About our ratings

Every review on Blether awards the book in question a rating out of 10, an indication of what the reviewer ultimately thought of the book. But what does this actually mean?

We know that ratings like these are on the whole subjective - there are very few books which receive universal praise or scorn - but our reviewers are asked to consider these guidelines when awarding a rating to a book, an attempt to introduce some consistency between reviews:

Rating	Comments
10	The Blether Gold Award. A truly exceptional read, the finest example of a genre, a book with which the reviewer can find no fault, and which will usually have universal appeal.
9	A Silver Award, a book which exemplifies a genre, but which perhaps is overshadowed by another title, or just lacks the finesse to be gold awarded.
7/8	A great read, entertaining or truly useful, but not a book which you find you *have* to share with others.
5/6	An average read. A competent tome, but lacking the vital spark which elevates the book above the ordinary.
3/4	Disappointing, perhaps with an interesting subject-matter which the author fails to exploit, or a generally poor book with some redeeming aspects. Not a book you're likely to read again.
1/2	Those books which you slog through just to finish, or perhaps don't even complete. Books to be avoided!