Hearts and ratings
On this site, a heart ( ♥ ) indicates one of my personal favorites. This is true across all content types.
I also have a rating scale for books. It’s a 10-point ordinal scale, where 10 is the best and 0 is the worst. It’s mostly just to help me remember what I’ve enjoyed and to give me a consistent, clear scale to reference.
| 10 = | Flawless. A masterwork that actually permanently changed my point of view on something. Defines a genre/canon or introduces entirely new ideas. |
| 9 = | Amazing. A favorite book that's a highlight of the genre. Left me thinking or emotional for days. The type of book I pulled an all-nighter to read. |
| 8 = | Great. Extremely fun or moving to read. Made me think. Writing/style/world was on point. Couldn't put it down. Memorable. |
| 7 = | Good. Enjoyed reading it even if it didn't stir my emotions or make me think too hard. Time well-spent. |
| 6 = | Okay. There were some good bits even if they were hard to find. No regrets about reading it. |
| 5 = | Mediocre. Not good or bad, just meh. Wouldn't recommend it and will likely forget about it. |
| 4 = | Bad. Minor regret that I wasted time reading it. Any good ideas are buried by the bad. |
| 3 = | Awful. I finished but it was a complete slog. No new ideas here. |
| 2 = | Painful. Big regrets about the time I wasted. Poorly executed, unoriginal, or trying way too hard. |
| 1 = | Unbearable. Didn't finish the book. Made a good effort but couldn't get more than a few chapters in. |
| 0 = | No. Didn't finish and never will. I will remember this book forever for how bad it was. |