Project Runway Seasons Ranked- Worst to Best!

Hey, y'all! So, for the past few months, I've been consistently posting my Project Runway Designer Rankings, which you can check out here. And since I've just wrapped that series up, I decided that the best way to bookend that series is to rank the seasons from least favorite to favorite. I have a ton of other Project Runway rankings that I'd like to do, but this one is the major one that I've been wanting to do for a while. This is also really interesting for me, because despite having loose rankings in my mind, I never sat down and actually ranked them until I was preparing for this post.

Just to explain how I ranked these, it's definitely a mix of personal feelings and objective aspects such as the quality of designers and the level of competition in each season. I'm not going to claim that my personal likes and dislikes don't play a part-- they absolutely do, and this is in no way a completely objective ranking. My personal enjoyment of a season and the number of designers that I connected with certainly plays a part in the ranking. But I also feel like I definitely took the objective aspects into account and will certainly argue that the general placement of each season in the list is on par with the objective aspects as well. 

Given that I've already openly discussed everyone's placings in their seasons, there will definitely be moments where I mention/discuss the winner of each season. So, if you'd prefer not to know who won, you might want to skip out on this. That being said, let's just go ahead and jump into this list!

14) Season 6

If you're a hardcore Project Runway fan, this is probably completely unsurprising. For the uninitiated, this was the first season after the move from Bravo to Lifetime and the only season to take place in LA rather than NYC. Not much really worked about this season, and it almost feels like a spin-off rather than a normal season. This was just a really weak cast, not just in personality, but in skill and aesthetic. Almost none of the characters are memorable. The top 3/4 designers are pretty much the only strong designers in the season-- and they're blatantly obvious from very early on. 

On top of this, we had one designer who was such a disaster that he was eliminated despite his team winning the challenge. And, even worse, we had that really weird Johnny controversy that I still don't fully understand. Perhaps this season could be redeemed even a tiny bit by a likable winner, but instead our winner was the contestant nicknamed "Meana Irina" (who unfortunately was probably the strongest designer). Across the board, this was just an incredibly weak season-- few memorable people, few strong designers, few memorable moments, and an unlikable winner. 

13) Season 5

I'll admit that Season 5 being this low could be due to the recency bias-- it's been years since I've watched this season-- but I didn't really like it the first time around either. To me, this season just wasn't that interesting. Many of the people on this season weren't memorable, and most that were memorable were rather unlikable. Like with season 6, I think that we had a strong final 3/4, but that the rest of the designers were pretty mediocre at best. We do get some fun moments with Tim trying to holla at your boy, but did anything else that was vaguely interesting happen this season?

I know that most people have this one ranked quite a bit higher, but I just simply don't like this season that much. I think I'm going to do a re-watch to confirm that I really do want to have it this low, but I really don't think it's necessary. I just really don't like it that much compared to all of the other awesome seasons. It's not quite as low as season 6 because I feel like Season 5 had more strong and more likable designers... but not by a lot. Hence it sitting here.

12) Season 11

Admittedly, as a Project Runway superfan, it's a bit sacrilege to put this anywhere except last or second-to-last. Again, for the uninitiated, season 11 is the blatant outlier because it's Project Runway: Teams. In season 11, the contestants were divided into teams for the majority of the season. They began as 2 large teams, and got shuffled around multiple times before eventually working individually in the endgame. The format just works so completely differently from any other season, and like with season 6, it almost feels like a spin-off show. It's incredibly frustrating to watch people being forced together for multiple weeks in a row. There were also some people this season who seemed to be so outside of what PR usually casts and seemed to be set up for failure from the start. 

Anyway, after that whole spiel, you're probably wondering how this ended up falling higher in my rankings than the other two. Honestly, it's simply more likable designers. Sure, I don't think that there are a ton of super strong designers on this season. I'd say that there are 4ish standouts. However, I really enjoyed a few of the designers. I love Michelle. I love her, I love her aesthetic, and she's definitely my favorite this season. I also really enjoyed Benjamin and Amanda and thought that there were a few more likable people. And despite it being such a different format, the recency of it is a definite advantage. It's definitely a bit more enjoyable to watch the snappier editing and more current aesthetics than to watch seasons 5 or 6 (IMO) so it edged those out just a bit. 

11) Season 14

While I have a definite ranking here, this list has some pretty definite tiers, and this one closes out the bottom tier, which consists of the 4 seasons that are my least favorites/ the ones I think are the worst. We've now reached the highly-contested, most recent season of Project Runway. Tim Gunn has declared this his least favorite season, and I can totally understand. There were definitely people who weren't working up to their full potential and that's just very disappointing. I wasn't very impressed with this season as a whole, TBH. And it's also really hard to know what all to say about it because it is such a recent addition, and therefore it is a little less solidified in my mind. 

I had super high hopes for Swapnil pre-season, and he definitely was rather successful throughout the show but it was disappointing that he wasn't working that hard. Especially after seeing that finale collection. He could've easily won with that finale collection and it's a downright shame that it was just a decoy. It was phenomenal and beautiful. That being said, one bright shining light in this season was Ashley Nell Tipton, the first winner with a strong leaning toward plus-sized designing, which I really appreciated. There were several aesthetics that I really liked this season, but overall I didn't find many of the characters that compelling. And sure, I've only watched it once, but I honestly have trouble coming up with any extremely memorable moments, which is never a good thing. 

10) Season 12

To be quite honest, season 12 is nearly tied with the season just above it. They're at the bottom of this middle-bottom tier of seasons, and I found myself constantly flip-flopping them. The only reason that I chose the other one above this one is that I have some favorites in that season that I like more than people in this season. There were definitely some pretty big moments this season. The Tim Gunn Save being used for the first time was a very touching moment. The Sandro freakout was another one. And then on top of that, just everything about Ken and his drama, especially that fight with Alex Pope. Also, my personal favorite is all of the silliness surrounding Timothy and his oddball designs and his obsession with unicorns. 

Despite this being rather low in my rankings, there's still quite a bit to like about this season. There are a lot of strong designers. There are handful of likable people. If you want drama, there's definitely drama. I think the reason that this falls so low is simply because everything is just not quite as good as other seasons. There are several likable people, but definitely less than in stronger seasons. There's drama, but it's not always fun to watch because of how mean-spirited it could be. There are strong designers, but for every strong designer, there are 2 fairly weak designers. It's just a very watered down version of what Project Runway has the potential to be, and what it has been in the past. 

9) Season 13

Three words describe why, despite being tied with season 12, this one won out. Sean. Kini. Amanda. The end. I think that quality-wise, season 12 might be a better season. If I had to re-watch one of them now, I'd probably watch season 12. BUT. Sean, Kini, and Amanda completely ran the table this season and I loved all 3 of them. They were all so very strong and I loved a lot of the designs that they created throughout the season. And the rainway challenge was outstanding. Of course, given that it's Project Runway, there's drama. Korina creates a lot of drama, especially with Char. But the craziest drama was the drama with Sandhya, the designer from all the way out in left field that no one understood and everyone attacked. 

When talking about season 12, I mentioned that it was basically watered down version of what the show has been in its heyday. And, in general, I think that this might even be more watered down. The designers who transcended that are the reason that it's found itself higher than 12. As stated, I'd be willing to say that objectively, season 12 is better. But Sean, Kini, and Amanda were just so awesome to watch. Even Korina was rather strong. The rest were almost completely forgettable. I liked Alex, Char was alright, Sandhya at least brought some entertainment, and Fade was quirky. If that's the best I have to say about a season's cast, it doesn't bode super well for that season. Fortunately for y'all, this is the completion of the bottom-middle tier of the list. These bottom 6 seasons are leagues below the other 8, in my opinion, so let's not talk about them anymore and let's get into the solid seasons. 

