Finding out whether a book is “good” is very subjective. One reader might consider a book great while another despised the whole novel. However, there are a few ways to get an idea of whether a book is worth reading. Here are some of the ones we want to share with you, alongside how you can find this reflected on our website:
Ratings and comments Websites like Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble allow users to rate and review books. Checking the average rating and reading through the comments can give you an idea of what other readers thought of the book. On our website, we have included the Goodreads rating within every book description, and have placed all books with ratings above 4.2 in the Highlights category.
Why use goodreads? Goodreads obtains its ratings from its large community of users. Goodreads calculates each book’s rating by aggregating ratings and reviews. The rating is based on a weighted average, which takes into account the number of ratings a book has received, as well as the overall rating. In addition to user-generated ratings, Goodreads also includes ratings from professional reviewers and publications. These ratings are often displayed alongside user-generated ratings to give a full picture of the book’s reviews.
On average, books receive 3.9 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has over 5 million ratings, and despite being a very highly regarded book only has a 4.3 stars average. Not many books have over 4.5 stars, therefore this indicates that books with a range of 3.9-4.5 stars are very highly appreciated.
Awards and Accolades Books that have won major literary awards or received critical acclaim are often considered good. The Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Man Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize are just a few examples of prestigious literary awards. On our website, we have filtered out all authors that have been either nominated or won any of the above-mentioned prizes under the Critically Acclaimed category.
Read book reviews Reading reviews from reputable sources like newspapers, book blogs, and book review websites can give you an idea of what other readers thought of the book. Therefore, we provide in the description of each book some comments from reputable book review sources, not exclusively but including:
Recommendations A good way to discover new authors and books, that you might not have otherwise come across, is to look for recommendations. You can consult website like the Bookpage, or at the end of each book webpage you can find our tailored recommendations for similar books. You can also always follow us on Instagram for our weekly book reviews or write us an email! We would be happy to hear from you.
A good book is one that makes the reader feel. It takes the reader on a compelling journey. Calling a book “good” is an opinion that can be applied to any book. I believe that a book can be considered good if it is a great story with average writing.
Be clear and specific. It is not enough to just say that you did or didn't like the book. Let your readers know why. Make your thoughts clear as early as possible and explain the reasons why you liked or disliked specific storyline components and characters.
You need a very solid draft, that has been checked by other people. You need something that has been thoroughly fact-checked, checked for grammatical errors, and polished to a high shine. Caveat: you could go in search for “publishable quality” forever.
Discuss what you particularly liked about the book
Did the characters feel real to you? Did the story keep you guessing? What was your favourite part of the book, and why? Were certain types of scene written particularly well - for example sad scenes, tense scenes, mysterious ones...?
A great book is one that connects with its reader. Brilliant literature makes readers feel seen by unveiling human experiences in a vivid and resonating way.
Ask them to describe the theme and genre of their favorite book, such as a futuristic city in a science fiction novel. Recommend a book that has a similar theme and genre. If they enjoy reading melancholic books set in a post-apocalyptic future, recommend books that explore similar themes and moods.
Scholarly books will have sources to trace the claims they are making? This could be footnotes in a chapter, or could be a bibliography or list of references at the end of the title. A title that has references is more likely to be scholarly than one that has none.
Generally put one finger out for every mistake or error without self correction. Then one more finger if another mistake is made. If after one page you have 5 or more fingers up (so five mistakes or errors), the book is definitely too hard.
Undamaged cover, no missing pages, all pages undamaged (e.g., no creases or tears), no underlining/highlighting of text, no damage to binding, no writing in margins. If the book typically has a dust jacket, the jacket is included.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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