Why I Stopped Using Star Ratings
For years I gave every book a score out of five. Then I noticed that one of my three-star books from 2021 was the one I thought about most often, while several five-star books had left no trace at all.
A rating tries to answer "how good was it?" at the moment I closed the cover. But what I actually care about is "did it stay with me?", and that question can only be answered later, sometimes years later.
So the stars are gone. Instead, every review here ends with a short note on who I think the book is for. It's a less tidy system, but I think it's a more honest one.