What do book ratings and reviews mean to you?

I’ve been doling out a lot of ratings lately for books that I’ve read, especially ones that I’ve edited, and it’s gotten me thinking. What do ratings mean to people? Surely they can’t be interpreted the same way from person to person. What exactly does a 5-star review mean? Is it a book without any flaws? Is a book you enjoyed immensely? Is it a favor you decided to do for an author you happen to be friends with?

There’s a lot of gray areas with ratings. I don’t even have a specific guideline for what I decide to leave as a review. I just sort of go with my gut. But what about other people? What do the ratings they give mean to them?

When I see a:

4 or 5 star review, I consider the book to be “good.” These are lumped together because a 4 star to me might mean a 5 star to someone else. Or vice versa. Either way, the book is above average and worth reading.

A 3 star average is just that – average. It tells me that people either loved it or hated it, or they just thought it was okay. It’s not a bad thing, but I actually tend to stay away from books with an average rating this low (unless I think it sounds amazing or have a friend who highly recommends it). It tells me that I probably wouldn’t want to spend the time reading 500 pages if it was just going to be a standard, run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter type book.

I tend to ignore 1 or 2 star reviews (unless the average rating is this low – then I run for the hills). I figure some people are just cranky or the book wasn’t what they were expecting. Some people just like giving low scores for the heck of it. Nothing impresses them. These ratings are usually void in my mind. I like seeing why people give them a rating like this, but it usually won’t deter me from trying to give the book a shot.

I tend to give out a lot of 4 or 5 star ratings myself. I give a book 4 stars if I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn’t read it again. A 5 star review means I loved the book and would love to read it a second time. 3 stars is about as low as I’ll go, and that usually means I didn’t like the book all that much. I don’t think I’ve ever given anything a 1 or 2 star review.

What do these various ratings mean to you? Are you put off by a 1 or 2 star review? Are you put off by a lot of 5 star reviews for indie authors, thinking that perhaps they were just given by family and friends? Are you a tough or easy rater?

Rising Stars: Karmin

You know how sometimes you hear a song and it just speaks to your soul? How you catch a band performing and you’re riveted to your seat? You find that their voices are beautiful, or powerful, or inspiring. The beats make you want to get up and dance or sing along to the slow melody. And the lyrics feel like they’ve been written for you?

That’s how Karmin is for me. They’re a new band – YouTube stars, actually – and I really, really want to do this article justice because I believe in them so much.

To start off, let me just quickly talk about their rise to fame (or almost fame, as I think a lot of people still don’t know who they are). Amy and Nick hail from small towns in Nebraska and Maine and met at Berklee College of Music in Boston. They both had been in bands before, but nothing was working out. They had already been dating for a little while before they figured they would just form their own group – thus Karmin was born. “Karmin” is a combination of “carmen” (Latin for “song”) and karma. Nick lends his classic rock/jazz style and appears to know how to play just about every kind of instrument  from the keyboard, to the trombone, to the cajon (that’s a wooden box). He’s got a pretty good voice too, and brings wonderful harmonies into the mix. Amy is the power singer. She can play guitar, but she’s got some pipes and she puts them to good use. Did I mention she’s also an amazing rapper?

If you think you’ve heard of Karmin before, chances are that it was this song:

They started off doing covers on YouTube as well as original songs. Musically, their style is simple, catchy, and amusing. They change the songs they cover to make them their own, and keep it PG for all ages. They’ve got just the right mix of sincerity, humor, and talent. Nick seems to be an easy going guy and you can tell he’s really into the music – I get dizzy just watching him bob his head up and down as he plays. Amy has got this great ‘40s look down – suicide roll (Karmin style) and bright red lipstick to boot. She’s got a great and distinctive style – though that doesn’t hold them back: not only can they rap, but they can do country songs and pop songs equally as well.

Check out this great Adele cover:

These guys are the real deal. They’re down to earth and genuine, and you can tell they care about staying who they are and true to their fans. They are engaged and the chemistry between them is off the charts. They’ve got raw talent and great song writing capabilities. And they just signed to Epic Records with L.A. Reid. These guys are ones to watch, I promise.

Please do me a favor and check out a few of their other covers (I love “6 foot 7 foot” and “Written in the Stars”). They’ve covered a huge range of really popular songs, so I’m sure you can find something you’re interested in. While you’re at it, listen to some of their original songs, too.

Here’s their first single “Crash Your Party” which debuted a couple of weeks ago.  Their album will drop early next year.

(As I was writing this, I found out they are now VEVO Lift artists. AND the retweeted me!)

Some other info:

Their Youtube Channels:  KarminCovers and KarminTube

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Itunes

**Please leave me a comment below! I’d really like to know if you’ve heard of Karmin before, or if this is your first time being exposed to them. Which are your favorite covers? Which are your favorite original songs?**