Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky at Eternity Books and Danie at Literary Lion. The full list of February topics can be found here.
This week’s topic is Changing Book Ratings and Reviews.
Do you ever change your rating/review for a book? When or why would you consider doing so?
I have gone back to change ratings and reviews of books, though I haven’t done it recently. When I did this in the past, it was because I impulsively rated/reviewed the book immediately after reading, and didn’t give myself a chance to really reflect on the book. Days or even weeks later I would feel differently, and then go back and change the rating/review.
Do you think people should be allowed to change their ratings/reviews?
Absolutely! Opinions can change over time, and feelings are not stagnant. With time comes perspective, and I think it’s normal to feel differently about books over the years. For example, I used to love the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins until I read prequel that came out in 2020 and then I realized I didn’t feel as strongly about the series as I once did. While I didn’t go back and change any reviews or ratings, I did recognize that my thoughts on the books and series as a whole had changed.
Is it important to make it known what the previous rating/review was if you’re changing it?
I think this depends on a couple of things, such as what the original review consisted of and how big your audience is. If the original review was very long and detailed or had a rating that used a specific scale, then it might be good to either put a disclaimer on it that the review was changed or at least preface the new review with a statement that a previous review was written.
If you have a large audience, it might be good to be transparent about changing ratings and reviews so your readers aren’t confused. I personally haven’t felt compelled to announce when I’ve changed a rating or a review, but if it came up in a way that may be confusing for others I would probably address it.
These days, I tend to wait a few days before rating a book or finalizing my review because I know that I’ll be able to write a better review if I give myself time to reflect on the book. However, if it’s a five-star read I will say as much right away 🙂
Hannah's Library 
What an interesting topic!
I don’t change reviews and ratings, because they reflect what I thought about a book at a specific time. I tend to write the review the day after finishing a book. Also, my feelings on the books that I read as an adult don’t tend to change much unless I reread them, which I don’t do very often.
In the latest years I’ve been rereading books that I remembered being favourites but that I read before starting rating and reviewing books. So far, they were all 5-star reads except for one.
If one day I reread a book that I’ve already reviewed and my opinions are not the same, I think I will just write another review and link to the previous one.
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That’s such a great point that the review stands to reflect how you felt at that specific time! I also like the idea of simply writing a new review if necessary.
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I don’t know if I’ve ever thought about changing my ratings, to be honest. I don’t usually re-read books, but if I did and my opinion wasn’t the same, I’d write another review. It would be interesting to see how my thoughts about a book change over time.
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There are several books I have re-read and felt differently about, and I like the idea of just writing a new review rather than amending an existing one.
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