A Hearty Thumbs Up for Five Stars

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment."

At the start of each new year, I send out recommendations of the best books and movies I finished in the year prior. I harbor no illusions that I am the Anton Ego of Substack. Rather, sending out recommendations is the best way to receive them back, giving me a lead on what I should prioritize reading and watching in the new year.

When deciding which movies and books I want to share with my circle, I look through my Letterboxd and StoryGraph accounts and filter for the pieces of media which I rated the highest upon completion; on both platforms, the scale peaks at five stars. Having logged my reads and watches for roughly two years now, I can confirm I am highly selective with my perfect ratings. Out of the 90 or so movies I watch in a year, only two or three will be awarded a perfect score. I read fewer books, so the comparison isn’t perfect, but I handed out a lone five-out-of-five score (to Matthew Desmond’s Evicted) in 2022.

I have written before about why I like logging media. Esse…