We are repeatedly asked to rate products and services on a variety of surveys and questionnaires.

Teachers sometimes use “thumbs up/thumbs down” with their students.

Some people use a scale of 0-10.

Others use a sad face, neutral face, and a happy face.

I was in a store last week in which customers indirectly rated their choice of ice cream BEFORE they ate it by selecting it by size labels:  Like It!     Love It!    Gotta Have It!

Wouldn’t this be an interesting way to get feedback on our books (AFTER they are read, of course)?

Like It! Might mean is was ok. Not particularly noteworthy but not a waste of time, either.

Love It! This choice would mean, perhaps, that it was very exciting or especially funny. It was well worth the time invested in reading it…the reader would consider reading another book by the same author.

Gotta Have It! This choice would mean that the book was really a page turner. It was inspiring. It spoke from heart-to-heart. It was a great read. The reader would like to read another book by this author.

Didn’t Like It!  To be fair, we need to add this category to indicate a book that was not exciting or interesting or worth the time spent reading it. Perhaps, it even might be used to label a book that the reader put aside, mid-read, never to be picked up again.

And just so we include all possible reactions to a book, we might add a final category for books that are “over the top.” We might call it:

Gotta Have More of It! This would indicate a book that so resonated with the reader and he is watching for the author to pre-release his next one so he can continue the experience! He can’t wait to get his hands on another book from the writer. The author has gained a new follower!

I am close to the end of a novel right now. I think I’ll give it a try.

What about you? What books have you read, lately, and how would you score them on the “ice cream” scale?

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/68894626@N00/2568882956″>Happy Rock</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;