Goodreads was Wrong Book Tag

In celebration of hitting 300 books read on Goodreads yesterday, I’ve decided to do the Goodreads was Wrong Book Tag. This was originally created by GabsAboutBooks on Booktube, you can check out the original video here.

I’m not going to tag anyone but this was fun so if you want to give it a try, go for it!

1. What is the highest rated book that you gave a low rating? (Sort your books in Goodreads based on Average Ratings and find the highest rated book you gave a low rating).

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy has an average Goodreads rating of 4.59 and I gave it 2 stars which frankly, I feel was rather generous of my previous self. I don’t get the hype around this book at all. Google “inspirational quotes” and read the results, it’s essentially the same experience. The “story” was disjointed and really just thrown together platitudes. I decided to read it right at the end of 2020 because people were raving about it and it seemed like a good way to end the year, I was wrong. At least it was short, that may be why I didn’t go with one star.

2. What is the lowest rated book that you gave a high rating? (Sort your books in Goodreads based on Avg Ratings, in reverse order, and find the lowest rated book you gave a high rating).

I don’t have very many low-rated books that I’ve read, I actually only have one book under 3 stars and I gave that one 2 stars. There are quite a few books lower than is one that I gave 4 stars but Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron has an average Goodreads rating of 3.75 and I gave it 5 stars. This isn’t a horrible average rating but it’s way lower than I expected. I thought this book was really creative and the plot had me interested from the very beginning. It also really had something to say; it was about much more than Cinderella.

3. What is the most popular book you disagree with the avg rating? (Sort your books in Goodreads based on number of Ratings, and find the first book you disagree with the avg rating)

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has over 1.6 million ratings with an average rating of 4.12 but I gave it 2.5 stars. I think this book sets up a really interesting world and I can see how it was turned into a popular TV show. That said, the book did not work for me at all. So little happens in terms of plot and yet it was still confusing. As I said in my Goodreads review, “It’s disjointed and confusing, especially in the beginning. It jumps between three different timelines and Offred’s inner narrator’s voice without warning.” My biggest complaint about this book though is the punctuation. I refuse to accept it when authors don’t use quotation marks. I find it confusing and hard to read. This was the first book that I ran into that issue and I hated it so much that I’ve actually not picked up other books if I see people commenting on that. Why make a book harder to read? I’ll never understand it or like it. Overall, it made a good basis for a TV show but was a miss as a book for me.

4. What is the least popular book you disagree with the avg rating? (Sort your books in Goodreads based on number of Ratings, in reverse order, and find the first book you disagree with the avg rating).

Warriors of Wing and Flame by Sara B. Larson has only 300 ratings on Goodreads and an average rating of 3.97 but I gave it 5 stars. This is the second book in the Sisters of Shadow and Light duology and I thought it was a great conclusion. It might have been more like 4.5 stars for me but it wrapped up everything so perfectly that I rounded up my rating. I think this duology as a whole is underrated and unfortunately just never found its audience.

5. Choose two books that have an average rating of 3/5 stars but you gave a higher rating.

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Saving Seymour by L.N. Loch has an average rating of 3.5 stars on Goodreads and I gave it 4 stars. This is an ARC that I read earlier this year and is now published. It was such a cute and fun read and there’s a whale. This is a self-published debut that I wish was getting a little more love.

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey has an average rating of 3.51 on Goodreads and I gave it 4 stars. I love Tom Hanks and a good rom-com and this was just perfect for that. This is a great book to just grab a cocktail or glass of wine and have fun reading.

6. Choose two books that have an average rating of 3/5 stars but you gave a lower rating.

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There are lots of contenders for this one but I’m going with the two books that have an average rating of 3-point-something stars that I actually finished and gave 1 star.

First is Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera which has a 3.48 average rating and I gave it 1 star. I read this book in early 2020 and I could still go on a really long rant about how much I hated it. In fact, my Goodreads review has a numbered list of the top 7 things I hated about it. Twelve year old gang members, ridiculous names, a plot that makes no sense, the list goes on and on. This may be my least favorite book of all time (except stuff I read in school, because oh boy, everyone hates what they read in high school).

Second is How to Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone which has a 3.96 average rating and I gave it 1 star. The reviews of this one are pretty much an even split of people who love it and people who hate it. I’m in “Camp WTF was That?” and I stand by it. It’s very abstract and weird and the world is not explained at all. It’s also has two viewpoints that are way too similar, I couldn’t tell them apart. Add to that a romance founded on absolutely nothing and there you go, a recipe for 1 star.

7. Choose two books that have an average rating of 4/5 stars but you gave a lower rating.

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Again, lots of contenders and The Boy, The Fox, The Mole and The Horse could definitely go for this one too but here are two other books rated at 4-point-something stars that I just don’t get.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas has an average rating of 4.38 and I gave it 2 stars. I think a lot of the hype and love for this book is because of the trans rep which I thought was great but it didn’t make up for the lackluster plot. I probably would have given it 3 stars if it hadn’t been for a very predictable and yet definitely weird ending. You can read my spoiler-riddled rant review on Goodreads that I wrote right after finishing it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman has an average rating of 4.27 and I gave it 1 star. I just don’t understand what people like about this book. I hated the entire thing and absolutely hated Eleanor. She’s supposed to have issues but right from the beginning her arrogance and completely absurd behavior turned me off entirely. I don’t get, I’ll never get it, I hated it.

8. Choose two books that have an average rating of 2/5 stars but you gave a higher rating.

I don’t have anything for this one. I’ve read one book with an average rating of two-point-something and I gave it two stars. I tend to stay away from books with super low rating but there also aren’t many that fall into this category on Goodreads.

9. Do you tend to agree or disagree with GR average rating and do you use GR as a guide for books you want to read?

A very low rating might turn me off and a very high rating might peak my interest but in general, I rely more on reviews from people I know have similar taste to me (Goodreads friends, bloggers, booktubers, etc.). I am always interested to see the reviews and rating though, especially after I’ve read the book which is more often when I go looking at those. I might not always agree with the rating but I can usually find a couple of reviews that I agree with even in the case of books I totally disagree with the rating.