Grading System

New System

I've decided to change to a five star system. The old way just wasn't fitting anymore. I found a system of rating used by the author R.J. Anderson on Goodreads, which is very similar to the way I like to rate books. So I'm going to copy her explanation below:

"5 stars means that I loved the book so much that I foresee myself reading it again and again -- I reserve this for beloved classics and others that really knocked my socks off.

"4 stars means that I really enjoyed the book and/or thought it was excellently done -- there is a good possibility that I'll re-read it some time.

"3 stars means that I enjoyed the book and thought it was very well done. Should not be taken as a slur on the book or its author -- it really does mean "I liked it".

"2 stars means that the book didn't fully engage me the way that I'd hoped. This category includes books by some authors whose other works I truly love, so please don't take this as a slur on the book or author either."

(Above copyright R. J. Anderson. She didn't add a one star rating, but it's obviously going to be a book I didn't enjoy much at all. I probably won't have many of those at all, because if I'm disliking a book that much, I generally can't finish it.)

Basically, a summary: 1 star: I didn't like it. 2 stars: It had merits, I suppose, but I was disappointed. 3 stars: normal grading for books I enjoyed. 4 stars: surprisingly good. 5 stars: these are the ones worth fangirling over.

Old System

The following rating system is now in disuse. I was finding that too many books fell into the "Good" category, and there wasn't enough ways to differentiate between them.
However, I'm keeping these definitions here because I don't feel like re-rating all the old reviews.

--To Own: either books I became passionately fond of, or books that I liked the general atmosphere enough to wish to have on my shelf (in order that I may have other people notice it). (Basically the equivalent of 5 stars, but contains some 4 star books, or even 3 stars on occasion.)

--Good: between "All right" and "To Own". I read it all the way through, and enjoyed it quite a bit, but nothing grabbed me by the throat and demanded to be remembered and loved forever on my bookshelf. (Generally equivalent to 4 stars, sometimes 3 stars.)

--All right: read all the way through, but didn't particularily like anything enough. (Generally equivalent to 3 stars or 2 stars, sometimes 1 star.)

--Unfinished: didn't like the characters for some reason, or found some element too disturbing.