Good vs. Worthy
Ever since the Glamazombies (Mark Henry's yahoo group) started me tracking my books for the 52 book challenge, I've been keeping a spreadsheet of the books I read throughout the year. In 2009, I read 100 even. Last year, I read 138. I do count children's novels and graphic novels in my total, but not necessarily children's nonfiction titles. I often skim chunks of nonfiction books, and I'd feel bad counting a book when I didn't read all of it. (I also haven't counted my Branford history research, despite having read two full books, because the Branford history books are more like pamphlets -- hardly reaching 60 pages. Maybe I'll count them in a batch.)
At any rate, instead of using a rating scale of 1 to 10, which is what I used my first year with the Glamazombies, I decided that a more arbitrary system would work better for me. So I've done ratings like "good," "great!" "meh," or "my eyes! my eyes!" (Not really on the last one, but I think I did have a WTF? abbreviation for one title.) One of the distinctions I've had to make for myself -- and it's one I've just had to use in my 2011 chart -- is good vs. worthy. A good, or great, or favorite book is a book I enjoy. But I recognize that not all stories are enjoyable, or intended to be so, for every person. A book can be worthwhile -- a skilled story, a make-you-think experience -- but not be any fun. Ideally, I prefer books that are both worthwhile and fun, but there has to be some acknowledgement for these worthy books that I'm glad I read, even if I'm not sure how I feel about them at the end.
At any rate, instead of using a rating scale of 1 to 10, which is what I used my first year with the Glamazombies, I decided that a more arbitrary system would work better for me. So I've done ratings like "good," "great!" "meh," or "my eyes! my eyes!" (Not really on the last one, but I think I did have a WTF? abbreviation for one title.) One of the distinctions I've had to make for myself -- and it's one I've just had to use in my 2011 chart -- is good vs. worthy. A good, or great, or favorite book is a book I enjoy. But I recognize that not all stories are enjoyable, or intended to be so, for every person. A book can be worthwhile -- a skilled story, a make-you-think experience -- but not be any fun. Ideally, I prefer books that are both worthwhile and fun, but there has to be some acknowledgement for these worthy books that I'm glad I read, even if I'm not sure how I feel about them at the end.