8) Season 1

The season that started it all! I found it really hard to figure out where to place season 1, because it's so incredibly different from the other seasons. While the other seasons' focus was almost solely on the design competition, in season 1 we got several segments in the apartments during the designers' extremely brief downtime. We also got to see a lot more of the drama with the models- Olga hating everything, models not wanting their hair changed, and of course, all of Morgan's crazy drama. The runway was also rather different, because it takes up a sizable percentage of today's episodes, but a minute percentage of season 1's episodes. In fact, half the time, it was difficult to tell who was in the top and who was in the bottom. 

That being said, there are so many standout moments of season 1 that help it stand the test of time. First off, we have the complete insanity that is Wendy Pepper. She was that "I'm here to win, not make friends," person in the most cut-throat, mean-spirited way possible, and it added so much entertainment. And then, there was Vanessa who was just off-the-wall bonkers. But we also had the ever-wonderful Austin Scarlett, who has become a fan-favorite. I could continue explaining why almost every designer on the show made it interesting, but instead I'll just say that the casting on this season was really great. There were so many stand-out characters, and they really made the show. The big dock on this season, for me, is the fashion. Obviously, it's been 12 years since season 1, so a lot of the fashion looks really outdated. That's to be expected. But even then, the designs this season don't stand up to some later seasons, and some of the challenges weren't exactly ones that suited themselves to fashion. For example, the postal worker challenge is questionable at best. Even the best design- which was admittedly good for a postal worker's outfit- wasn't incredibly fashionable. That being said, despite the fashion being dated at this point, the entertainment factor is definitely there.  

7) Season 4

Yes, I'm prepared for the torches and pitchforks for season 4 barely making my top half. You would've been even more upset with me if you'd seen where it was when I originally made this list (aka behind S12). But, since it had been a long time since I'd watched it, I went back and did a re-watch and it moved up my rankings. One of the reasons that it moved up is because of the general vibe to the season. The way that the show is shot, the editing, etc, everything feels like the first few seasons, which for me is extremely nostalgic and very endearing. And it reminds me that I enjoy the way that the first few seasons are put together. And honestly, from #8 (S1) on this list, these are seasons that I genuinely enjoy- the ones that I gravitate toward and want to re-watch. And upon that re-watch, I realized that season 4 definitely belonged among those... but not quite at the top. I debated moving it one spot higher, but I'll explain why I didn't when we get there.

Since this is a fan favorite season, I feel the need to explain why it's not higher on my list, so that's what I'll do. Each season, I tend to find one or two people who are my people. Not only do I enjoy their personality, but I like their aesthetic. And this season... there wasn't really anyone that fit my type of person. Sure, there were personalities that I liked, and sure, there were aesthetics that I enjoyed, but despite several extremely strong designers, none of them came together into the total package. There was one little thing about each of them that I didn't quite love (Christian could be a bit obnoxious, Rami was likable but a little one note, Jillian was sweet but I didn't dig her aesthetic that much, etc.). And quite honestly, I don't agree with the people that hold this season up as a beacon of spectacular fashion. Sure, this is one of the stronger seasons fashion-wise, but I definitely wouldn't argue for it being the strongest. 

And yes, there are a lot of things to like about season 4. You have Elisa's kookiness, Victorya steamrolling team challenges, that amazing avant-garde dress from the Chrises, etc. But for me, this was just a solid season of the show. Definitively a strong season, but not one that I completely fell in love with. The only reason it's this low is because I personally really enjoy the seasons that fell ahead of it on this list. My top 5 is an impenetrable wall of awesomeness, so this would only get 1 spot higher at most. 

6) Season 9

As mentioned in my explanation of season 4, this one slightly edged that one out. I went back and forth between these two, trying to figure out which one I liked more. And what's funny is that argument-wise, this season is the exact opposite of season 4. Season 4's biggest pros are its strong fashion and the fact that it has the vibe of an older season, and its big con (for me) is that I didn't latch on to anyone. With season 9, it definitely doesn't have the advantage of the production of an older season, and has moments where the designing is weaker. But, there are several people among this cast that I do think are strong designers and that I did latch onto. Anthony Ryan is one of my absolute favorite people to be on the show, Viktor isn't far behind, and Josh M brings insane drama. But, while season 4's finale was super strong... season 9's wasn't. Arguably the strongest and most-liked designer of the season, Anthony Ryan, got the auf wiedersehen at #7 in what was (IMO) a very controversial decision. And while the remaining designers were strong for their season, I'm not sure how well many of them would do if placed in a stronger season. 

Anya is also a somewhat polarizing winner. Some people champion her for learning to sew rather quickly and being able to fight her way through the competition to her eventual win. However, other people argue that her skills weren't as strong as they should've been and that her finale collection was a bit one-note. And I kinda agree with both sides. I think it's amazing that Anya was able to do what she did with as little sewing experience as she had, but I feel like she was constantly praised relative to her skill-set rather than objectively on the same level as the other designers. I feel like some of her success can be attributed to less-complicated designs that were executed in an interesting way. And her finale collection winning, IMO, is due to an overall weaker finale. I'll still argue that Viktor's was the best, but drop any of the collections in any other finale, and I don't think any of them would take the prize. That being said, this season is really entertaining to watch, and there were certainly moments of very strong design. The unconventional challenge gave us some really great designs from Anthony Ryan & Olivier. Viktor and Anthony Ryan were rather strong throughout as well. Plus, we got the drama surrounding a designer quitting, and all of the drama that Josh M created on his own. Overall, this is probably a more controversial opinion on my part, but I'm OK with that. 

5) Season 8

As aforementioned, this top 5 is super solid in my mind. I absolutely love season 8. This is one of the most controversial seasons of the show, but that's what makes it so amazing for me. I do have to say that I absolutely despise the finale decision. Tim Gunn has called out the judging on this season, both throughout the season and in the finale. This finale decision is the most highly-contested finale decision in the history of the show, and it was so controversial that Project Runway All-Stars was practically created for Mondo to come back and get the last laugh on Gretchen by winning a lot more money than she got. But aside from that sour spot, there were so many great things about this season. The most prominent is the drama. There was a mean girls clique (really just Gretchen and Ivy) and they spent the entire time they were there just badmouthing everyone. While it was super mean-spirited, it made the show extremely interesting to watch.

The target of most of their rudeness was the poor lil' baby, Michael Costello. They constantly complained about his construction skills and berated him for not being a good designer. It hit a low point when Ivy returned as an assistant and proceeded to accuse Michael of cheating. And part of what made the drama enjoyable is that the underdog got the upper hand in the end. When paired up with Mondo, they didn't get along because Mondo was very wary of Michael with all the drama, but by the end of the challenge, they were besties and it was adorable. Even better, Michael made it significantly farther than Ivy. And, despite just missing out on the finale, Michael has gone on to become one of the most successful designers post-show, regularly designing for major celebrities like Beyonce.

