Developing My Book Rating System

As a writer, I am also a very hungry and avid reader. Although I have preferred genres, I enjoy all the types of worlds, narratives, and information I can explore through works, and so I try to keep my mind open as a reader.

Since 2020, I've used two rating systems - firstly, when I got back into reading regularly, I was using the well-known CAWPILE method; a couple of years after that, my sister introduced me to a modified version referred to as PETACOW (for which I, unfortunately, don't have a source to direct you to for further information). This year, with my reading time and taste having continued to grow, I decided I wanted to try something new that better suited me.

Enter the READS method, which takes a simple yet well-thought approach to rating books. The acronym is as follows:

R: relationships & characters

E: engagement & enjoyment

A: atmosphere & setting

D: development & plot

S: style & structure.

You can read the provided link for an in-depth explanation and better understanding of the system.

This, however, led me to my next problem - I read a lot of comics/graphic novels, and I've begun to read more non-fiction than before. The system, I decided, could be adapted well enough to suit my comic book interestings, but what about biographies? Or poetry collections? So, I did some more research and brainstorming to determine how I can use the READS method in a translated way.

I took note from the system explained on Rachel Is Writing, as well as some further inspiration from Rosetree, to decide how the READS system can be converted for my ratings of non-fiction works:

R: relating - how I relate to/connect with the subject matter

E: [stays the same]

A: accessibility - how effectively the subject matter is conveyed

D: delivery - how the work is paced, how information is given

S: [stays the same]

Perhaps in the future I'll create a more expansive post about this new rating system, but for the time being, I think I'll explore it more myself first!