Gut Instinct Rating: This is the one you see most often. The one that comes from the heart. This is the rating I give right after the book. I close the back flap, I take a deep breath, and I write a number between 0 and 5. (Okay, so sometimes I write a 6, but that's not really part of my scale, so I scratch it out, then put a 5.) This is my favorite and least favorite way to rate a book. Because it doesn't matter. This is swayed by something that happens at the very end; it's swayed by the author using the wrong editor and missing a letter in a word somewhere on page 13; it's swayed by the author using the wrong name for a character that we see only twice. It can be anything. But it can ruin a book. Or it can make a book. It was after this broke one of my favorite books that I realized there had to a better way to rate books. So I came up with a rating system.

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Characters: (a) Are the characters likeable? Now, that doesn't mean do I like them. It means can they be liked or disliked for the way they are written. It means are they written well. (b) Can I picture them? Are they described well? (c) Does character A, B, and C differ enough that the story doesn't feel like I'm seeing a set of triplets with the same characteristics? (d) Do I get a sense of who they are? Can I get 50 people to draw a picture of the characters and get a similar outcome? (e) Do the main characters change in some way? (Yes, growth is mandatory, otherwise, what's the use?)

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Believability for type and topics: This one is really important to me. And people don't understand how it can be possible when you're reading a book such as Harry Potter or Miss Peregrine's. Notice I say for type and topics. (a) Does the author set up an environment where the events could happen? (b) Does the author create characters, beliefs, time periods, and items that allow the story to evolve? (c) Does the story seem possible given the set up? (ie: is it possible the character could kill three people and the police never notice? Is it possible Jane could stalk Joe for a month at his workplace in Starbucks and he doesn't notice? Is it possible to have 50 children in 10 days with our current biological state?) (d) Is the story simply believable enough in the current society it's set up in?

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Similarity to other books: This one is simple. (a) I've read 0 books with this story line; (b) I've read some books with this story line; (c) I've read lots of books with this story line. I've also started looking into TV shows and movies and accounting those into my analysis of uniqueness in a book after noticing strong similarities to a book and TV show... the TV show came first.

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Writing Style: We all like the way some authors write, right? (I made a funny.) (a) I can't stand when authors jump back and forth between characters. It automatically docks a book down to a 3 unless it is done incredibly well. It's too choppy; it's almost always hard to get a good flow that way. (b) Does the author use breaks in chapter/breaks in writing to properly set apart time or scene? (c) Does the author understand the basic functions of grammar, writing, sentence structure, and language? (d) Is the author able to convey their message without "filler" pages? (e) Is the writer concise, yet suspenseful?

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Excitement Factor: This is another simple one. (a) How many times did I want to put the book down? (b) Was the book something I simply pushed through? (c) I wouldn't put it down if I had to... unless I had to.

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Story Line: This is one that I've expanded on lately. (a) It used to be that my focus here was simply only how well the story was written... are we able to get from a to be easily. (b) But now, I want to know does the preview on the book's flap/cover display what the book is actually about. I've noticed discrepancies between other outlets, the preview on the book, and the actual story. So, after reading a book, if I feel it was different than I expected, I'll read through the back of the book and then revisit where I got the original story line (if I'm able to find it), and compare the information. I'll only hold the book, author, and/or publishing company responsible, however. (c) Was the story complete, or was some information withheld or unable to be found? (d) Did the story provide closure?

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Title Relevance: Was the title relevant? Was there another title that was better suited?

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Cover Art: On paperback items - was the artwork relevant to the story line? Was there another piece of artwork that was better suited? On hardback items - on the hardback itself, was there any artwork on the hardback? If so, was it relevant to the story line? Was there another piece of artwork that was better suited? *Authors initials irrelevant/not included.

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*Dust Jacket Art: On hardback items only - was the artwork relevant to the story line? Was there another piece of artwork that was better suited?

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When applicable, I will even engage in book club questions to vent some of my personal thoughts to the world on a book.