But, of course, there was more than just drama. The fashion this season was really great. Sure, most of the strongest designs came from our eventual top 2, Mondo and Gretchen, but there were some really outstanding looks. There were also several likable people outside of the mean girls. Valerie was a great designer and really likable, as was Andy (now Ari). Peach might not have been the strongest designer, but she was a lovable underdog. Mondo's emotional moment on the runway in the design-a-fabric challenge is still a standout among all of the seasons. There's just a lot to love about this season, and even though there was some mean-spirited stuff going on, the resulting drama makes the show even more entertaining. I think this season is the total package-- great designs, rootable characters, and some really great drama.

4) Season 7

I'm not sure how much of an unpopular opinion this is, but if loving season 7 is wrong, I don't want to be right. I was super torn between this one and the one that got 3rd place, and I even originally had this one in 3rd place. This was the season that I started watching Project Runway. This used to be my favorite season, and it's fallen just a little bit. I think season 7 is criminally underrated. Sure, there are a lot of weaker designers, but the top half of the pack are super strong. There are so many standout designs-- hello, Seth Aaron's mommy & me look & Jay's trashbag couture. There are a ton of really likable designers. Even Janine, someone that I didn't gravitate toward, was an incredibly sympathetic character. And we also had people like Ping who were just totally out of left field oddballs that created drama. On top of all of those, I can't say enough about the top 3 and how much I love them. They were strong designers on top of being really likable. 

There wasn't too much drama this season, which is pretty unusual for a season that winds up this high on my rankings. But the personalities on this season are really what got the season up this far. If you've seen my designer rankings, you'll know that Seth Aaron Henderson is my favorite Project Runway designer. He's such a strong, immaculate designer. There's a reason that he was the first person to win 2 Project Runway seasons. On top of that, Emilio Sosa was also one of the strongest designers to be on the show. He completely killed the competition... ignoring the washer bikini. And Mila was really strong too! A bit one-note, but still very strong. And you can't forget Anthony, one of the most endearingly hilarious designers to be on the show. Plus, the heartbreak of Maya quitting when she was killing it left and right. There's just so much to love on this season, and I definitely did love it. 

3) Season 10

I. LOVE. SEASON 10. For me, the top 4 are the like... holy grail seasons. I've mentioned that season 8 is kinda a total package for me, but season 10 is a definitive total. package. I would argue that season 10's finale episode is one of the strongest in the history of the show. Even then, there were also a handful of designers who could easily have taken one of those slots in the finale as well. I would definitely argue that this season progressed as it should have. The weak designers were out early, and the strongest designers made it to the end. And drama? Oh, the drama. Designers quitting? Check! Designer that causes total chaos all season? Check! Designer shamelessly berating their model? Check! Nearly identical designers who bicker constantly? Check!

And the fashion this season? Amazing. As alluded to earlier, there were some extremely strong designers this season. I'd argue that any of the top 8 designers could've made it to the finale with little to no argument from me. The only argument would've been that Ven was super rude- and that's nothing to do with his design ability. In the end, I do definitely think that the strongest designers made it to the finale, but put some of the other designers in another season and they'd be a finale shoo-in. I mean, the eventual winner of this season, Dmitry, also handily won his season of All-Stars. Seven of those top 8 designers ended up on All-Stars, and most of them did really well on All-Stars as well. I think it also helps this season that I really loved a lot of the designers' aesthetics- once again, especially the top 4. 

And on top of all of that, there are so many likable people! Christopher Palu gave us some of the best confessionals we've ever seen- a beautiful combination of sarcasm, wit, sass, and humor. Dmitry, our Belarusian ballroom dancer, was also a great personality, giving us great lines like "Ven is one-way monkey" and bringing humor to pretty much every scenario. Fabio was this lovable odd-ball- weird but quirky in the best way possible. Even Gunnar, the constant antagonist to Chris, was fun to watch in the Christian Siriano archetype. And Elena was off-the-wall bonkers, screaming at people and running around like a maniac. And I haven't even mentioned Melissa and Sonjia, who didn't have the hugest personalities, but were both inherently likable. Like I said, this season is just the epitome of the total package for me. The drama is there- and it's enjoyable drama! The personalities are big, bold, and lovable. And the designing is some of the strongest we've seen in the history of the show. 

2) Season 2

If anyone has any qualms with my rankings on this post, it's probably not with season 2's placement, unless you think it should be at #1 (and trust me, I seriously considered it). The first 4 seasons are typically the most-loved seasons, and many people consider season 2 to be their favorite. And there are tons and tons of reasons to love season 2. Once again, total package. This season has some of the most memorable, note-worthy designers to appear on the show, both design-wise and personality-wise. Although the fashion is dated at this point, the fashion was extremely strong for its time. And there are also so. many. memorable moments. Dramatic moments like Andrae's meltdown on the runway, Santino's fight with Nina, and Zulema's infamous walk-off. Endearing moments like the designers attempting to ice skate and Project Runway: The Musical. And, of course, the infamous... "What happened to Andrae?" Santino's impression of Tim Gunn will live in infamy forever, in or out of Red Lobster.

The designers this season were incredibly memorable. Santino Rice is a standout designer from the show, with a bigger personality than any past or future designers combined. Daniel Vosovic was this lovable 20-something fresh out of design school who walked in and mostly demolished everyone else. Chloe didn't have the biggest personality, but she was inherently likable and very strong. Nick was the obvious pro with a great personality. Andrae was... Andrae. Zulema was... Shetangi. And Daniel Franco followed his bliss. The cast was amazing, and led to some awesome designs. Unfortunately, the favorite to win got robbed (IMO) in the finale, but that's a small smudge on one of the craziest, most memorable and well-loved seasons of Project Runway.

1) Season 3

And finally, coming in at first place is season 3. This is definitely high up on most people's favorites list, but I'm not sure if this would be many people's number one season. But, I absolutely love it. There are so many big personalities this season- Vincent's kookiness, Kayne's hyperactivity, Keith's cockiness, Mychael's likableness, Angela's... Angelaness, Jeffrey's aggressiveness, etc. etc. There were just so many characters, and a ton of great designs as well! And even the personalities that weren't as big were really likable. We got some big drama, some great fashion, and a really strong final four. 

Once again, there are also so many great moments this season. This was the first time that a designer was disqualified- Keith was found with design books and left the set, so he was eliminated from the competition. We also got that great drama surrounding Jeffrey and his interactions with Angela's mom and all of the crazy drama surrounding Jeffrey and Angela in general. Even more, we got all the controversy with the claims that Jeffrey cheated in the finale. But despite the drama, we also had some super strong designers. Poor Mychael Knight was a front runner the entire season, only to deliver his disco safari finale collection and get axed at fourth. But despite that flub, the final 4 of season 3 are one of the strongest group of finale designers. Sure, Mychael's collection wasn't great, but in terms of his design ability, he was elite. Even the pseudo-villains this season are only pseudo-villains, as many of them still end up being likable/enjoyable at the end of the day. I just absolutely love this season. I've watched it so many times and each and every time I absolutely love it. The reunion episode this season is one of my absolute favorite episodes of the show. Everything about it is so entertaining and there's a reason that it's one of the most beloved seasons of the show. 

So, that's my list of the Project Runway seasons, ranked from worst to best! Let me know down in the comments which season of Project Runway is your favorite, and what you think of my ranking of these seasons! 

