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 18 hours ago by cactus_head@programming.dev to c/books@lemmy.world
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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€“] ZDL@lazysoci.al 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] Fizz@lemmy.nz 1 points 2 hours ago

I do also read the back to make sure its interesting but mostly I just have the mind that if someone spent the effort to write it then I might enjoy it. I can be very stuck in my niches if I dont introduce randomness into my choices.