Too Many Five Star Reviews Out There?

Is it just me, or are there a disproportionately high number of five star book reviews out there?

I try (and fail) to review the bulk of what I read, even if it is just a one-liner, but often feel more than a little sheepish submitting my four stars next to a rash of gushing five stars, my three stars next to the fours. Or am I just an tough reviewer?



Here are some thoughts on the criteria I use when allocating stars to something I've read.  Starting in the middle, naturally.

• Three Stars.  A good, straightforward satisfactory read.  It didn't annoy or frustrate, but equally, didn't evoke fits of laughter, and probably failed to keep me awake and bleary eyed into the night.  Average - there is nothing wrong with being average!  A three star book is a good way to spend some time, much like watching The Towering Inferno on a wet Sunday afternoon.  Worth finishing, but unlikely ever to be read again.
• Two Stars.  Usually something I've plodded through in the faint hope of some improvement, or out of a sense of duty - this is Jane Austen so why am I so bored?
• One Star.  I have only ever given one book one star.  If it is that bad, I'll have probably long given up.
• Four Stars.  I loved this book.  I'll read it again, maybe.  There might have been a few sections where my mind wandered or I thought really?  But in general, time very well spent.  I'd thoroughly recommend it.
• Five Stars.  The best of the best.  The absolute peak of good writing.  According to what you like, this is Iain Banks on top form, or the reason why We Need to Talk About Kevin is so often discussed, even Jane Austen if that's your thing.  But most books are not five stars, in the same way that most restaurants don't get three Michelin stars, but many, many are bloody good places to eat, all the same.

I try to give the kind of review that will help a reader decide whether or not they want to part with their cash, or invest time in a book.  That is the point of a review, after all?  And without giving away the plot, of course!

If a book has issues that can be overcome - those pesky typos - I would always try and contact the author, so that such problems can be fixed, so improving the experience for the reader.  Such is the advantage of easily updated and re-issued eBooks.

So the way I see it, three and four star books are good books, well worth reading.  But five star books are the exceptional ones.  The kind that don't come along everyday.  Unless you look at Amazon customer reviews, that is.