goodreads, those star ratings on there should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Many people post reviews and give stars to books that haven’t even been published yet, which just isn’t fair. Why should you give a yet to be published book by an author whose other books you’ve either adored or hated 5 stars or 1 star? You don’t even know yet if your opinion will stay the same. Maybe this new book is not your cup of tea at all, or surprises you in a very positive way. Furhtermore, many people – I’m one of them, I’m sorry – don’t leave an explanation. But why should I? I have my blog to do so. I do read reviews and star ratings on there though to get an impression of what to expect, but still prefer to form my own opinion on a book and its accompanying star rating.

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?

Oops, I already mentioned this a little bit in the previous paragraph. Star ratings are always subjective, so solely basing your decision on whether to pick up a book on such a rating is a bit too superficial in my opinion. I also want to know whether the blurb speaks to me or not, this is more important than a star rating. My opinion on a book could differ from said reviewers and I might regret not picking up a book which would totally be up my alley, only because I judged it by its star rating. It therefore doesn’t really matter who this star rating is coming from for me. A written review is more helpful, although this is subjective as well.

What about you? Do you base your decision on whether to pick up a book on star ratings? If so, does it matter who is giving these star ratings and on which platform? Is there a difference for you between star ratings on book blogs, social media and sites as Goodreads or The Storygraph?