The Pilot Season Selection Show (with the Review System Breakdown)

Hey everyone!  I'm still pulling everything together over here, and a crucial part of that process is, naturally, the selection of the first book to be reviewed here on The Bookish Kind.  I've narrowed it down to five candidates, complete with hyperlinks for review:

The Passage by Justin Cronin
The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage by Roxana Shirazi

The Overton Window by Glenn Beck

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman

Solar by Ian McEwan

All five of these titles will make up The Bookish Kind's Pilot Season, but only you the readers will determine the order in which they are read.  So now, with your selection in mind, please vote for what you think should be the first review ever on The Bookish Kind.  I will close the poll a week from today, or whenever I feel a satisfactory result has been reached.

Second order of business, I will begin to rank the books I review with a Star Ranking System, so as to indicate the quality of the book.  This is partially because I'm going to attempt to qualify for the Amazon Vine program, which would qualify me for further review copies of books, just in case I strike out with the publisher.  The ranking system is broken down as follows:

* - Thank God It Was a Review Copy/Borrowed From a Friend
** - Worth a Library Rental (with light fines)
*** - Buy the Mass Market Paperback
**** - Buy the Paperback
***** - Buy the Hardcover

I will be grading on the following specifics:

- Plot
- Writing Style
- Cover Art/Illustrations
- Quality of Synopsis/Blurb

They will each get their own numerical score, that will be averaged and yield the final score which will correlate with the starred ranking system above.  A lot of ambition, I know; but it's time to get even more serious about this book reviewing thing, especially if I ever plan on writing a book.  This project will help me hone a critical eye and examine as many flaws in putting a book together as I can find, so that I may (hopefully) side step them.

Well, that's all out of me for now.  Until next time, vote in the poll and spread the site to all you think would be interested.  (Ok, one last question: how would you all feel about guest reviews culled from you, the readers?)

Best,
Mike