Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets – An Audible Original
Written by John Woolf and Nick Baker
Narrated by Stephen Fry
Published by Audible Studios
2018
Rating: 4 stars
I guess before we go any further I should explain my (perhaps) curious book-rating system.
I am a user of GoodReads. I think it’s a fantastic site that not only allows me to keep track of the books I have read and want to read, but also allows me to spy on what my friends are reading. I’ve been using the site for several years now and have amassed quite a large GoodReads library. At the same time, I’ve discovered some truly fantastic books that either my friends have read or that GoodReads has kindly suggested I would like–books that I likely never would have found on my own.
The only thing I’m not fond of with GoodReads is their rating system. I get having a ratings system–like most people I am more likely to pick a high-rated book over a low-rated one, though that’s not always a guarantee. What I’m not 100% on board with is the GoodReads rating criteria. If you’re not familiar with it, here is a definition from their site of how their ratings are supposed to work:
- 1 star – didn’t like it.
- 2 stars – it was OK.
- 3 stars – liked it.
- 4 stars – really liked it.
- 5 stars – it was amazing.
If I really liked a book, why would I give it 4 stars instead of 5? What is the cut-off between really liking something and thinking it was amazing?
If I found a book “just okay” through no fault of its own, I just wasn’t digging it, is it really fair to only give it 2 stars?
And let’s face it, if I didn’t like a book I’m not likely to even finish it, so why even bother with the 1 star–stars are supposed to be for something good. (Really, the way it’s worded, a rating of 1 star feels sort of like a participation trophy–“Your book wasn’t really that good at all, but we feel sorry for you so here’s a star.)
Perhaps I’m just too nice or perhaps the scale is a bit too simplistic…either way, I do rate books on GoodReads but I use my own modified scale, which goes something like this:
- 0 stars – never finished it/couldn’t stand it/too many problems in the text.
- 1 star – this book was well-written and made sense, it just wasn’t for me.
- 2 stars – it was kind of good, but the author/main character is a twit.
- 3 stars – liked it, but not passionate about it.
- 4 stars – really enjoyed it, but probably wouldn’t reread it anytime in the near future.
- 5 stars – loved it, and would reread it again in the future.
Perhaps you don’t see a lot of difference in my scale versus GoodReads, but I tend to think in terms of re-read-ability…I just spent money on this book, will I ever want to reread it again?
So, since I tend to be a generally nice person, and since I only tend to pick up books I’m likely to enjoy, overall my ratings are pretty generous. Mostly, they tend to be either 4 or 5 stars, or 0 stars.
So why did I give Mr. Fry’s estimable book only 4 stars? I actually did rather like it–it was enjoyable to read and easy to follow along with. I do love that in an audiobook (yes, it was an audiobook, in case the whole Audible Original thing didn’t give it away). I listened to the bulk of this book whilst doing yard work and chores around the house, and it definitely helped make the time go quick.
I think, though, having read a lot of nonfiction books about specific historical eras, I found this book a little too topical. It was a great introduction to the oddities of the Victorians and was delightfully entertaining. Stephen Fry is also a great narrator, which definitely helps. But at the end of the day, it was mostly superficial information and there wasn’t a lot of depth to what was being relayed. Think: more headline than in-depth expose. And there is nothing wrong with this type of book–they tend to be super approachable and make a great starting point for someone new to the subject. I just think that my interest level has gone beyond a book of highlights and I’d find more interest in a book dealing specifically with any one of the subject areas Fry presented.