The Half Star Rating
We all know Goodreads and Amazon deplore the half star rating. Even without it, I still can't stand their rating system! That a 1 star is I HATED IT! A 2 star is I DIDN'T LIKE IT...which okay, isn't too bad, but the I HATE IT? That bugs me. Yes, we won't like every book we read, but to say HATE? Hate is such a strong word! That's why my 1 star rating is considered IT WASN'T FOR ME. Other people might like it, they might even LOVE it. To say I hated it, is just too much.
But anyway, moving on. I prefer using the half star rating rather than rounding up or down. Rounding is just so...so, blah. Of course, I have to do such things on Goodreads and Amazon when adding my reviews. Sometimes the half star is warranted, usually because it falls between me REALLY liking a book and just liking it! And usually, there's more to it, that it's nearly perfect or nearly a 4 star read but with a few hangups, a half star becomes necessary! Heck, you all know that I occasionally dish out a .75 or even a .95 add on to my whole number...because sometimes a read is EVEN BETTER than a .5 add on!
It does make for complex ratings I'll give you that. But then, I mean how much trouble could it be for Amazon and Goodreads to add on the half star ratings? We already see that books get an awkward overall rating, how does that factor in? Will it really be harder to factor in half stars? I mean truly, I don't know the answer to that because I am so not a techie who would have to configure whatever algorithm to have the overall rating change based on readers' ratings. It's weird.
Needless to say that I am a fan of the half star rating. I am not afraid to use it! Though being forced to round up or down on other review sites does tend to get annoying, but oh well!
What about you guys? Do you use half star ratings? Why or why not?
