A Book Obsession..: Let's Talk With Smash & Kt (20)

Let's Talk With Smash & Kt (20)

Mar 15, 2013 by Kt Clapsadl

Welcome to the Let’s Talk weekly discussion meme!

Originally hosted by Melissa from i swim for oceans, Smash & Kt took her original inspiration, and made it their own, expanding it to more than just books. Let’s get personal (but respectfully so) and learn more about one another! Each week, a different question will be posted along with a place to link up your posts and visit other people’s responses.This meme is definitely meant to bring out conversation and meet new people. So, Let's Talk!
We'd love to hear any ideas you have for questions. Submit them Here.

This week's question:

Do you rate a book differently based on the genre? Are there certain genres that you hold at a higher standard? Are there books that will gain an automatic "pass" or overlook of issues just because you love the genre/ type of world? If you don’t rate books, you can answer the questions based on your review criteria.

I am very guilty of this! My top favorite genre is Urban Fantasy, so I tend to rate those books a little easier. I'm harder on Paranormal Romance, and even harder yet on YA. But I'm by far the hardest on Contemporary Romance as they seem to always fall in the "3" rating even though I enjoy them. It's just kind of funny how that works I guess. It honestly used to bug me this variance in my ratings, but I came to realize that since I'm pretty consistent with it it works.

Here's an amusing "scale" of my ratings that's mostly accurate and also kind of confusing too: (take it with a grain of salt as I don't actually rate higher than a 5)

2 Star CR= 3 Star YA, PR, & UF
3 Star CR= 4 Star YA, PR, & UF
4 Star CR= 5 Star YA & PR & 6 Star UF

2 Star YA/PR= 3 Star UF
3 Star YA/PR= 4 Star UF
4 Star YA/PR= 5 Star UF
5 Star YA/PR= 6++ Star UF

Welcome to the weekly Let's Talk discussion!

1.	A Book Obsession..	4.	Amy @ bookgoonie	7.	Shirley @ Creative Deeds Reads
2.	Nemo @ The Moonlight library	5.	Smash Attack	8.	Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf
3.	Jocelyn @ Fox On Books	6.	Rachel @ The Annex

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Comments (8)

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Karen · 631 weeks ago

That's funny. I don't rate differently based on genre but I do have less tolerance for some paranormal YA. I think because of all the cliches and overused tropes. I'm just trying to avoid them now rather than keep having to write all negative reviews.

As I said on Smash's blog - I used to give the .99 self pub books more leeway, ignoring some errors/tropes as long I was entertained but I don't really think that's fair to authors that I do judge more harshly just because I paid more for their book.
My recent post Review: Unremembered (Unremembered #1) by Jessica Brody

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

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ABook_Obsession 81p · 629 weeks ago

Ratings can be a tricky thing. Heck sometimes even my mood will determine the difference between a 2 and a 3.. it's funny. I just do the best I can to stay somewhat consistent.
My recent post Early Review: Taken by Erin Bowman

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@fiktshun · 631 weeks ago

I am the complete opposite, or so I realized while writing my post this morning. Favorite genres for me have the bar set way higher. My expectations of books in non-familiar or non-favorite genres are much lower so they're likely to get higher ratings if I only find them remotely interesting.

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

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ABook_Obsession 81p · 629 weeks ago

Huh. Interesting. I kinda wish I was that was as it makes me feel guilty for more harshly rating my lessor favorite genres. Now I almost feel like I should be giving them a break due to my predilection to be leery about them in the first place.
My recent post Early Review: Taken by Erin Bowman

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Amy @ bookgoonie · 631 weeks ago

It's funny how it different genres have to bring different things to the table. Hence their difference. UF is my favorite, but most get 4s from me and hardly any 5s. Contemporary I'm the hardest on, but if it is good they make up most of my 5s.

CRAZY TALK! I tell you.
My recent post [Read-along] Under the Never Sky

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

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ABook_Obsession 81p · 629 weeks ago

It's so hard to rate the same across genres. I mean a contemporary is nothing like a paranormal, so really how can you honestly rate them the same way. *Shrugs*
My recent post Early Review: Taken by Erin Bowman

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Alexa · 630 weeks ago

I have to say that I rate everything the same no matter the genre but I would say that over the years it has become harder and harder for books to get the full 5 heart rating on my blog. Many books use to easily impress me but now even my favorite genres have to work harder than ever to get that top rating because the more I read the more I expect.
Thanks for the great topic!
My recent post Feral Nights Promo

1 reply · active 629 weeks ago

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ABook_Obsession 81p · 629 weeks ago

I've noticed that I'm become a whole lot tougher on my ratings over the years. When I first started blogging almost everything was 5s and 4s. Now there are very few 5s and a lot of 2s. Funny how that works.
My recent post Early Review: Taken by Erin Bowman