Rating System

I think I've reached the stage where I need some kind of formal rating system for the books (and other things) I review, basically as a shorthand, single-glance way of summing up what I think about them. After some consideration, I've decided on a method.

Instead of trying to come up with a detailed scale containing many variables, I'm basing my system on what I will do with the book after I've read it once.

5--This means the book will have a permanent place on my shelf and I will most certainly read it again this year. If I bought the paperback, I will get a hardback edition. Recommend it to anyone. Examples: Atlas Shrugged, Snow Crash

4--Keeping the book, I will re-read it after enough time has passed that I've forgotten most of the details. Eventually (say a year or two from now), I will probably end up selling this book back to Half-Price Bookstores and buying the paperback to conserve space. Recommend it to anyone that's interested in the genre. Examples: 1632, Men at Arms, Les Miserables, Shogun

3--Keeping the paperback but putting it in the back of my bookshelves where I can't see the title very easily, since it's partially covered by the second stack of books directly in front of it. Will either re-read it within the next 5 years or sell it when I move next, whichever comes first. If it's at the high end (3.5) I will recommend this book to people that like similar authors within the genre. If it's at the low end (2.5) I will make jokes about this book being an example of particularly hacky work within the genre. Examples: Pretty much anything by Terry Goodkind, Stephen King, or David Eddings; Poison Study

2--Selling it promptly! Will complain about the book to my more literate friends who may understand what I'm talking about. Examples: Crystal Rain, Elantris, Lady Slings the Booze

1--Only finished reading it for one of the following reasons: 1.) it was a gift from a VERY pushy friend or family member, 2.) it was a homework assignment, 3.) someone asked me to help them edit it. I probably won't be able to motivate myself to take it back to Half-Price, so I may use it for holding up furniture or ballast. I will complain about the lousiness of this book, regardless of whether I actually finished it, to anyone that will hold still. Examples: Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter