GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ 3 Sheep Rating Event- bloggers speak out | I Smell Sheep

Thursday, March 29, 2012

3 Sheep Rating Event- bloggers speak out


Laurie and WildAboutBones over at Bitten by Paranormal Romance have organized an event to discuss what a 3 star (or Sheep) rating means to us as reviewers and readers. Tomorrow you will hear from some authors, editors and publishers about their feelings on the subject. The 3 rating has gotten a bad rep and we wanted to see why.


Katie, Kalpar and I share our views today and we would like to hear from you guys. As a reader, what do you think when you see a book with 3 stars? Are you less likely to check it out? What qualifies as a 3 star book to you?


Katie: What does a 3 sheep rating mean to me? Well, it means a few things. First of which is that I liked the book. For me this is a VERY good thing as I have been known to be a harsh critic. So at the 3 Sheep level the story has a sound plot, interesting characters, agreeable dialog and hopefully a solid base that can continue to grow in future books. It also means that there was something missing. Maybe it was poor editing or beta reading, possibly the ending took an odd turn or made no sense. Could be any number of number of small issues that added up. But at 3 Sheep ultimately the story itself is above average and while it will have a few issues I either personally didn't like or need to be address, fundamentally it was good and worth a read.


The Kalpar: To be honest I stopped doing sheep ratings because I had a hard time rating a book on a scale of one to five as to how good it was. I've started just giving a yes or no for the stuff I review if my two readers should look into it. If I really like it I'll let you know but as of right now the only things I will admit to saying deserve five sheep are Thud! and Night Watch by Terry Pratchett and Tales From the Bully Pulpit. If you were to, for example, threaten me with physical violence if I don't provide a straight answer. (*cough* Katie *cough*) Well a three star rating from me is a book that is either one of two things. Either it was simply okay and had no real issues with it but was otherwise unmemorable, or it was a memorable book that I enjoyed but had significant issues such as grammar and punctuation or plot inconsistency. We good here? Okay I'm going to go punch more Nazis.

SharonS: As a reviewer, a 3 Sheep book is one that was a good read. The characters and plot were pleasant and easy to understand, but for some reason I didn't feel deeply connected to the characters or the author's voice didn't capture me. If there are editing issues and plot discrepancies then I will go below a 3 rating. On the flip side, if the characters work their way into my heart and the author's voice sings to me, but there are technical issues, I will give a 3 rating.
As a reader, if I see a 3 rating on a book it won't deter me from checking it out. I will read the review and see why it was given that rating. But ratings are subjective. A 3 for me can be a 4 or 5 for someone else and vice-verse.


Well, there are the opinions of three of our Flock reviewers. We want to know what you think! Authors and publishers hopefully will be reading your comments so here is a chance to be heard. Come back tomorrow to hear from some authors and publishers/editors about their thoughts. You can check out the other blogs participating in this event below.



11 comments:

  1. i don't really care about reviewer's rating, to be honest i refer to the blurb more than a review. and if i saw a bad review, it'll make me want to see for my self how bad is it :))

    now, a 3-star rating. for me, a 3-star rating means it's only so-so. it can be caused by confusing story line while it has great idea to begin with, or because i simply bored with the book (due to theme over used usually)

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    1. 3 stars is just a way of saying it was good. I think you need to read the review and see why that person gave that rating. They might not like erotica and the book had a lot in it. An erotica fan would probably give the same book a 4 or 5.
      I am finding it harder and harder to find straight PNR that rings my bell anymore. So most will get a 3 from me. I know this so I try not to review them as often. On the other hand, Katie loves PNR. She might give a PNR a 4 or higher and I would give it a 3. You have to know where the reviewer is coming from.

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    2. i still read a review, but mostly i skip it to the conclusion part. if i read a review, i wanted to what he/she thinks of the book.
      and yes i agree, a reviewer's rating is depends on his/her preferences. if he/she is a big fan of PNR, i don't he/she will dish out high ratings for a straight romance. a friend of mine always recommends YA book, but i never found them overly good. another friend found my PNR book as a'scary', but i loved them. so yeah, taste and preferences are highly influential in a rating.

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  2. I liked The Kalpar's yes or no. Give the book a go or don't give it a try.
    I'm loving the different thoughts and opinions people have on the 3. Thanks for sharing flock!

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    1. I know, I think for the most part all the bloggers agree. I am real curious to see what the authors and publishers are going to say tomorrow. A lot of sites don't give ratings at all...just tell why they like or dislike it. Do you think people would prefer this approach?

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  3. Three star rating...Sounds like it would be good, but not run out and break a leg getting it! I agree with Sienny, I do prefer to read the blurb as well. I have read books that got great reviews and I couldn't finish, cuz I just couldn't get into it...I think it goes to taste really and everyone has different taste!!!

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    1. To touch on what you said here, yes it ALL depends on taste of the reader. I can rate something 4 sheep and you may think it's a 2 or 3. Each reader will connect with the story in a different way. But regardless a 3 is still a solid rating. :) IMO anyway

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  4. I'm not one for the stars or sheep :) . I usually go by the blurb and read what the reviewer has to say then decide if I want to read it or not.

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    1. I think that's the best choice you as the reader can make. Love that this is being talked about though and eager to hear what authors say tomorrow about this.

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  5. When I find something online with a 3 it means to me "ok - may be good, may not" because I know a LOT of people are very tight with stars and it must be a work of immense genius to warrant anything higher than a 3 ;) LOL! I, on the other hand, am very free with them :) in fact, when reviewing myself I use the following:

    When rating things I look at it as the following (for myself)
    1- it's the worst thing I've ever seen. Money could not inspire me to read/watch this again.
    2 - I don't like it. I would only watch it/read it again if someone paid me.
    3 - meh. I don't care either way. I could read/watch it again but it made very little impression or was poorly done.
    4 - pretty good. I would watch/read it again and recommend it, though there are probably issues with it.
    5 - Good. Would watch or read it again and recommend it.

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  6. lol, sounds like a good scale. Reviewers just read so many books and they range from truly awful to incredible so you have to find a way to rank them. Some people don't trust a blog site that only gives high ratings. Of course I know some reviewers who only post reviews of books they loved so they aren't any 1-3 on their sites, but they should say so at the top of their blog. thanks for stopping by and commenting :)

    By the way...Joleene is an author that gets 4 and 5 sheep from me always :) love her vamp series...just saying...

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