Let’s Talk Bookish – Changing Book Ratings/Reviews

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

FEBRUARY 18: CHANGING BOOK RATINGS/REVIEWS (NICOLE @ THOUGHTS STAINED WITH INK)

Prompts: Do you ever change your rating/review for a book? When or why would you consider doing so? Do you think people should be allowed to change their ratings/reviews? Is it important to make it known what the previous rating/review was if you’re changing it?

Welcome to the middle of February for another LTB, everyone. I’m definitely excited by today’s topic. It’s something that I sometimes think about, but I’m not sure I’ve ever really done in my reviews. Can’t wait to hear what you all think about it!

As a general case, I won’t usually go back and change a rating on a post that has already been published. I’m usually just too lazy, and the adjustments I want to make aren’t even that large (usually a change by a half a star Drink Me Potion). However, I do think about it often whenever I compare book ratings. Sometimes I finish a book and I rated it a 4, and the next book was better, but I don’t want to give it a 4.5. That makes me struggle a bit because giving two 4s make it seem like I liked them equally, when really I’d much recommend/prefer one over the other.

I think the main reason for changing a rating is when you think back in retrospect. When you first finish a book and all the adrenaline or dopamine and rush of emotions may actually affect your perception of the book you just finished. I sometimes will sit with it before making a final rating and I can make a more objective rating. That being said, a rating is totally subjective so sometimes I’ll just rate it exactly how I feel. Isn’t that the point?

While I don’t think it’s necessary or unnecessary to make your changes public, I think it certainly could be cool to see why someone changed their opinion! I certainly wouldn’t mind going to someone’s review and seeing they changed their mind over time for some reason. I think that sometimes, with more experience or more books, the way we feel about an old book can change. I mean, after all, don’t we all have different opinions about books we loved as kids?

One thing I will admit though (whether good or bad), I do tend to temper my own ratings when I learn what others think about it. Sometimes everyone will hype it up and perhaps because of that I won’t like it as much as I expected. Conversely, something I really enjoyed I may not rate as highly because others I talked to didn’t enjoy it as much for some reason. Do any of you experience that? I start off thinking I have a great book on my hands, 4.5/5. Someone tells me it was only a 3/5 to them for whatever reason. I then start reconsidering my own opinions and re-evaluating whether I’ve been too lenient. In that kind of scenario I’d likely end up rating it a 4/5! Does this happen to anyone else?

Not sure if I should hold onto my opinions more firmly. I think really considering what others say and see if their logic holds can provide a more objective review. But are reviews supposed to be completely objective? Most definitely not. Still, a part of me wants people to agree with my rating, so I guess at the heart of hearts that’s why I do it.

Let me know below if any of you can relate!

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