More than Just a Rating discussion

Starting years ago when I did more reviews than I do now I usually wouldn't review a book unless I read the first third or so of the book. I felt like by that time the characters had been introduced, the setting(s) and plot(s) were pretty well established and I had a good idea of the writer's style. At that time I was doing reviews not ratings.

Books that I chose not to review included ones that I quit because they started with detailed murder from viewpoint of killer or victim, writing style with which I couldn't cope including ones that moved back and forth in time or changed POV with no indication it happened.

That was then.

Now
On Goodreads I rate and shelve books to provide myself with information. I haven't felt compelled to review no matter how much or how little I've read. That may be changing. I still don't feel the need to review every book but when I give a low rating for a specific reason... Usually my reason is indicated by shelving but sometimes that doesn't seem like enough.

Is a one or two sentence review worthwhile?

Example review: Misused words, sentence fragments, run on sentences and other problems made this book unreadable.

Example review 2: The murder and body disposal from the killer's point of view was enough to put me off this book. Not what I was expecting from the description or how the publisher categorized the book.

Does a one or two star rating need to be explained?

ETA Discussions elsewhere asked if readers owe writers reviews even when book was not provided in exchange for review. Most seemed to think not. Do readers owe other readers review? I leaned toward maybe sometimes but think owe is not the right term. To me a review is not an obligation but a favor some generously offer.

Ran across readers/reviewers blogs/vlogs about hate responses to negative reviews so hostile that some reviews were withdrawn.

Doing search led me to:

The Difficult Review: Finding Reasons to Write It, or Not
https://audreydriscoll.com/2023/12/10...

What Do Readers Owe Writers? - Audrey Driscoll's Blog
https://audreydriscoll.com/2024/03/24...

I didn't read either of those posts yet, so I don't know how they approached this.

I review every book (eventually), whether I finished it or not. It's mainly for myself, so I can remember why I didn't finish it, but also sometimes it's just as a final period at the end of the sentence. Closure, if you will.

If I realize that a book is just not working for me at the moment, I will just put it back on my TBR - I won't DNF review it. If I NEVER plan on trying it again, I'll review it. (I can change my mind later of course, this is not set in stone, but just my general method.)

But I am very much of the opinion that books are products like any other. I don't think about the book's "feelings" (not a thing) or the author's feelings (not my concern) or how much work went into it, or any of that. It is a product, available for purchase by the public, and if I did not like it for whatever reason, so I will say that.

For my part, I do appreciate when people explain WHY they stopped reading a book. So many just move on and never look back, and I get that, but I couldn't do it. I need that closure! lol

Becky wrote: "I didn't read either of those posts yet, so I don't know how they approached this.

I review every book (eventually), whether I finished it or not. It's mainly for myself, so I can remember why I ..."

I quit reviewing every book I read years ago but understand doing it. I too did it for myself so I had the info.

I thought about stopping this year, but then I just couldn't do it. It bugged me so much to not have SOMETHING in my review that I had to go back and add one. LOL

Yes, I appreciate a sentence or two saying why a book got a low rating or was dnf'd. You don't owe that to other readers (much less to the author). But it is, in my opinion, an act of reciprocal kindness if you have benefited from others' reviews, or a favor if you'd rather think of it that way. :)

I read the 'difficult review' article you posted and it wasn't what I hoped so not helpful to me.

Cheryl wrote: "Yes, I appreciate a sentence or two saying why a book got a low rating or was dnf'd. You don't owe that to other readers (much less to the author). But it is, in my opinion, an act of reciprocal ki..."

Thanks for the feedback. Wasn't sure how such short reviews would be received.

While the 'difficult review' article didn't exactly give me answers I thought it and the comments were interesting. I like seeing that authors can be understanding and appreciative when it comes to reader reviewers.