this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2026
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Do you normally read books with less than 4 stars? (programming.dev)
submitted 16 hours ago by cactus_head@programming.dev to c/books@lemmy.world
28 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I struggle with this a bit. Even if the book is 3.98 stars, i view that as not passing lowest bar. I consider most 4 stars books to not be there time, but rather the number of stars is how i filter out bad books

Also, how do you use your stars? Do you change your rating often?

For me, it generally goes like this:

  • 1 Star -Either its so bad that its offense or i dnf it
  • 2 Stars - Either bad or mediocre, not really work any time
  • 3 Stars - An okay book with a couple of redeeming points
  • 4 Stars - A great book with some flaws that bother me
  • 5 Stars - An excellent book, i am jumping in my sits.
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[โ€“] Fizz@lemmy.nz 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I just grab whatever has an interesting cover from the library. Find some surprisingly good books but some real stinkers also.

[โ€“] ZDL@lazysoci.al 3 points 9 hours ago

I'll defend your choice to go by cover here, from the perspective of someone in marketing.

The cover is the first contact point anybody has with a book. It is there to let the prospective reader know things like genre, style, intended target audience, etc. A good cover should match the contents to your tastes. A bad cover doesn't.

We form a large amount of our opinions on things from quite literally the first glance: people, food, vacuum cleaners, and yes, books. If the publisher has even a half-decent marketer on staff, that book cover should absolutely be intended for you to judge the contents before you first crack the book open.