Way back when people first started reviewing books you’d see a lot of 4’s (on a 1-5 scale). A 4 meant the person liked the book. It was good, but not perfect. Lately, I’ve noticed a shift in scores. There are a lot more 3’s (and even 2’s) out there with comments along the same lines that we used to use for 4’s, “good, but not perfect.”
Technically, a 3 is average (in fact slightly above). Let’s face it, most books probably are average for a reader. But average isn’t bad. On Goodreads, a 3 means “I liked It.” Not too shabby at all. If someone said to me, “I liked your book,” I’d be thrilled! But let’s face it, if you went to Amazon looking for a book, you most likely wouldn’t buy a book that had an average of 3, or even a 3.5. At least I don’t. Unless I’ve heard crazy things about the book, or bought it before I saw the score. But if I’m looking for a certain subject and don’t know the book or author, I look at the score and the amount of reviews.
Maybe a 3 seems bad because its so close to the dreaded 2. So I’m torn about the number 3. What’s your opinion?
