Goodreads...to rate books or not?

I like using Goodreads to keep track of books that I have read or want to read.  Before, I kept lists of books scribbled in notebooks or saved in computer documents.  Inevitably, I would forget which notebook or what document.  Eventually I would find the right list, but it wasn’t convenient.  That's the great thing about Goodreads:  it's one central place to keep track of my reading.  I can quickly enter information in the same place from my computer or smartphone.  With the app on my phone, I can enter titles when I'm away from home - at the bookstore, at a library or just anywhere I might be when someone mentions or shows me an interesting book.  With all the driving I do, I often hear about books while listening to programs on NPR.  Once I park the car - of course never while driving! - I enter titles I want to read, so I won't forget them.  

Besides keeping track of books I want to read, Goodreads is a handy place to track what I have read.  For many years, I have kept a reading log in some form.  Now I do that on Goodreads.  I can also follow the reading habits of my friends who are on the site, and I do enjoy seeing what they're reading.  I find out about books I haven't heard of.  Seeing that a friend is reading a particular book may remind me that I want to read that title too.  I read friends' reviews of books and other people's reviews as well.  Sometimes I check to see what people have written about a particular book I'm thinking of reading.  This gives me a better idea about the book, and may help me decide whether or not to read it.  Reading reviews after I’ve read a certain book is a way to see if anyone had similar reactions.  Perhaps I’m not the only reader who thought the ending didn’t make sense or who didn’t get that plot element or who thought the author rambled.  

I have gone back and forth as to whether or not to rate books on Goodreads.  At first, I never rated books and now I sometimes do.  The one to five star method of rating books is a little too simplistic and subjective.  But all methods of rating books are subjective, aren't they?  Goodreads assigns statements to each number of stars as follows:

one star - did not like it

two stars - it was ok

three stars - like it

four stars - really like it

five stars - it was amazing 

 

I don't know if rating books as to whether or not (or how much) I like them really helps other readers. Although I may really like something simply because it entertains or interests me personally, that doesn't necessarily mean it's particularly well-written or has any special literary value.  I read for a lot of different reasons, as we all do.  If I'm interested in a certain topic, I may read a book on that topic because the author is an expert or has a specific viewpoint.  If that book provides the information I need or resonates with me, then I could give it four stars and say I "really like it," even if the writing was less than stellar.  If the writing is particularly poor, then I probably would give it fewer stars.  But, you see, it gets a bit complicated.  In a novel - an event that seems totally contrived or a character that seems completely unlikeable to me, may seem perfectly plausible or likeable to another reader.  Those factors may or may not affect whether a reader likes or dislikes a book.  Different readers and reviewers are looking for different things.  With genre, writing quality and style, individual tastes will vary.  

I know...I'm over-thinking the whole thing.  Yet it feels weird - for example - to give four stars to some historical fiction bordering on chick-lit that really entertained me and then give only two or three stars to an 800-page piece of prize-winning literary fiction that turned out to be a lot of work to read and a bit confusing too.  Because those two books are not really comparable at all, you know?  Ultimately, I'm not sure if I'll assign "star" ratings to the books I read or not.  I'd prefer to continue writing a blog post each month that summarizes (and reviews) my reading.  We'll see if I can keep up with that!