my “no star” review process

A few months ago LitHub published this article which confirmed all I had seen on Goodreads as far as how to judge book reviews.

With so many new books coming out, Goodreads is one place where people feel like they can turn to read trusted reviews about which book to spend their ever-precious time on. As this article points out, there are some glaring issues by which we judged women’s fiction, particularly women judging women’s fiction. Proving, as many have argued before me, that a simple five star grading is not enough by which to judge any work.

Bookstagram (instagram profiles with a strict book content theme) has been a great way to learn more in-depth about different books as you find different users who generally read your same genres and have shared opinions about those. Like book clubs but even more pick-and-choose. While many still use a five-star system and track their reading on Goodreads, you can find a few more key insights to help inform your decision to purchase or read a book. When launching my own handle, @amanda.b.reading, I wanted to start with this “no-star” review process right from the beginning. It says here is how I read and judge a book, draw your own conclusions.

Below I layout the structure I’ll follow in my own reviews including that for fiction, non-fiction, and cookbooks**.

FICTION 

  • Three category checklist: story, characters, prose

  • Goodreads review

  • One-sentence synopsis

  • One-sentence review

  • Breakdown of: writing style/prose, characters, structure

  • What mood to read this in

  • What I learned

  • Read if you like/Books to follow

NON-FICTION 

  • Three category checklist: story, characters, prose

  • Goodreads review

  • One-sentence synopsis

  • One-sentence review

  • Breakdown of: writing style/prose, supporting research (outside consults), structure

  • What mood to read this in

  • What I learned

  • Read if you like/Books to follow

COOKBOOK 

  • Three category checklist: taste, design, story

  • Goodreads review

  • One-sentence review

  • About the creation: author (their role), production team

  • Overall Concept

  • Breakdown of: content (photo/written), recipe form

  • Sage advice (that which endures no matter the book or recipe): 

  • My favorite recipes tried so far

  • What this book is good for: when would you cook these recipes

  • Foodie level: novice to elitist

  • If you like this, read this

I hope that this review style can provide some value to others as they navigate the influx of information and opinions out there.

**I was shocked to see the lack of cookbookstagrammers out there and as a cookbook author, we could use the fan club! So I will be incorporating several cookbook reviews each month in addition to fiction and non-fiction reads. Reading through my own reviews of The Modern Bohemian Table (yes, I know, never read your own reviews!) Ive learned there are several different ways people judge a cookbook and hopefully this review structure will help everyone find what they need in the details before purchasing so you don’t get a “Four Stars: it is a gorgeous book, great recipes, beautiful photos, but I thought it would be more Pinterest-y and no I don’t recommend this product”…I mean what constructive criticism can an author or even a buyer take from that?! Okay personal rant over.

Amanda Grosgebauer