How I Rate Book: The CAWPILE-M Method
When I rediscovered my love for reading, I quickly realized that I was lacking something: a good review system.
Is it needed? No, not necessarily, but I wanted to make sure the books I was purchasing were worth it. I found myself relying heavily on my mood, ignoring things like grammar issues, lack of world-building etc. Because of this, I was giving out a lot of 4 / 5 star reviews, when in reality, the books were just telling the tale of how I felt on a certain day.
That’s where the CAWPILE-M Method began.
What is the CAWPILE and Modified CAWPILE Systems?
CAWPILE
This was created by G at The Book Roast (YouTube). It’s her take on how to review books. It is a very analytical approach, leaving minimal room to insert your mood into your reviews.
It’s based on the following categories: Character, Atmosphere, Writing, Plot, Intrigue, Logic and Enjoyment.
Each category is rating on a 1 to 10 point scale. Then to find your final rating, you divide the total by 70.
Modified CAWPILE
This was created by MeetMeInMalkovich (Instagram). It’s their take on using the CAWPILE Method to fit how they want to review their reads. It expands the points and categories ever so slightly.
They added additional points to Writing, Intrigue and Logic. The biggest difference is that the Modified CAWPILE allows for things like Grammar and Formatting to be split from Writing Style. I feel like using this method provides and even more holistic score, but it still lacks that “mood” rating element.
What is the CAWPILE-M Method?
The CAWPILE-M Method is my personal take, building off both G and MeetMeInMalkovich. It allows for bonus points (called Marginalia) to be added or subtracted. The Marginalia allows me to capture my mood - whether that’s around the book, the cover design, if my mind was blown, etc. It adds to the actual book analysis and captures how I felt. I plan to utilize this system in 2025 and if may change from time to time, but here are the categories, scores, and how you can use this rating system to help create better reviews. Here is each category and the associated points and meaning.
How do I calculate to obtain my star rating?
To calculate your star rating, add together the scores for all of the categories. This includes the Marginalia category, you will just add / subtract to determine that number. Once you have the number, refer to the chart below to see your final star rating.
When I decided to create the Marginalia category, I did this with the intent of these being bonus prompts to help books achieve a higher score. The ranges below exclude these points. This is how I needed to create the ranges to make sure they were actually calculated as point bonuses versus within the ranking system. It is possible to achieve an over 5 star rating, but you would still count these books as 5 stars.
Star Rating Ranges
Additional Rating Systems
I also keep track of a books emotional damage and spiciness. Feel free to use these keys when making your own reviews.
Spice Meter
🫑 No Spice - No blushing moments.
🌶️ Glimpses & Kisses - Meaningful glances and perhaps a kiss, but no sex on or off the page.
🌶️🌶️ Behind Closed Doors - At least one intimate scene occurs but without the reader present.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Open Door - At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Explicit Open Door - At least two intimate scenes, explicit language with a variety of sexual acts.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Explicit & Plentiful - Several explicit scenes, a variety of adventurous acts, dotted throughout the book.
Tearjerker Meter
👁️ Dry Eyes - No tears shed.
💧 Slightly Misty - Some emotional moments that tug a bit, but nothing too heavy.
💧💧 Touched Heartstrings - Real emotion with a memorable scene or two.
💧💧💧 Lump in Throat - Prepare for a rollercoaster that pulls at your emotions without quite being a full-on sob fest.
💧💧💧💧 Weeping Uncontrollably - Emotions are running high and there’s no denying the tear factor.
💧💧💧💧💧 Heart-Shattering - This book breaks you open and leaves you emotionally raw. Be prepared for lingering sadness, introspection, and maybe a book hangover.
Looking for CAWPILE-M in action?
Follow me on StoryGraph to see CAWPILE-M in action! I post all of my book reviews on this site and shortened versions on StoryGraph.