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Hate-Reading The Selection: Updates & Opinions

Hey, y'all! So today, I'm going to be doing some hate-reading. Just briefly, before I jump into anything else, here's my little disclaimer about hate-reading.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post on the topic of hate-reading, which you can check out by clicking here. In that post, I discuss what it means to hate-read and include a disclaimer discussing my intentions when hate-reading a book. I won't go into full details, given that I wrote that whole post about it, but the long and short of it is this: hate-reading doesn't have to be malicious, and I don't intend for it to be. I'm not here to bash a book, and I'm certainly not here to belittle anyone for liking this book. My point here is not to offend, but to approach criticism with a snarky, comedic tone; to point out the ridiculousness of a book in a humorous way. So I urge you to remember all of this before leaving an angry comment.

That being said, let's take a look at the book I'm going to be hate-reading. And that is The Selection by Kiera Cass.

By the way, what even is this cover? Like... she looks like she's smelling her armpit. Not to mention the "girl in a dress on the cover" trope. Props for the dress being pretty, though. However, I do have to say that I think that the dresses on the spin-off books (The Heir & The Crown) are absolutely gorgeous and leagues better than the dresses on the covers of the original trilogy.

Anyway, this book has been on my radar for about as long as I've been on BookTube. Quite honestly, I've never really intended to pick it up, simply because it's not really my thing. I'm a self-described reality competition junkie. I can't even count the number of reality competitions I've watched throughout the years. But in that time, I've never watched a single episode of either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Ever. It just always seemed too dumb and too ridiculous. But, the temptation is there to watch an episode simply to laugh at it. And that's kinda what I intend to do with The Selection. It has pretty much the same premise as The Bachelor, and from reviews I've read, the writing, world-build, plot, and characters all seem to be on-par quality-wise with what I'd expect from The Bachelor (AKA laughably bad). Because of this, I expect to thoroughly enjoy every second of reading what I expect to be a laughably bad/cheesy book.

Continue reading below to join me on this adventure, as I will be doing updates whenever something stands out, is completely ridiculous, or is just plain dumb. I'm so excited, y'all.

*****

July 5th:

acknowledgement/dedication: So the dedication reads "Hi, Dad! *waves*" and I'm not sure if that's cute or annoying. I'm gonna go with cute for now, but I feel like this is just a little taste of the fluffiness that is yet to come...

pg 1: Starting off strong, y'all. "So far, I had a solid collection of my honest opinions. . . I didn't think there was a single one she would listen to." Someone explain that ellipsis to me. Please. And it's unnaturally spaced out as well. I fail to see how that makes any sense there. 

pg 2: "We did a silent dance through the kitchen and dining room..." There's nothing wrong with this, I just think it's a really weird phrasing, especially since they're mad at each other. Also, we just got an entire paragraph about how her mouth was watering for tea with lemon. Tea is not that dramatic. 

pg 4: Kiera Cass does understand that China acknowledges Jan 1 as the start of the new year, right? They still celebrate it at the traditional time, but the year still starts on January 1st...

pg 8: This dialogue hurts. "I'm so average." "Stop it, you're so pretty." "Am I actually pretty?" "You totally know you're pretty." *dramatization* *but not by much*

pg 12: "Finally the intruder spoke, a sly grin spreading across his face. 'Hey there, gorgeous.'" How is this romantic? This excerpt could easily be inserted into a horror movie and be incredibly creepy.

pg 15: "If only I could sit and patch them up for him. That was my great ambition. Not to be Illea's princess. To be Aspen's." Literally everything about this hurts me. 

pg 27: I love that we just got a quick little run-down of what's happening, in case we somehow didn't understand. Also, yes, I went a whole 12 pages without updating, but only because that whole chapter was cringey and there wasn't just one single moment that stood out. 

pg 33: Just realized that I haven't noted this yet, but the fact that America Singer is a... wait for it... singer is one of the most silly things I've ever read.

pg 45: Side note, the inherent sexism in this society is already about to drive me crazy, and not just toward the women-- America just mentioned that she couldn't see herself with such a "wimp" as Maxon.

July 6th:
pg 50: "America, I'm supposed to be providing for you. It's humiliating for me to come here and have you do all this for me."... "I'm not some charity case, America. I'm a man. I'm supposed to be a provider." Again, with these stupid, seemingly pointless gender norms. First off, she's a class higher than him and has talents, so she's perfectly capable of providing for herself. Also, she literally made you food from the little money that she earned, because she knows you can't always afford to eat, and you have the audacity to be humiliated because of some seemingly arbitrary gender norms? Dude, get over yourself and eat the stupid food. //endrant.

pg 53: UPDATE! They just broke up over the food argument. LOL. That's the silliness I'm here for!

pg 56: y'all, she was chosen for the selection! Didn't see that one coming, did you?

pg 58: Her body now belongs to her country. Literally, her body has now become an object to be possessed by a country. ugh.

pg 64: "This isn't exactly a rule, but it would be unwise of you to ignore it. When you are invited to do something with Prince Maxon, you do not refuse. No matter what it is. Dinner, outings, kisses-- more than kisses-- anything. Do not turn him down." Great, so on top of all the other things that Maxon has control over, he also basically gets to do whatever he wants with her. Fabulous.

pg 76: America, you're in your upper teen years. DO NOT call your father "Daddy." It's just weird.

pg 90: Guys, this makeover scene is literally ripped from the pages of The Hunger Games.

pg 96: "Do you think Maxon will like it?" "Of course! What guy doesn't like a gorgeous blonde?" cringe cringe cringe cringe cringe. This dialogue hurts me. Also, there's a specific "Women's Room." Because even rooms have to be divided by gender in this society! :)

pg 99: So everyone in this society has really out there, unique names, and the maids are called Lucy, Anne, and Mary. It feels like Cass just chose the first 3 basic female names she could think of and was like "OK done!"

pg 102: It bears mentioning, but the entire point of the competition within this novel is to pit women against each other in a competition for a man's affection, which is just so obnoxiously stereotypical and catty that it almost physically hurts. Haven't women been portrayed as catty, gossipy, & unable to cooperate for long enough? I fail to understand why a woman would want to write a series in a world that she created that has such inherent, seemingly arbitrary, sexism ingrained in the society.

July 7th:
pg 104: "He is someone in this room's future husband, after all." A few girls sighed at the thought. Excuse me while I vomit. This is about as cliche as it gets.

pg 118: Currently LOLing at the scene that just happened in the garden. As usual, the dialogue is just uncomfortable. America is unnecessarily obnoxious and whiny. Maxon is rigid and awkward. Hooray. (Side note: If Maxon doesn't promptly stop saying "my dear," I'm gonna lose it.)

pg 123: "Tsk-Tsk. A lady never raises her voice above a gentle whisper?" Oh yeah, lady? Since the whole room just heard you, I'm going to assume you said that above a gentle whisper.

pg 125: Image that, guys! Prince Maxon has taken a liking to our little special snowflake! I'm so surprised! And when he smiled at her, she completely changed her mind! How romantic.

pg 136: I'm sorry, but that just seems like the silliest way, plot-wise, to create a way for America to have alone time with Maxon. Some weird, random bet? Shouted across the room for almost no reason? It's so ridiculous and just... weird.

pg 141: She's getting nervous about being with Maxon alone, and doesn't know why! What could it mean?! (obviously you're beginning to develop feelings, dummy.)

pg 159: Ooh, Prince Maxon has some theories no one will listen to! Given how this book has been going so far, he's probably right. #basic.

pg 178: Literally every time "King Clarkson" is mentioned, all I can think of is Kelly Clarkson. #sorrynotsorry. Also, America is now excited by the idea of Maxon visiting her that night. Shocker.

pg 197: Wow, she's starting to like him! Didn't see that coming! Also, I know that I haven't had snarky things to say for the last ~40 pages but that's mostly because it actually hasn't been that bad. Maybe it's that I'm getting used to it, but there haven't been as many cringey, awful moments. Sure, it's still incredibly cheesy, and the dialogue is mostly just ... ugh. But it hasn't been quite as awful. Actually, it's been almost sweet. Almost.

