Bethany Hagen's Blog

I notice my Shelfari has a ranking system of five stars.  That matches up pretty closely to my book-rating system in my head, which looks like this:

1 Star: Throws Book Across the Room (See Modelland; The Shack)

2 Stars: Finishes But Isn’t Happy About It (The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas [which is despite having an affectionate outlook on the author, whom I saw speak/rap once.])

3 Stars: Shrug, Would Possibly Mention to a Friend (Rhett Butler’s People; Eat, Pray, Love)

4 Stars: Would Buy and Read Again (A Discovery of Witches; A Great and Terrible Beauty)

5 Stars: Can’t Put Down, Recommends to Everyone, Stalks Author on the Internet (Chime; Bossypants.)

Now there is a sixth sekrit category, and that is Books that Make Me Stare at a Wall.  That means after I finish reading the last page, my mind is SO BLOWN that I literally have to stare at a wall.  For like half an hour.  Or a day.

Not very many books make the Wall List, but when one does, EVERYBODY hears about it.  Examples: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; The King of Attolia; Sacred Scars; An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination; Gilead.  Obviously, The Lord of the Rings and Jane Eyre were some of the original Wall List books.

If you look at my Shelfari, you’ll see I have a plentitude of five and four star books.  This is because I’ve gotten pretty good about my book screening process, and discerning about what sources I glean my book recommendations from (sorry, Grandma Sandra.)  I have two kids, a job and a WIP — I really don’t have time to muck around with books that are only so-so, or that may be good, but in a genre that is not terribly interesting to me.  Some books with three star ratings have excellent prose but I wasn’t grabbed by the story, or the other way around; I have trouble forgiving a writer for either, and I’m usually pretty blunt about the books I connect with and the books I don’t.  Sometimes an author’s oeuvre will be kind of a roller-coaster for me.  Some Stephen King books I love, others I hate, although I always keep coming back.

I get most of my books from the library, for money reasons, so I’m usually a couple months behind the trendy new titles.  One day I will be famous and get ARCs, but for now, I’m too lame.  And anyway, I don’t have a whole lot of room for new books.  I have five full bookshelves as it is, and my husband will weep if we have to buy/find/beg for another one.

Do you have lots of books?  Your own book ranking system?