>Star bar

>My favorite curmudgeonly critic Norman Lebrecht offers his point of view about the ever-increasing trend toward using stars as critical shorthand:

Of all the devices that devalue the function of criticism, the bar of stars is among the most pernicious. It suggests that artistic creation can be ticked off like a school essay and subjected to a set of SATs, in which the individual, expert guidance of teachers and examiners is set aside for the one-rule-fits-all solution of 21st century politicians.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.


Sara Z.

>I hate the star system. This is why I have given up on reviewing books on Amazon or GoodReads or anything that forces you to add a star rating to your comments. I could give a really bad book 5 stars because it was what I needed at the moment and it fulfilled its promise, whatever that was, and I could give a really good book 2 stars because it could have been better.

Posted : Sep 25, 2008 07:03


Anonymous

>My favorite part of Cold Comfort Farm was the stars she said she would insert before the most outstanding selections of her purple prose-- so readers could find the best bits easily, like they did with a Baedeker.

Posted : Sep 25, 2008 02:30


RELATED 

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?