I have long used a scalable and straightforward rating system for just about everything.
My view is that most things in life will be OK, some things will not be OK, and some things will be great. This is the bell curve of life.
| Rating | Comment | #Books |
| 1-2 | Terrible | 0 |
| 3-4 | Meh | 2 |
| 5-6 | OK | 10 |
| 7-8 | Good | 13 |
| 9 | Great | 2 |
| 10 | In my top 5 | 0 |
2025
The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2013) by Richard Flanagan: 9/10
Moral Ambition (2025) by Rutger Bregman: 9/10
Normal People (2018) by Sally Rooney: 8/10
What We Can Know (2025) by Ian McEwan: 8/10
Flashlight (2025) by Susan Choi: 8/10
Wind and Truth (Book 5, 2024) by Brandon Sanderson: 8/10
The Eye of the World (Book 1, 1990) by Robert Jordan: 8/10
Small Boat (2024) by Vincet Delecroix: 7/10
More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (2025) by John Warner: 7/10
Flesh (2025) by David Szalay: 7/10
Glorious Exploits (2024) by Ferdia Lennon: 7/10
Slow Horses (Book 2, 2010) by Mick Herron: 7/10
Trust (2022) by Hernan Diaz: 7/10
Dust (Book 2, 2013) by Hugh Howey: 7/10
Shift (Book 3, 2016) by Hugh Howey: 7/10
Super Communicators (2024) by Charles Duhigg: 6/10
Dead Lions (Book 1, 2013) by Mick Heron: 6/10
Onyx Storm (Book 3, 2025 ) by Rebecca Yarros: 6/10
Wool (Book 1, 2011) by Hugh Howey: 6/10
The Ministry of Time (2024) by Kaliane Bradley: 6/10
The Rest of Our Lives (2025) by Ben Markovits: 6/10
Audition (2025) by Katie Kitamura: 5/10
How to Know a Person (2023) by David Brooks: 5/10
Kind (2024) by Graham Allcott: 5/10
Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (2019) by David Epstein: 5/10
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (2025) by Kiran Desai: 4/10 DNF
The Secret History (1992) by Donna Tart: 3/10
Serendipities 