The books on Betty's Book Review page are rated using an A-F letter scale, with plusses and minuses. Since interpretation of what each letter grade actually means is bound to vary from person to person (and since I'm aware that I'm inclined to grade a bit more generously than many), I've attempted to provide my own explanations of each grade below. It should be noted that I grade a book primarily on two things: how much I enjoyed or benefited from reading it, and how well it accomplished what I thought it was trying to do. For that reason, an extremely ambitious book which falls short of its literary goal may be rated lower than a book which aims to be merely entertaining and succeeds. All grades are, of course, highly subjective, but my opinion's the only one I've got.
The Ratings:
A+ : Incredibly special. One of the very best books I've ever read. Given very, very rarely.
A : A very good book, one whose virtues far outweigh any flaws. I enjoyed reading it, and would not hesitate to recommend it.
A-: Still a very good read, just a shade below A-caliber.
B+: A quite enjoyable read, but not an A-class standout.
B: A fairly enjoyable or interesting book. May have some flaws, and wouldn't make my Best Books of All Time list (if I had one), but still definitely a worthwhile read. Most books I review tend to fall somewhere in the B range.
B-: A reasonably pleasant read, but could have been better.
C+: The negatives begin to outweigh the positives. Not an utterly worthless book, but I have problems with it that seriously begin to mar my enjoyment.
C: A so-so book. Undoubtedly has some good points, but overall I really didn't enjoy it.
C-: Utterly mediocre.
D+: Starting to go beyond mediocre into bad. Has some redeeming features, but they're hard to find. I actively disliked it.
D: Not only did I actively dislike it, but I have real trouble thinking of any redeeming features at all. This is quite rare, as I can usually find something to like in almost any book. I'm also a lot less likely to review a book I dislike that much, so you'll see few or no D-range books on the review page.
D-: Basically, it stunk.
F: Reserved for books that go beyond mere lack of any shred of literary quality to offend by their very existence. I haven't had to use it yet, thank goodness.