July 8th
pg 200: Here we go again with everyone telling America she's amazing and her feeling uncomfortable and unworthy.

pg 207: And now we have girls actually slapping each other. Lovely.

pg 212: So we just got a scene that was obviously meant to be for world-build. The Selected girls are being quizzed on their knowledge of Illea's history, which serves to inform the reader of the history. This is problematic on so many levels. First, this scene is just very clumsy. Given that they're going to be selected on their personality and looks, their knowledge of the country's history doesn't seem like it's going to pop up anytime soon. So this is a rather clunky attempt at masking world-build for something that's actually important to the plot. Second, this is a really flimsy world build. Third World War, China invading, attacking Russia, these are all the easy explanations. It's just so baseline and surface level that it seems boring and unoriginal.
Also, this whole no written history thing-- clearly they're trying to hide something. If that was meant to be a subtle hint that something suspicious is going on, it's not. It's really obvious. And if this is a dead end, then she wasted our time with something meaningless and pointless.
One last note before I continue: At this point, a US history book would be hundreds of years old. And yet America's dad just happened to have one lying around the house? Really?

pg 218: What? Her feels are getting stronger and she thinks it's just nerves? I'm shocked.

pg 257: Ok, so now that she's finally realized that she has feelings for him (only because he kissed her), she's convinced that she's now the one. Like... slow your roll. 5 seconds ago, you were telling him you just wanted to be friends.

pg 262: Guys. There's literally a place called Honduragua in this story. Cass literally just created a super-country by creating a ship name for Honduras & Nicaragua. What even?

pg 264: "Why don't you run along?" And here, everyone, we have an example of a cliche line. America is annoying. Blahblahblah nothing new here.

pg 268: "I looked beneath my eyelashes at Maxon and smiled." I'm sorry but what does that even mean? That phrasing is just... what? Like yes, America, your eyes are under your eyelashes. Proud of you. Unless this is talking about her bottom lashes? This just makes no sense.

pg 289: So America and Maxon have been all buddybuddy for more than half of this book and suddenly she disagrees with him and he pulls out the "I am lord and master of this country" stuff and calls her "Lady America" again? I'm so over this. He was becoming vaguely likable and then goes and pulls something like this. That's one thing Kiera Cass is really good at-- making characters overreact.

pg 290: Ok, so America has been tossing and turning "for hours" and then out of nowhere, Aspen opens the door and comes in? That's creepy. Like, she didn't even indicate that she was still awake, but here he comes barging in. Not cool. Also, she's had mixed emotions about him for the entire book, and suddenly now that he barges in and practically forces himself on her, she's glad to make out with him? Even while saying she hates him? Really?

pg 297: So, that girl that America's been freaking out about the entire book? She tripped, and Aspen caught her. I swear, there needs to be an award for how many coincidences create a plotline, and it needs to be handed directly to Kiera Cass. Like, there are so many things that happen on this novel just because of sheer coincidence. That's not how to craft a plot.

pg 313: Also, just another quick note, but isn't it just so convenient that the girls America is the most familiar with/ get mentioned the most are the ones who keep staying? Even her mortal enemy Celeste is still here, despite being completely awful. With the exception of Ashley at the beginning of the book, everyone America interacts with has stayed. Imagine that.

pg 325: Ah, the line I've heard so much about. "I'm not choosing him or you. I'm choosing me." Cliche, cringy, and overall... not the truth that she says it is. Sure, maybe she hasn't chosen either yet, but she's still making up her mind. That's not choosing herself. That's being wishy-washy.

So, that's it for my updates while reading The Selection. Here are my very brief opinions, if you haven't seen my little discussion at the end of my video: 

I think that this is the first time I will ever give 2/5 stars to a book that I really enjoyed reading. Let me clarify. This book was insanely fun to make fun of, despite the numerous problems I had with this book. That's probably incredibly evident from these updates. I thought that the writing wasn't that great, the dialogue was pretty cringey, the plot was a bit of a mess (and rather dependent on coincidence), the world-build was pretty flimsy, and that the problem with gender roles within this book was frustrating. At its root, this isn't the dystopian novel it purports itself to be-- it's a plain ol' contemporary. It's made to be fluffy and cute, and in some ways I was definitely pulled into that a bit. I enjoy fluff and cuteness in moderation, but this book was pretty much no substance and all fluff. One genuine, interesting moment would be followed immediately by more cliches, insufferable dialogue, and general cringing. So, overall, I didn't think that this was a very good book. However, I had a great time reading it and intend to continue the series, because I want to see this train-wreck keep on going.

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On Hate-Reading.

This is a topic that's been on my mind quite a bit over the past few days, so I just decided to go ahead and do a blog post discussing it.

So, hate-reading. Simply defined, reading something despite prior knowledge saying that you will dislike it. But it needs a slightly more detailed explanation to get into the real meaning of it. Some of you might be reading this and wondering, "If you know you're going to dislike it, why invest your time in it?" and you'd be 100% right in saying that it doesn't make sense. But I think the factors here are that there's a difference between dislike and disgust and that there are different ways to consume things. 

For example: you, dear reader, have probably hate-read before. Nearly all of us have that friend (in my case multiple friends) on Facebook that you keep around simply to roll your eyes at their posts. Maybe it's the person who uses their Facebook as if it were their personal journal, posting every single menial detail of their day, from what they had for breakfast that day to the dream they had the night before. Perhaps it's that person who thinks they're so cool and likes to prove it to everyone on a daily basis. Or, the person who has laughably awful grammatical errors in every single post. Or the person whose political beliefs seem to make absolutely no sense in your mind. The list goes on and on. But, in all of these cases, there's some form of enjoyment to that dislike. 

We see the person using Facebook as their personal journal as woefully out of touch with the purpose of Facebook and find humor in that. We find humor in the try-hard desperately trying to come off as so cool. The grammatical errors and the seemingly non-sensical beliefs trigger our sense of superiority toward the person saying those things. In every single case, there's some sort of enjoyment factor to reading these posts. Even if you vehemently disagree with someone, most of us find enjoyment in telling someone else why they're wrong, or at the very least, quietly rolling our eyes at how wrong they are. 

There is a difference, however, between this enjoyable dislike and disgust/offensiveness. While you might keep the obnoxious "cool kid" try-hard on your friends list for the lulz, you're probably not going to keep around the rude, offensive loudmouth who constantly insults everyone and is generally just a jerk. There's no fun to that. And thus, the difference between the lighthearted mockery of grammatical errors and the outright disgust at offensive people. 

Also, as mentioned in the opening, there are different ways to consume things. The main difference that needs to be made in this post is the difference between in-person and not in-person. While the try-hard "cool kid" might be really entertaining to follow online, if you feel that way about someone, you're not likely to be close with them in person. While it might be funny to read their posts online, they're probably rather grating in person. The same is true with hate-reading in general- enjoyable at a distance and online, but you wouldn't really want to be around that person IRL. So, that's my little explanation for why I think that we sometimes get enjoyment out of hating things. 

