As most of you know, I was considering changing some of my older ratings, but after getting some feedback from my lovely blogging friends (that’s YOU!), I started to doubt my decision.
First of all, I felt like it would be unfair to authors – especially Indie authors – who had referred to my reviews in the past. (And, sure, none of those big-time authors would notice if I changed my reviews, but then I felt like it still wouldn’t be “fair” if I changed only traditionally published reviews and not Indies … yeah, I’m way over-thinking this.)
Secondly, once I started to actually look into doing it, I decided that the whole process would be a pain. And it was harder than I thought it would be to decide which ratings to change – as soon as I would look at my reviews, I would second-guess myself, thus defeating the whole purpose.
BUT I still wanted to find a way to differentiate those books that really stood out. The ones that I still think back on often – that have made a truly lasting impact! So, I decided to add an All-Time Favorites rating!
Since UBB (which I use for my ratings) doesn’t support this feature, I’ve added it in addition to my regular ratings (so those books are still also listed as five stars). Now, when you go to my Reviews by Ratings page, you’ll see those All-Time Favorites listed first (I just manually added them to the top of the page). This list may change from time to time (obviously new books will get added to the list and occasionally a book that I thought would be an all-time favorite might fall off the list if it doesn’t stand up to the test of time the way I expected it to), but it should be a pretty comprehensive list of the books I adore!
I think this is a great solution, and I’m very happy with it!
This sounds like a great solution. I’ve been debating doing something similar myself.
I haven’t read most of your all time favorites. I should probably correct that since some of these have been on my TBR for quite some time.
Yes! Obviously I highly recommend them!! 🙂
Good idea! I don’t use star ratings because I get too caught up in debate about what they mean to me and others. But “All-time Favorite” is pretty clear and a great way to highlight the books you really love.
I think so too – I’m very happy with this solution!
I love this idea! I’ve been trying to figure out my own rating system and I like this on top of the five stars that are available. Do you think there will be five star books that aren’t all time favorites? Or do you think that will be rare if not at all?
For me, it’s only a subset of my five star books that make it to my All-Time Favorites list (though there are still a few that I’m contemplating adding). This was my main problem – my five star list didn’t truly reflect my absolute favorite books. I may have loved them at the time, but they didn’t all necessarily stand the test of time and really stick with me. I wanted a list that reflected the books that I still think about on a regular basis!
I think this is a great solution! This way you don’t ahve to change any rating, but still emphasize those really awesome books. I know a few bloggers who add an extra 6 star rating. And I like that method of displaying which books were really really awesome.
Yes, this does what I wanted without compromising the integrity of the older reviews that I’ve posted. I think it works well!
Great idea, Nicole! I’ve got a recommended reading list on my Meet the Cast (About Me) page.
Perfect! I’ll have to go check out your list!
Ooh having a favorites list like that is a great idea. I’ve thought about going back to edit past reviews, but it would be too much of an effort and I think the reviews are valid at the time they were made heh.
Yes, it would have been a pretty huge effort. I think this is a better solution!
I do think this is a great idea and a nice “compromise” with yourself in a way. 🙂
Exactly – compromise is the perfect word for it!
This is pretty awesome! I’ve been thinking of doing something similar as well, since sometimes some books are just TOO fabulous to just be given five stars. They need all the stars! This is a really good solution, Nicole!
All the stars – I love that!
YAY! I am glad you were able to come up with something that works for you AND gives you peace of mind! I like this idea, I may have to steal it and do something similar! I have a “favorites” category, but I don’t think I have been consistent with it, so I probably should take another look at that. And I do have a 5+ star graphic, because again, no ability to distinguish in UBB! Now, I must go see which books made your cut!
Yes, I think this solution works really well. Of course, I’m still waffling on some of my selections (not on the ones I added, but on adding a few more), so the list will probably change a bit at first. I can’t expect myself to get all decisive or anything, right?
I have a favorites category on GR, but it often changes. I originally made the category to have a widget on my blog of favorites instead of just what I’ve read or am reading. I looked at all my 5 star ratings and chose some for the widget. I notice that a lot of my 5 stars are books from my childhood that I’ve read over and over.
There are actually probably a few childhood (or teenage) favorites that I should add to the list. Right now it’s only books that I’ve reviewed on the blog, but there are definitely a few series that influenced me A LOT and should be up there! Glad you made me think of it!
That is a great idea! I have a Goodreads shelf for my favorite books as well.
I just went and checked your list out. Is it the one that’s called To Be Read Again? Lots of great books listed there!
Great idea! It’s nice to see the ones that stuck with you rise to the top of the list 🙂
Yeah, I think this solution works really well, and I’m very happy with it!
I think this is a great idea. I’ve considered putting a “Favorites” list on my blog, but I haven’t done it yet.
If you put one up, make sure you link me up! I’d love to check it out!
This is a great idea that will definitely save you a LOT of work in the long run! Good plan Nicole. I started this in a way myself, on goodreads, I have a all-time-favorites shelf but I still eventually ended up changing *some* reviews, because I’m obsessive like that >.< I've definitely changed some books around on GR though, as my all-time-favorites have evolved. I hope this works for you^^ xx
No worries about being obsessive – you see that I’ve put WAY too much thought into this and kept changing my mind. My husband thinks I’m crazy!
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I love this idea because as we all know not all 5 star books are equals. I think it’s a great way of displaying those wow books that become really special to us.
Yes, some books just stand out in your mind in a special way, even years later!
I’m featuring this post in the “Around the Blogosphere” section of my Sunday Post 🙂
Thanks so much! I’ll have to go check it out!
You’re welcome. By the way, I do like the idea of All-Time Favorites. Since I don’t give out a lot of five star ratings, I don’t think I need to do anything like that. Maybe I should add a page for just the ones I have given five stars.
I don’t give five stars out as freely now as I used to (which is what got me started thinking about all of this), but I have a lot of older five star books that just didn’t quite stand up to the test of time.
Love the idea of having an All Time Favorites list! I’ve got some books that have really stuck with me but weren’t 5 star reviews, and some 5 stars that didn’t hold up, so this would be a great solution. Genius! 🙂
Yeah, I had one 4.5 star review that made the list because even though there was one aspect of the book that made me take off a half star at the time, this book stands out in my mind as an absolute favorite!
That’s a great idea 🙂
Glad you like it!
I’ve just decided to do this too – I give 5 stars to books I really enjoyed, but I also wanted a way to differentiate the books that I really loved, so a 5+ rating was the easiest! I haven’t really gone back and added it to my older reviews or made a way to easily search for them though… I should get on that! I’m happy you found a way that works best for you!
Sounds like we’re on the same wavelength! I still haven’t gone back to all of my older reviews and edited them yet, but I just went through my five star list and created the favorites list. I figure I’ll edit the older posts gradually, as I have time.
That was a really nice solution!
I love this idea! I’m going to think on it and talk to my co-blogger and do something like this.. I’ll tots link you up!
Love this idea! And a list of all time favorite books? Don’t have one, but a great blog post idea!
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