Most art has the privilege of being sold in environments that support their unique character. Paintings in galleries, for example. Not so for literature. Books are being sold alongside dog food and detergent. There is downward competition in pricing as there is with many retail products, and they are rated the same way that a pair of scissors or a blow dryer is. But books are not commodities. They are pieces of reflection, an invitation to meet with oneself. They are art. Rating art, not to mention assigning value with stars, is against its very nature.

If there is a need for evaluation, a simple ‘thumbs up’ (and no ‘thumbs down’ option) would do the job. It would indicate how popular the book is. Those who want to go deeper could read the reviews. However, I would want reviewers to reflect on what they are actually reviewing – art! I don’t know one piece of art on which people unanimously agree. The greatest minds can hold wildly different opinions while standing in front of a piece of art. While it’s easy to judge a kitchen whisk based on hard facts like material, stability, handiness, looks and effectiveness, it’s impossible to qualify art like that. Even the book cover is often a piece of art as well. So if reviewers sincerely considered what they were writing about, they would need to change their style from judging to describing. In practice, a reviewer could simply state: “I wasn’t drawn to the cover,” instead of denigrating its appearance in a general and absolute way, because when it comes to art, people need to decide for themselves. The same applies to the story, the protagonists, and the language. When I read reviews, I want to hear why people didn’t like it in the form of a personal statement. I’m not interested in their overall judgements on art. Who are they to tell me how I should look at something? They can only tell me how they themselves look at something. From their descriptions (again, not judgements), I can draw my own conclusions, enough to decide whether I want to buy the book.

So if books, films, and any other artworks have to endure being sold like kitchenware, I’d plea for removing star ratings, probably replacing them with a thumbs-up feature and encourage reviewers to describe instead of judge “the product”, because as with any artwork, the magic happens between the work itself and the reader / listener / viewer. There is no one, single book for everyone out there. Just as there is no one, single painting for everyone. Or song. Or film. What happens between a book and its reader is entirely individual and personal.