Personally, I kind of see there being two different types of hate-reading, one of which I indulge in regularly, and the other of which I'm anxious to dip my toes into. The first of these is, of course, the online hate-reading. AKA, the thing I've spent the entirety of this post discussing so far. As discussed, we pretty much all do this, and I'm probably one of the worst offenders.

All of the different types of people listed are based upon my own Facebook friends list. I have FB friends at pretty much every point in the political spectrum, and hate-reading the posts of people I vehemently disagree with is beautifully angering, sometimes to the point that I get in FB arguments just because I can. There's one person I've almost deleted on several occasions because of his ignorant, idiotic posts about women, but I keep him around not only as a reminder that these people actually exist, but also as someone to roll my eyes at. I have younger friends on FB who are definitely those try-hard "cool kids" who post mirror selfies with their bra showing and talk about getting high when I know they've never smoked weed a day in their life. And, of course, I've got some older FB friends who post everything, from the dream they had the night before to a random/pointless/uninteresting encounter they had at work with a customer. And I keep all of them around so that I have someone to roll my eyes at. 

But, I also take it further. My best friend has one friend on FB that we're notorious for looking up whenever we're bored. He posts gym selfies constantly, professed his love for his girlfriend after a week of dating, and litters all of his posts with GO DAWGS, cheering on his favorite team even when they're not actually playing. His posts are typically seemingly pointless and uninteresting except when hate-read in jest. My best friend and I also like to randomly go on the Men's Health website and read all of the dating "advice" for men, pretty much all of which is ridiculous and littered with underhanded (often unintentional) sexism. We hate everything about it, but it's endlessly fun to ridicule. 

But then, there's the second type of hate-reading. The hate-reading that exits the sphere of posts, opinions, and statuses online and enters into the literary world of books and authors. 

And this is where I tend to look the other way. In my knowledge, I have never purposely set out to hate-read a book. If I hear bad reviews on a book or if I don't think I'll like it, I simply don't pick it up. Sure, sometimes I pick up a book that has mixed reviews where I'm unsure if I'll like it, but I go into that book with the attitude of "OK, it's possible that I won't like this book, but I'm going to give it a shot because it sounds interesting." 

Simply put, I'm a reader and a lover of books. Someone put quite a bit of their time and energy into this bound up pile of pages and words that I'm about to read, and I want them to have succeeded at crafting an interesting book. Sometimes, it doesn't work out and I end up not liking it or thinking that it wasn't well-written, etc. but I at least try to enter every book with an open mind. Often, if I already have a negative mindset going into the book, I just won't bother with the book, because I'll probably end up projecting that mindset onto the book even if it doesn't deserve it. I try to start out as objectively as possible in order to be a fair reader/reviewer.

But, as the topic of hate-reading has come to the forefront of my mind, I've been itching more and more to pick up a book and just hate-read the crap out of it. As much as I enjoy hate-reading online, I'm sure to enjoy hate-reading in book form. However, right now, it feels a little dirty. 

What I mean by this is that it almost feels like a sleazy thing to do. As forementioned, someone spent quite a bit of time and energy crafting a book, just for me to pick it up with the express purpose of hating it and taking a big ol' crap on it. It seems a bit like a jerk move. But at the same time... I still really want to do it. Recently, I've read some 1 star reviews of books that have made me insatiably curious about picking up the book to experience it for myself.

So you see the dilemma here. Probably. If not, allow me to explain. While I love hate-reading online, hate-reading books feels a bit slimy to me, given the amount of work put into them by their authors. But, at the same time, there are some purported train-wrecks that I want to experience for myself. So, I'm at an impass. If I hate-read this book, I thoroughly expect the fans of the series to jump down my throat and accuse me of being mean or making fun of a book. Again, as in the beginning, "why would you read the book if you expect to hate it?" And here's my explanation. If, in the future, I hate read your favorite book and you're upset with me, I'd like to direct you to the statements below in hopes that you won't attack me in the comments.

I don't expect to hate the book. (Wait, what?) Yep, I don't expect to hate it. I expect the book to be a complete mess, but I expect to enjoy every single second of experiencing that complete mess. If I thought I wouldn't enjoy reading it, I wouldn't read it. But I expect to have a great time reading this book and picking apart all of its flaws. I expect to binge read this book, just like I would probably binge-watch a season of a reality show, even if I thought it was utterly ridiculous. I certainly don't want to offend the author or upset them by reading their book specifically because it sounds like a crappy book. But, they put this book out into the world to be read and reviewed, and my single voice will just be one additional voice in whatever cacophony of people are criticizing it.

You might love it, and that's great for you and I will never fault you for that. You're entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to mine. But based on reviews, it sounds like something I'll love to hate, and I want to experience the purported train-wreck myself. Maybe the critics are wrong and I'll end up liking it. You never know. But based on what I've seen, it sounds like a car crash that I don't want to look away from. I don't mean any of this in a mean, rude, or contemptful way, and it's certainly not meant as an insult toward the author, as I prefer to separate the art from the artist. 

Hate-reading can be incredibly different from picking up a book in honest and ending up disliking it. If I pick up a book expecting to like it and it turns out to be not-so-great, it could turn into hate-reading depending on the book, but in most cases, it just ends up being a book that I don't like. Whereas with hate-reading, I approach the book with a healthy dose of snark. From the start, cynical, sarcastic comments will probably made and should be expected. My point is not to offend, but to approach criticism with a comedic, snarky tone; to point out the ridiculousness of a book in a humorous way.

So that's it for this post on hate-reading. And before anyone even mentions it, don't expect to see me picking up Fifty Shades of Grey anytime soon. I don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole, let alone hate-read it. Let me know in the comments if you also indulge in some online hate-reading, and while you're at it, let me know what books you've hate-read (if any). 

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How I Rate Books! [2016 Update]

Hey, y'all! So, I've been doing a lot of reading. I know what you're thinking: "Kristen, you always do a lot of reading!" and to that I would say, "Well yeah. Kinda." I got a bit slumpy last year. A lot. And now that I've gotten back in the groove of reading a lot (12 books in February, 9 in March!) I've realized that my descriptions of ratings no longer accurately describe my reasoning for giving out certain ratings. And what I mean by this is that (for example) I have descriptions explaining what a "6/10" means to me, and literally every time I give out a 6/10 rating, I think that the description no longer describes how I actually feel about that number rating. So, I'm going through and re-vamping everything. Below, you'll find the list of possible ratings (with some excluded-- you'll see why) as well as descriptions of what these mean to me and words/books that I associate with that specific rating.

Explanation/Changes

After using my previous rating system for ~ a year, I realized that it was very skewed toward enjoyment of a book. I realized that 95% of ratings I was giving were 3/5 or higher. And that's not necessarily how I actually feel about the books that I read. So, I decided to do something to fix that.

I personally give ratings out of 10 stars instead of 5. I feel that it allows for more accuracy/nuances within my system. However, I also have recently realized that I do still rely heavily upon the 5 star system. I discovered that my personal feelings toward a book tend to dictate the star rating out of 5, while my critical eye dictates where within that star rating the book falls. Allow me to explain by giving you my description of each rating out of 5, as well as the "10 star" breakdown within those.

Ratings out of 5:

5 STAR RATING

If I give a book 5/5 stars on Goodreads, it means I really loved that book. Like, a lot. I could have a couple problems with it, but my feelings are strong enough about the book that I ignore them. 

