It's that time again. For the moment, anyway, the starred review spreadsheet is up to date, y'all.
If you're a frequent visitor to our nerdy combination of books + spreadhseets, then you've probably noticed some exciting updates. Beginning last month, I started recording starred reviews for books that aren't due to be published until 2025. Even though there's still a couple of months left in 2024, the publishing/review world is already focused on next year. With that said, the need to create a new tab for the coming year also provides an opportunity to make changes to the way the spreadsheet is organized. Here are the changes I considered along with my final verdict:
Adding a column for genre
Ultimately, I decided to table this idea, as there's no way I have time to research and record this data currently... but I'm keeping in mind for future iterations. I know it would be helpful, but I don't have the capacity for it right now.
Combining the columns for author/illustrator
This is a bad idea, so I scrapped it.
Adding a column for translation/translator.
See comment about adding a column for genre. Not only do not I not have time, but this would only apply to a relatively small number of books.
Tweaking the age recommendation labels
The age recommendation column on this spreadsheet causes me the most consternation - by far. Not only is there ZERO consistency between journals in their age recommendations. Some jounrals recommend by age span, some by grade span, and some by categories of their own invention! Additionally, sometimes, I don't agree with their recommendations at all. That said, in the end, I decided to add a couple of age recommendation options and we'll see if that makes this year's work a bit less frustrating. 🤞🏻
Tweaking the format/category labels
I added two additional categories to the 2025 options: Chapter Book and Poetry Graphic Novel (Illustrated) after noticing a few books from 2024 that would have fit into these categories.
Obviously, there's no way to make this spreadsheet exhaustive. There will always be reviews/books that don't fit neatly into the categories and labels I've created. Still, there's something satisfying about tweaking the way the data is organized after noticing a year of trends. I look forward to your feedback as we transition to the new year.
As a reminder, I curate and collate the starred reviews from six trade journals:
I realize, of course, that other sites/blogs award stars, too... but these are the journals I've chosen to focus on.
THE STARS SO FAR
Here's how the 2024 numbers currently shake out. As of this post, I've recorded 1725 reviews representing 1,144 unique titles. Here's the star distribution so far:
4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
8 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
25 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
94 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
262 ⭐️ ⭐️
751 ⭐️
And here's how the 2025 starred reviews currently stack up! As of this post, I've recorded 58 reviews representing 52 unique titles. Here's the star distribution so far:
6 ⭐️ ⭐️
46 ⭐️
And, finally, here are the six books, coming out in 2025, that have already earned two stars so far!
WHAT DID WE MISS?
Last month, a few people used the form I created to let me know that I had missed a star - thank you! As you might imagine, this project takes a lot of time and it's easy to make mistakes. I appreciate your help as I do my best to make sure the final product is as accurate as possible. That said, to be clear, I'm not taking notes on misspellings, etc., but If, after at least a month**, you notice that I have missed a starred review from one of the journals I curate, please use this form to let me know.
**,Why do I ask you to wait a month? Some reviews appear online before that journal's official issue has been released. Waiting the month helps me avoid duplicating reviews.
Finally, I received a nasty email last month from someone who uses this spreadsheet, but finds it lacking. I won't share the content of their note here, but suffice it to say, their concerns were not expressed in a way that makes it likely I will a) consider their requests and/or b) respond to their note at all. With that said, if you use this spreadsheet and have questions or concerns I encourage you to be nice when you reach out.
Happy reading, y'all!
