Here's the rating system I'll be using on the blog.  Pretty standard, I think, but can't hurt to post it:
 - I loved it!
 - I liked it a lot.
 - It was O.K.
 - I've read better.
 - I really wish I hadn't read it.
I do have a "half" rating when a piece doesn't really fit squarely into one rating or another, but you get the basic idea from the list above :)

Now that you know what the rating system is, I have a question for you.  What initially catches your eye and makes you consider purchasing or reading? Is it the blurb on the back, the author, the genre, the artfully done cover?