Ratings out of 10 within this rating: 10/10 & 9.5/10

4 STAR RATING

If I give a book 4/5 stars on Goodreads, it means I really liked the book. Books within favorite series tend to be 4/5 or higher. These are books that I enjoyed that will also stay with me. They may not have been as amazingly outstanding as their 5/5 counterparts, but they're ones that I thoroughly enjoyed and that will stick with me.

Ratings out of 10 within this rating: 8/10 - 9/10

3 STAR RATING

If I give a book 3/5 stars on Goodreads, it means I liked it. I enjoyed reading it, and it *probably* didn't have any huge, glaring problems. The key difference between 3 and 4 star books is that 3 star books don't stick with me as much. They're not going to show up on any favorites lists, but they're also not going to show up on any least favorites lists. 

Ratings out of 10 within this rating: 6/10 - 7.5/10

2 STAR RATING

If I give a book 2/5 stars on Goodreads, it means I had definite problems with it. If I think about a book and the first thing that comes to my mind is a laundry list of problems I had with it, it's probably here. It's likely not an outright hatred of the book, but I just didn't like it. Maybe it wasn't my thing or there were aspects that I thought were bad, but either way, my overall thoughts about it are negative ones. This is also my "most likely to lie to myself rating." I don't know how many times I've given a book a low 3/5 only to change it to 2/5 later because I'd been trying to convince myself that I liked it. 

Ratings out of 10 within this rating: 4/10 - 5.5/10

1 STAR RATING

If I give a book 1/5 stars on Goodreads, it means I strongly disliked the book. I like to call this my "kill it with fire" rating. Unlike a 2 star rating, when I think of this book, I don't automatically think of its problems. I automatically think of my complete disgust for the book.You're probably wondering why this one takes up the largest numerical range, and that's just because I give it out so infrequently. Rarely do I pick up a book that I loathe, and rarely do I make it all the way through a book that I really don't like. However, this rating stays here, ready for whatever awful book I see fit to put into it eventually.   

Ratings out of 10 within this rating: 0/10 - 3.5/10


Ratings out of 10:

(and books that are examples of that rating)

10/10: Literal perfection. My mind is blown and I probably just want to hug it.
Examples of 10 star books:  The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson & The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

9.5/10: I still absolutely love this book, but I either have some small problems with it or there's something indefinable about it that makes me feel like it's not quite a 10 star book.
Examples of 9.5 star books: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell & Night Film by Marisha Pessl

9/10: I really enjoyed this book, and it's right at the upper end of the 4/5 spectrum, but I just can't bring myself to give it a full 5/5. I kinda view this as an -A. Really good, but not quite amazing. A key aspect that gets a book up to a 9 (instead of an 8.5) is that typically, there's a specific aspect that really impresses me, whether that's world building, the characters, etc.
Examples of 9 star books: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson & The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

8.5/10: This book is really great, and I really enjoy it. This book is really solid and it's definitely going to stick with me. I may have had a couple problems with it, but it's overall very strong across every aspect.
Examples of 8.5 star books: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen & City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

8/10: I really enjoy this book and it will definitely still stick with me, but I found some problems. Technically, this book might borderline a 3/5 rating because of the quality, but I enjoyed it enough that I felt that it deserved a 4/5 rating.
Examples of 8 star books: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie & Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley

7.5/10: On the flip side of the 8/10, this one borders on 4/5, but doesn't quite get there because I didn't enjoy it quite as much. I find problems with it, but it gets a rating within the 3/5 rating because of my enjoyment more than because of the quality.
Examples of 7.5 star books: Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman & Lexicon by Max Barry

7/10: I like this book, but I don't think that it's particularly special. I enjoyed it, and might think that it's a fun read, but it didn't really impress me in any way. It's missing some sort of depth, uniqueness, or freshness that's present in books with higher ratings.
Examples of 7 star books: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs & Murder After Hours by Agatha Christie

6.5/10: Essentially the same reasoning as 7/10, but I like it less than I like a 7 star book/have more problems with it.
Examples of 6.5 star books: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

6/10: Once again, the same reasoning as the two before it, but right at the bottom of books that I can still say that I like.
Examples of 6 star books: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Ten by Gretchen McNeil

5.5/10: I didn't like this book, but I also don't hate this book. I found a lot of problems with it. I guess my feelings toward it could be described as vague dislike or indifference. 4.5-5.5 are about the same in the fact that I have a vague dislike or indifference toward them, but the variance between them is mostly in how I feel about them quality-wise. As stated in the 2/5 description, the first thing I tend to think of with these books are the problems I have with it. And the more problems, the lower the rating.
Examples of 5.5 star books: Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie & Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse

5/10: Like with the previous rating, I have a vague dislike or indifference toward this book. With this rating, the indifference is probably the strongest because it is exactly in the middle. And, it should go without saying, but I had a lot of problems with this book.
Examples of 5 star books: Ghosted Vol. 1: Haunted Heist by Joshua Williamson

4.5/10: Once again, this is pretty much the same as the two before it, but there's more of a dislike and the quality is lower. If I give a book this rating, I once again had problems with it, but I could see myself saying that I dislike it.
Examples of 4.5 star books: Wildflower by Janine Carbone & Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

4/10: I'm not quite to hatred of this book, but I could definitely say that I dislike it. As noted in the 2/5 rating description, the first thing that comes to mind with this book is still a laundry list of problems rather than "I hated it."
Examples of 4 star books: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi & The Leveller by Julia Durango

3.5 & lower: If I give a book 3.5 or lower (AKA 1/5), I really disliked this book. When I think of it, my immediate reaction is "ugh, I hate that book."
Examples of 3.5 & lower books: Looking for Alaska by John Green

So, that's it for my re-working of my ratings! I've tried very hard to make everything as clear as possible, but let me know down in the comments if there's anything that you're confused about or would like clarified.

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How I Rate Books!

Edit [4-25-16]: This version of my rating system is outdated. My current rating system can be found HERE.

Hey, y'all! So, today I thought I would discuss how I rate books. Over the past week, I've been re-thinking the way that I rate books, and actually went through my ratings and re-defined what each rating means to me. I used to have a lot of in-between ratings, such as 9.25 or something like that, but I have restricted my ratings to whole numbers and .5 numbers. However, I will continue to use a 10 point scale, because I feel like it gives a more accurate portrayal of my feelings.

Since the majority of people operate on a 5 point scale, I'll give the 5 point scale equivalent beside my 10 point rating, as well as the rating I would give it on Goodreads. This Goodreads equivalent is especially important because there are only 5 options on Goodreads, but 20 options on my 10 point scale. So there will be several ratings on Goodreads that will fall under the same rating, thus making my 10 point specifications all the more important.

For most of the ratings, I have sections titled "key words" and "epitome books." The key words are just how they sound-- the key words that I think define books with this rating. This helps me figure out the subtle differences between books. Epitome books are also fairly self explanatory- these are the books that I feel are the epitome of how I should feel about a book receiving that rating. Both of these two sections are works in progress. As I think of words and books that better define these ratings, I will add them in. For many ratings (especially lower ratings), I don't have epitome books or key words, because I just simply haven't come across any that I feel epitomize that rating. The "epitome books" might not be extremely helpful for y'all to understand my ratings (since you probably have different opinions on these books), but they do really help me to choose a rating. This comparison is not really about the books themselves, but about my emotions and opinions on the books.

10/10 = 5/5

Key Words: whoa. perfect. mind blown. obsessed.

