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.