My grandfather used to read a lot of paperback novels. Mysteries, detectives, thrillers and the like. When he was done with a book, he would write a number on the cover, to signify his rating. He would know the best books to re-read or recommend (loan) to a friend.
He used a scale of 1-5, along with pluses and minuses. A good book might warrant a 4 or a 4-plus, a great book would get a 5, and so on.
I hadn’t thought about his system in a long time. But then I got an email from blogger James Clear with his fall reading list and his book rating scale and I was reminded of my grandfather’s system.
Although similar, Clear’s rating system is more appropriate for non-fiction:
Book Rating Scale
5 – Top-notch writing, thorough research, and highly valuable or interesting content.
4 – Often great writing or excellent content, but not necessarily both.
3 – It may have a chapter or two that are excellent, but the book is average overall.
2 – Perhaps you will find an idea or two, but there is little value inside.
1 – Do not read.
His current reading list can be found here.
You might want to subscribe to his blog. He always has something interesting to say about, well, interesting things.
