Reading Patterns

At the start of January (in December stats in fact) I promised you a more in depth look at my reading and rating patterns.  And then I forgot about it until I was doing January stats.  So I’m rectifying that now!

I noticed when I was putting together the December stats that the number of 5 star ratings I give out has been creeping up at a rate that’s disproportionate to the increase in books that I’ve read.  And it led me to wonder why.  Am I getting less fussy/discerning? Am I just picking amazing books to read?

The answer is a bit of both I think, but mostly the latter.  I think I have, on occasion, reached for the 5 star rating too often.  But I have also discovered new authors that I love and then whistled my way through their back catalogues at a rate of knots, instead of at a rate of a book a year (or however often they bring out a new book).  I’ve also got a lot better at decoding back covers and reviews and working out what I’m going to enjoy and skipping over the stuff that I won’t. Then there’s my large to-read pile, loaded with books that I’ve heard good things about, from sources that I trust.  And the pile also means that I can ignore stuff I’m not sure about (for ages) and go straight to the good stuff!

So what am I going to do about it?  I’m going to try and have an extra cogitate before I rate books in Goodreads and try not to reach for 5 too often.  But beyond that, all I can do is rate honestly and continue to work my way down the pile.  And I’d always rather read a book I love than one I detest (who doesn’t) so all I can do is be honest and explain my choices.

I’ll be keeping the situation under review…