This book is not just really great, but also has that special umph that makes me want to hug it (this emotion is really key. This might be weird to some people, but if I really love a book, I tend to just sit there and hug it when I finish it, because it was just so beautiful). Not only do I fall in love with this book, but it could be considered an obsession and it definitely sticks with me. This book is a total stand-out.

Epitome Books: 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Although there were many other books that could fit there, these seem like a more accurate representation of a 10 because I was so drawn in that I couldn't put the book down because I was so obsessed.

9.5/10 = 5/5

Key Words: amazing. almost perfect. 

This book was almost perfect, but missing a little extra umph that would push it to a 10. When I give a 9.5, I often wonder why my gut is telling me that it's not a full 10/10, and this is usually because it lacks that indefinable X factor that will push it over the edge (this is typically key). This book is really great and really impressive, but lacks the obsession, and probably doesn't stick with me quite as much.

Epitome Books: 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

These are the epitome for me because they all missed out on a full 10 star rating solely because of that X factor. There was some little umph that was missing, and that is definitely the key to this rating.

9/10 = 4.5/5

(4 on Goodreads)

Key Words: really great. love.

This book is a really wonderful book, but there were maybe one or two things that weren't perfect. There are some slight flaws, but I still feel like this book deserves an "A." One of the most important things that defines this is that I can still say that I honestly love the book.  Another key difference between a 9 and an 8.5 is that to get higher than an 8.5, something has to really impress me. Maybe a really great plot twist or really outstanding world building, but something has to make me say "OK, that was really great."

Epitome Books: 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 Black Water by DJ MacHale

I feel like these epitomize a 9 because they're both in some of my favorite series and they're among my favorite books in their respective series. I love both of them, but there were one or two complaints I had about each one, keeping them from receiving higher ratings.

8.5/5 = 4/5

Key Words: great. 

This book probably won't become an all-time favorite, but I did really enjoy it. This book is pretty solid, but has some issues or aspects that keep me from considering it an "A" quality book. Often, this is missing the umph/x factor that would otherwise draw me in and make me give it a slightly higher rating. I can't quite say that I loved this book.

Epitome Books: 

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

All of these are great, and are in some of my favorite series. They aren't my absolute favorite books in the series, but they are really great. However, they all lack that little umph that would have gotten them higher ratings.

8/10 = 4/5

Key Words: really good.

I feel that this definitely deserves a "B"/ full 4 stars. 8 is typically the cut-off for books that I really enjoy. Anything lower than this leaves the "really good" realm and goes into "good," "like," and "nice."

Epitome Books: 

Carrie by Stephen King

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

All of these books are really good. Each one varies as to why they received this rating, but I feel like they all fit here. They are all worthy of receiving 4 stars, but not quite good enough to get a slightly higher rating.

7.5/10 = 3.5/5

(3 on Goodreads)

Key Words: above average. good.

This book is better than just "nice," but not quite good enough to get to a full four stars. There were enough issues/ drawbacks that I just couldn't call it "really" good.

Epitome Books: 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

These books are better than just nice or average, but I don't think that they deserve a fill 4 star rating.

7/10 = 3.5/5

(3 on Goodreads)

Key Words: alright. nice. like. basic.

This book was nice and I liked it, but it just wasn't anything special. I feel like 7/10 is the universal "nice-but-not-impressive" rating for anything, whether it be a book, movie, CD, etc.

Epitome Books: 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Giver by Lois Lowry

These books are all just nice. I like them, but I wasn't impressed. They're like a girl who's basic-- likable but they blend into their surroundings and aren't unique or special.

6.5/10 = 3/5

Key Words: N/A (yet)

With this book, I'm somewhere between thinking that I just wasn't impressed and thinking that it wasn't really my thing.

Epitome Books: 

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

With this book, I went back and forth trying to figure out if I just wasn't impressed and thinking it wasn't my thing, so it perfectly describes my feelings on books with this rating.

6/10 = 3/5

Key Words: N/A (yet)

OK, but definitely not my thing. I would definitely recommend it to people with a different taste than me. I had some definite issues with it, but I can definitely see why other people like it. (And yes, I recognize that I said definite way too many times)

Epitome Books: 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Both of these books were disappointments to me, but they weren't bad, and I could definitely see why someone else would like them. The problems I had with them were things that other people might not find problematic.

5.5/10 = 2.5/5

(3 on Goodreads)

Key Words: N/A (yet)

Books with ratings 5.5-4.5 are mostly equivalent, but with 5.5, the positives just slightly out-weigh the negatives.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

5/10 = 2.5/5

(3 on Goodreads)

Key Words: meh. ambivalent.

With this book, it's very likely that I have conflicting emotions. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't great. I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to, because I don't have strong emotions either way with this.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

4.5/10 = 2.5/5

(3 on Goodreads)

Key Words: N/A (yet)

Like I said before, this book is mostly equivalent to 5 and 5.5, but the negatives just slightly out-weigh the positives. 

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

4/10 = 2/5

Key Words: problematic.

This book has more problems than good aspects. I might recommend it to someone, but definitely not to someone with the same tastes as me. If I were to recommend it to someone, I would tell them to approach it with caution if they really do want to read it, because I think that this book is technically very problematic.

Epitome Books: 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

These books are here because I had technical problems with them that really bothered me. 

3.5/10 = 1.5/5

(2 on Goodreads)

Key Words: dislike.

I didn't like this book, and cannot recommend it to anyone in good conscience. This book had less problems than would be present in a 3 star book, but only marginally.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

3/10 = 1.5/5

(2 on Goodreads)

Key Words:  really dislike.

I really disliked this book, and I would never recommend this book to anyone. However, there is either on redeemable quality or the quality across the board is better than that of a book receiving 1/5. However, this book definitely still cannot be defined as good. I had several problems that were impossible to overlook.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

2.5/10 = 1/5

Key Words: N/A (yet) 

This book falls under "hate" for me. There may be one quality that wasn't completely terrible, but nothing more than that. Probably conflicted between wanting to give it 3 stars, but not thinking that it deserves 2/5.

Epitome Books: 

Looking For Alaska by John Green

This book is here because it is one of the few books that I can honestly say that I hate.

2/10 = 1/5

Key Words: hate. angry.

While most ratings below this are offensive and upsetting, this is defined more as an angry hatred. I had several fundamental problems and this book makes me angry and I had an extreme dislike for it.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

1.5/10 = .5/5

(1 on Goodreads)

Key Words: upset. 

I would define this book as very, very bad. Maybe some aspects of the book weren't quite so terrible, but I still find it offensive. This makes me extremely upset. I can't imagine that anyone would like this book, and feel the same about all of the ratings below this as well.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

1/10 = .5/5

(1 on Goodreads)

Key Words: terrible. awful. very bad.

This book is almost as bad as a book receiving a .5. However, it has perhaps one redeeming factor, whether that's "not terrible" writing/plot/character/etc. However, nothing about it could be described as "good."

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

.5/10 = .5/5

(1 on Goodreads)

Key Words: vomit. offensive. gross.

This is the worst book I've ever read. The only reason I'm actually giving this a rating is to increase the number of 1 star ratings on it. I wonder how this book even got published. Everything about this book was horrible and wrong, form the plot, to the characters, just absolutely everything. Extremely offended. No redeeming factors.

Epitome Books: N/A (yet)

So there you go, those are my rating guidelines. I'll be doing a video discussing this in the near future, so if you're subscribed to my YouTube Channel, be on the lookout for that soon! If you're not subscribed, the link is below! 

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