Right now, I’ve written a few book reviews (hopefully to do
movies and other things in the future), and I wanted an easy rating system that
will let you know at a glance for the above questions and more.
As a note: Right now
I review books for two different sites: NetGalley and Bethany House
Publishers. I receive a free copy of the
book to read and write an honest review.
I will note at the very beginning of the review if I have received it
from one of these companies or if I own/borrowed the book to read on my
own. But in any of the cases, it will be
my honest review. I currently do not get
paid to write any reviews or advertise for anything.
Without further ado, my rating system explained!
I have three categories that I rate a book on: who the book
is intended/written for, the overall merit of the book, and how much
correct/helpful theology is in the book.
Category: Reader
I want this to be a quick glance at the audience it is for
and who would benefit most from reading this on their walk with God. This is just a guide, as others may benefit
from it that I have not listed.
What you will see:
Reader: Adult — 18 yrs+, Parents, may have unsuitable
content for younger ages
Reader: Teen — Teen specific content
Reader: Child — 10 yrs and under
Reader: All Ages — All ages will get something out of this,
appropriate for all ages
Reader: Unknown — Who it is written for does not line up
with the content
Reader: New Christian — Don’t know a lot of theology/basic
Christian behaviors
Reader: Intermediate Christian — Some theology, a little
more challenging to believers
Reader: Mature Christian — In-depth theology, strong
challenge to believers
Reader: All
Christians — All stages of walks can benefit from this
Category: Merit
This category is the most general and widely used category. I give it a rating on the overall value of
the book, which encompasses things like the categories that are already rated
on, the overall writing and style of the book, and the overall message of the
book.
What you will see:
Merit: 0 out of 5 — Don’t read this book
Merit: 1 out of 5 — Something in there, but not much
Merit: 2 out of 5 — Some nuggets of goodness, but still a
lot of nothing
Merit: 3 out of 5 — Decent read, but don’t expect greatness
Merit: 4 out of 5 — Overall good book, but some issues
Merit: 5 out of 5 — Read this book!!!
Category: Discern-o-meter
This one I made as a graphic, just for fun! The “Discern-o-meter” rates the amount of
correct and helpful theology in the book.
A book that is filled with false theology would not rate very high in
this category, so keep that in mind; the lower the Bible graphic is filled, you
will probably have to use much more discernment, which would not be helpful to
someone who is not in the Word consistently.
I am only including correct
theology; the Bible graphic is filled with how much of the true Bible is
contained within the book. The empty
Bible with the sad smiley is one that I would not suggest reading for either no
true theological value or the fact that there is a lot of false theology contained
within the book. Below, you will find
all of the graphics; I have 8 ratings in this category.
