As a way to alert readers whenever one of my blog posts might sound a bit crabby, beginning in 2014, I began using some form of that word - or a synonym - in the title of any such post. Over the ensuing decade I've published about twenty, an average of two per year. I'm not claiming to have been crabby about so few things over the ten years. I am human and 2016-2020, in particular, gave me a lot of material, though I have mostly stayed away from politics primarily because too many people scream too much and too loudly these days.
But when it comes to grade inflation, this crab has had enough. Specifically, how is it possible that so few books graded by readers on Goodreads have a cumulative rating lower than 3 stars, aka "I liked it"? It mystifies this curmudgeon to know how so few readers find so few books deserving just 2 stars, especially given the descriptor that accompanies that rating, i.e., "It was OK." What are these grade-inflating readers afraid of? Hurting an author's feelings, perhaps? Clearly, there are many books that are - just like many movies, many songs, many paintings, many meals, many anything - in fact, just OK.
This cranky blogger is using Goodreads only as the latest example of grade inflation, a subject that has made him cantankerous for decades. As an educator, I've had students of all abilities. But I've had few who believed they deserved a "C", i.e., an average grade. Truth be told, the overwhelming majority of students I've had thought they deserved an "A" or, at worst, a "B+". But if no one is average, of what value is a "B" or an "A"?
Dear Crab, I am definitely guilty of good reads inflation because I know that site is a make or break for authors and I don’t like messing with their livelihoods!
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Ali; Although I sympathize with authors having to make a living, I still maintain there are plenty of books that are just OK. But you are a much kinder person than this crab.
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