Every time I finish a book on my Kindle (not as many or as often as I used to), I am asked to rate the book. I struggle with this. I have the option of one to five stars. It takes a couple of weeks to finish a book as virtually the only time I read is in bed before I try to sleep. I do remember one weekend way back in the day when I read five books in a weekend.
These days, I read for entertainment and escape - thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, and courtroom dramas (with an occasional horror novel tossed in [or political expose]). I rarely read non-fiction any more. Most main characters are retired whatevers (military, CIA, etc.) and virtually always come out on top (think Jack Reacher, John Milton, or ). The bad guys are the worst of the worst - someone created them, which makes me wonder about the authors.
Anyhow, I digress. Most of my ratings are three, four, or five stars. The problem is discerning what a five-star book really is. When I was teaching, I dealt with true five-star creations (Dickens, Bradbury, Lee, Golding, etc).
Today, I love earlier Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Lescroart, Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, etc. Most of their offerings are legitimately four and five star books, but what makes them so?
I love detailed description, realistic dialogue, fleshed out characters, and a strong story (something that keeps me turning pages to see what happens next or how the protagonist gets out of whatever seemingly impossible situation s/he got into).
So, if I give a Kindle read five stars, is it really?
Usually not, but in the Kindle context, maybe... if you know what I mean.
As long as ratings are relative, I can live with it.
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