We rate books using the following 5-point scale:

• 5 = A top-notch book; one of the best we have read.
• 4 = A pretty decent book, just not one of the best.  Read it.
• 3 = An OK book, but I wouldn’t ask you to read it.
• 2 = No, no thanks, this was a disappointment.  Don’t read it.
• 1 = Ptui!  One of the worst books we have read.  Thank goodness I didn’t suggest it!

We read one book a month.

All books read within a calendar year are rated at the end of that calendar year.

Each member choses a month and is responsible for a book selection for that month. Books are chosen by individual members, not by consensus.

Each month, upon the conclusion of our discussion, that month’s book is rated by each participating member on a 13-point scale: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C , C-, D+, D, D-, F scale. Since our books are not chosen at random and are chosen with a mind towards the interests of the members, rarely is a grade given that is below a C. There is no set scale for these grades; each member is free to assign his own weights to the criteria that are most relevant to him.