Here we "rate the raters" by listing each person who has reviewed 4 or more books together with their average rating. The most severe, harshest, or "heartless" raters are at the top, and the pushovers and pussycats are toward the bottom! (Actually, it is surprising how close most people are together in their overall averages.)

      Our rating scale is 0 to 10, so an "average" book from our general perspective should rate a 5.0 or so. However, since we only select books we think will be well worthwhile to read, it is surprising that our average rating for our entire group is not higher than it is. Perhaps this shows we are more demanding readers than the numbers might suggest!

      This chart includes all the ratings through 9/30/06, with the last book rated being Why Geography Matters.