Book Ratings

Having recently finished reading another two books, Say When by Elizabeth Berg and Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding, it occurred to me that it might be beneficial to establish a ratings/rankings system.

I found the following algorithmic ranking system out in the blogosphere:

R' = R + K * (S - E)

R' is the new rating
R is the old rating
K is a maximum value for increase or decrease of rating
S is the score for a game (text)
E is the expected score for a game (text)

I won’t be using that here because it is currently used for ranking chess champions and has little to do with the subjective ratings/ranking of texts that I read. Instead I’ve created my own ratings system based on my book proclivities and it goes as follows:

1 = An outstanding text worthy of a spot on my top ten all-time favorites list, along with such titles as The Heart of Darkness, The Life of Pi, or any of the Harry Potter books.

2 = A phenomenal text that is thought-provoking, interesting, and falls just outside of the top-ten list. Books in this realm include Blindness, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Empire Falls, and The Kite Runner.

3 = An entertaining text, that usually reads quickly and requires slightly less contemplation and dictionary consultations, of the likes of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Open House.

4 = Any text purchased at airport travel shops that I can finish by the time my trip is over even though I’ve only opened up the book while on the plane. Books of this nature include formulaic pulp fiction by John Grisham, Dean R. Koontz, Danielle Steele, and Jackie Collins. (To be fair, I haven’t read Danielle Steele since the tenth grade.)

5 = A text that some claim is revolutionary in thought and scope but is determined, upon reading, to be a disappointing failure. All Dan Brown novels reside here, as does The Case for Christ.

6 = An utterly horrible text, hardly worthy of a ranking even if it is a bad one. The Left Behind series meets this criterion. Be forewarned, I might be tempted to share books in this category in order to meet for drinks after you’ve finished it to discuss the horribleness of the book.

Okay, now we’ve got our jumping off point. Using the above scale I give the following rankings to the two most recently finished books:

Say When earns a 4. This is a disappointing finish for an author I've enjoyed in the past. Her book Open House made me cry. This story, however, I never really bought. It may or may not have been a result of Berg trying to write from the male perspective, which can be done successfully but sadly in this case was not. The story was a bit tired, one that I've read before. The actions of the characters were anticipated with an accuracy I'd prefer to have when picking lotto numbers. Still, for all of its flaws I did race through it within a few days and it kept my interest enough to finish chapter after chapter rather than turn on the t.v.

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination earns a 3. From the lady that brought the world Bridget Jones comes the newest U.K. lady to love - Olivia Joules. Funny, inventive, a tad over the top, this book has adventure from the first page. Olivia discovers what she believes to be a terrorist cell operating in Miami. When a large cruise liner is blown apart in front of her eyes, she can only remember the handsomely dark fellow from the party the night before. Her suspicions and lust lead her across the country as she follows her hunches to uncover plots she sometimes believe only exist in her head.

Note: I leave the possibility of revamping said ratings system should I later conclude this one is sorely lacking.