The Only Books I’ve Ever Given A Perfect Rating

Last week while buddy reading a book with a friend, I got thinking about book ratings.

Sometimes I enjoy reading things at face value, other times I like to read more critically, it just depends on my mood.

When it comes to ratings, I asked myself what makes a book a 4 instead of a 5? What do ratings even mean? What do I consider good and bad when it comes to writing?

All those thoughts led to me nail down my own rating system and consider what actually constitutes a solid 5.

Of course, this is my own opinion and I honestly appreciate every book I’ve read, because how do you know what you enjoy if you can’t compare it against something you didn’t?

Not only that, even if I wasn’t a fan of a book, the person who wrote it had an idea and a dream and literally published a book- how amazing is that???

That being said, here’s my rating system, using hearts of course.

Most books I’ve read hover around the 3-4 mark, and only a handful have achieved the dreaded 1 or 2.

Going off that rating system, here are the books I have given a perfect 5.

Note: I will do proper reviews eventually, this is just a quick list.

The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe
While technically a short story, the Tell-Tale Heart gets a perfect score from me for the suspense and cold, calculating nature of the protagonist.

I love a good descent into madness story and the line “have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over acuteness of the senses?” just sings to my soul.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
I still don’t know whether I love or hate Heathcliff, which is a sign of wonderful character complexity.

The moodiness, melodrama and isolation of the setting make this a favourite read every winter, and I love that Bronte does not shy away from showing people at their worst, which is kind of comforting.

Love will quite literally drive you mad, and this book shows that perfectly.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
This book makes you to think about every interaction you’ve ever had and how that may have impacted your life’s course.

I love this book purely because of the way it made me think about how quickly life can change and the role that other people have played in my life, and I in theirs.

It just made me appreciate the little things and gives the warm and fuzzies.

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

I’m counting this as one entire book and it is my favourite book of all time.

The world building is incredibly well developed and includes multiple fictional languages. The pacing changes to reflect what’s happening in the story at the time, for example action scenes are fast whereas climbing up Mount Doom is so slow you can almost feel the weight of their burden.

I loved the characters, every single one of them (yes even Tom Bombadil).

What do you think? Have you read any books that you would consider a perfect 5? Let me know, I’d love to hear about it!