A Word on Ratings for Reviews

In recent months there has been some discussion on other blogs about the use of ratings in reviews. For this blog I will be using a 1 to 5 scale with half points. I debated this a bit as I questioned whether or not I should just go for a 1 to 10 scale and whole points only. I decided on the other in that 1 to 5 seems a more widely used scale and I think a 4.5/5 is a little stronger than a 9/10. That said I will be using 5's only for books that I feel are in the category of an author's best work (only if the author is worthy obviously) or the work is deserving of a Hugo. A 4 to 4.5 will be a work I feel is very good. A 3.5 will be a strong work, and a 3 will be something I feel is a pleasant read but not necessarily a work that contributes anything to the genre. I am not sure if i will ever give anything less than a 2.5 or 3 as if a book is that bad I may not actually finish it, in which case I probably will not do full review but merely state my disgust. If i decide to make any further gradations or change my scale I will let you know in future posts.