Utentesoflbooks

I like to rate each book I read according to this scale: 3 stars is a good, solid book; very worth the time and effort. 4 stars is an excellent book. 5 stars is, in my humble opinion, one of the best books ever written. 2 stars - don't bother. 1 star - I would recommend avoiding this book, either because it is not worth the time or because of the potential detriment to the reader or society.

When rating a book I am sometimes torn between conflicting criteria. A book may have excellent content but prosaic or even poor writing. How should I rate an author who uses masterly prose to espouse a worldview contrary to my own? Do I rate a profound book that is not enjoyable above or below a fun story that isn't particularly well written? Oh well, I don't struggle over this ratings for more than a couple of seconds, but those are the things that flit through my mind as I do :)

I own a bookstore, so my library could potentially include 20,000 volumes. I've limited myself here, however, to books I've actually read fairly recently (with a few from my long-ago college days thrown in for good measure).