You’ve finished a book. It’s time to mark it as done in Goodreads or StoryGraph or your book journal or wherever. But how many stars do you give the book?! I always struggle with book ratings, so we’re going to put it to bed with the definitive way of rating books.

The 5-Star Book Rating Scale

We’re going to go in reverse order so I can gather my thoughts about the bigger star values.

One Star ⭐

A lot of people will give a book one star if they don’t finish it. That is not my style. If I don’t finish your book, it’s not my place to rate it. It clearly wasn’t for me.

I rarely give books one star. However, I will make exceptions for truly terrible books. Books that are pure nonsense or inappropriate or anything like that. People deserve to know about those kinds of books.

Two Stars ⭐⭐

To me, these books are generally forgettable. I finished them, but chances are that I did it begrudgingly. There were some issues with the plot or the characters. It may have dragged on more than it needed to. Basically, my two-star reads are books that I have completed that I would NOT recommend. I would classify just about any book that I rage-finished as a two-star read.

Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

I mean, three stars…it’s right in the middle, so it makes sense that a three-star book rating is indicative of an average book. I’m not mad that I read it, but it didn’t stick out too much. It got the job done of keeping me entertained.

Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

These are good books that I’ll definitely recommend. If I own a physical copy, chances are that it will stay on my shelf. It stood out to me, but it could have had just a little bit more to push it over the edge.

If I’m feeling peer pressure about a book that everyone loved that I thought was decent, chances are I will give it 4 stars.

Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ahh…the elusive five-star read. I don’t think I’m picky in giving out five star book ratings, but a book definitely has to earn it. For example, in 2022, I only gave 8 books the perfect rating. 2021 was my year of reading far too many books (over 100), and I still only gave 18 books five stars. In 2025, I read 123 books, and rated fewer than 5 books with five stars (Am I getting pickier?!).

Regardless, these books stick with me. They made me feel something emotionally or caught me completely off guard. They were written well, and I’ve probably bought a copy for someone in my life, or forced my copy into someone’s hands.

But what about half stars?!

I know everyone is up in arms about the lack of half stars on these popular book rating websites. I kind of get it, but I also build it into my ratings. For example, if I think a book is 3.5 stars, I have to think about it more. Was it good enough to earn 4 stars, or is a 3-star rating more applicable. It’s all about rounding, and I use sentiment when I do that.

Now, here’s the real kicker about how I rate books. My book ratings essentially reset every year with the start of a new Goodreads/StoryGraph goal. I don’t know what my five-star barometer will be until I’ve read that first five-star of the year. Then, books all get compared to how much I loved that one (or those few once I’ve racked some up). I also compare books in a series, regardless of when I read them.

How do you rate books? I’ve seen people with mathematical spreadsheets with factors to consider that give them a rating, and other people who rate everything they’ve finished five stars (I don’t actually know anyone that does this…).