I write a lot of book and comic reviews on BizarreBrunette. I like sharing what I like to read and as a big comics fan, I like finding out about new series. After many years of writing reviews, I have found what works for me. I wanted to share a little bit about how I review and rate all the content that I read.

As far as my scale, I follow a 1-5 with 1 being “I did not like it” and 5 being “This is amazing and it’s the best thing I have read”. This aligns with Goodreads as they use a five-star scale in reviews. I considered changing this to be a 1-10 rating, but that feels like there are too many options. 1-5 is a good base and it feels more concise.

Starting with books, any book that I rate five stars is a book that I finish and I feel a sense of euphoria. This is a book where I want to immediately call my friends and my family and tell them to read this book, so I can talk about it with them. This is a book I will want to re-read in the next few years and I will buy future books from the author.

If I rate a book four stars, it means that I liked the book, but maybe there was one thing that I didn’t like. Something is holding me back from the full five-star rating. It could be the writing, the characters, the setting or if it took me a bit to finish the book, that could also result in a lower rating. If I rate something three stars, it’s usually a few significant things that I didn’t like about the book. It could be that it didn’t feel memorable or it didn’t stand out to me. If I rate something three stars, I do start to contemplate whether I need to continue the series or own the book if I end up buying it.

If I rate a book two stars, it’s usually a book that I had trouble reading. I may have put it down several times before finally forcing myself to read it. It could be a book where I didn’t look forward to finishing it. If I rate a book one star, it’s usually something that I found boring or I DNFed it (DNF meaning “Did Not Finish”).

For comics, there isn’t much of a difference except the fact that comics obviously have art. For me to rate a comic five stars, I have to love the art. If the art style isn’t for me, that does make a huge difference in how I rate a comic. Additionally, any comic that has a convoluted story or a story where I have to constantly go back a few pages, so I don’t get lost will lead to a lower rating. I like comics where I can read them, follow along with the story, and become entranced with the art on each page.

Another important element in comics and rating comics is how badly do I want to read the next issue. If I read a comic and I could care less about reading the next few issues, that will lead to a lower rating. I can tell when I like a comic because I tend to visit my local comic book store more often, so I don’t miss an issue. I may even check out Midtown Comics’s website to order the back issues that I missed. I do try to give a comic series five issues before deciding to continue the series. I think it does take a bit to develop a story in comics and I like to be fair in my assessment.

It’s not like any of this is unique as I think a lot of book or comic reviewers do something similar. I hope this provides context the next time you read a review of mine!