To think this author is unreasonable?

[shumway]

I have been using the Goodreads website since 2008 with no problems and have rated 1282 books in that time. I use it mostly as I like to keep a record of what I have read. I use the star rating system so 1 means did not like it, 2 stars means it was ok, 3 I liked it, 4 really liked it, 5 stars it was amazing. Obviously it's down to personal taste and I probably rate most books as 2 or 3 stars with some 4 stars and an occasional 1 or 5.
I have received a message from an author of a book I rated recently that says "You have given my book a 2 star review. TAKE YOUR REVIEW DOWN NOW. You have no idea what this does to published authors."

YANBU. Definitely do not take your review down. They need to accept that some people won't like their book.

Ha ha ha. That is ridiculous! Ignore.

Ha ha. Mental!

What was the book?

Totally unreasonable. The author, not you! I think of my one and two star reviews as a warning to other readers.

Can you amend your review to add the comment that they sent that PM to you? I think I would. Just factual. X happened.

They are being unreasonable but it seems that this does happen a lot more than it should. If it was me I'd be putting a review stating what happened so other people can see. No book is going to have all five stars if the reviews are honest and not paid for, it really isn't going to have some major effect. Certainly nothing like the author trying to bully people would.

Ignore! What’s the book????

Obviously they’re being unreasonable to ask you to take down your review but I feel like two stars comes across as ‘bad’ rather than ‘ok’ if that makes sense, but your review should reflect how you felt about the story and not how the author wants you to feel about it so YANBU!

Give them 1 star and quote him directly

To be fair I would see a 2 star review as a negative review, not an ok review. I would see it as not a good book but not completely awful. Still not ok for the author to text you.

3 stars is ok, not 2. 2 is “I could read it but I hated it the whole time” to me

I like some books that other people don't. I don't like some books that other people do like. It's a personal preference.

Tell the author to get over themselves.

Name and shame!

If I'd seen your 2 star review I would think the book was pretty crap to be honest, I would say
1 - couldn't finish it, absolutely dreadful
2 - would not recommend, would not read this author again, disliked it
3 - it was ok
4 - really enjoyed it, would recommend and will look for others by this author
5 - best book I've ever read, everyone needs to stop what they are doing and read it NOW

Going by the usual 1-5 scale in all surveys I do, it's -
1 - strongly dislike (disagree)
2 - dislike (disagree)
3 - neither like or dislike (agree or disagree) / it's ok
4 - like (agree)
5 - strongly like (strongly agree)

Saying that though, I understand as I have author friends and I know what a bad review can do, but still don't agree with the author messaging you at all and especially not in the way that they have

Ugh what a controlling aggressive arse that author was!

Agree you could update your review to include their crazy comment.

The fact that more than a thousand other authors haven’t responded to your reviews shows that this one is a barm-pot.

The book has ratings by four other people and they're all 5 star. The petty side of me feels like changing my rating to 1 star but I better be the bigger person.

don't take the review down
also forward to Goodreads admin, if they have that kind of thing for PMs.

You have an opinion and are entitled to it, I work with a lot of authors and this kind of behaviour isn’t unheard of! I think you should say who it is.

Wow! Author is being totally unreasonable and shouldn’t be harassing you with DMs. Definitely report to Goodreads.

I think your star rating scale is fine and if you didn’t enjoy it that much, it’s your prerogative to rate it as such. Surely everyone who uses the app can see from the varied reviews that everyone interprets and enjoys books in a completely subjective way?

The author is out of line in messaging you, but it is true that your review will be bad for their sales. Personally, if I felt I couldn't rate a book as 3 or higher, I just wouldn't leave a review for that particular book. It seems a bit unkind.

The author is BU. But, like others, 2 stars would be a 'disliked' rather than an OK for me. I use 1 star for books that are utterly unreadable and 2 stars for those which I'm just about motivated enough to struggle through to the end.

The author is an arse but YABU to give 2 stars for ok.

The usual way of interpreting a 3 star scale is that 3 is ok and 1 and 2 are poor - even more so now, one of my friends manages Airbnb properties and they get a warning after even a few 4 star reviews, and for Uber drivers if their rating falls below 4.7 they can get cut!
While this author may deserve a less great rating, others may not, so I'd still consider reviewing the scoring...

The author shouldn't have messaged you but as others have said your scale is wrong. 3 is ok/average.

Perhaps 2 stars is a bit harsh but the OP has explained her scale. There is no "correct" scale.

Is 1 star the lowest? Then 1 star should = dire
2 = bad
3 = ok
4 = good
5 = excellent. That's the logic most people will believe was used.