The online bookish world has created all kinds of terms for just about everything relating to books. Plus, there were already a bounty of literary terminology to begin with.
If you’re new to the reader community the rush of new terms can be overwhelming. So here’s your cheat sheet.
TBR
TBR stands for To Be Read. This term is usually applied to books that you intend to read.
You can have a physically TBR or just a list of what you would like to read in the future. I use Goodreads to track my TBR because I borrow a lot of my books from the library.
Synopsis
This the section on the back of a book or on the the dust jacket flap that tells you what the book is about. Generally, a synopsis is about two to four paragraphs that give you an overview of the story without spoiling it.
Synopses aren’t to be confused with blurbs with are generally used for marketing purposes. Blurbs are also tend to be much shorter than synopses.
DNF
DNF means Did Not Finish.
How often you DNF a book is entirely up to. I know for me, I’ve DNF’ed several lately for a variety of reasons. A good rule of thumb, is to stick it out for the first couple of chapters and then DNF it. Of course, if you really hate a book, it’s totally okay to DNF it sooner.
Bookstagram
Bookstagram is the section of Instagram dedicated to books and readers. A lot of readers will start one simply to share their love of books with the world.
You can find mine here.
Book Tag
A book tag is a list of fun book-related questions that readers answer and post on their blogs or social media. Here‘s a few that I’ve done.
Reading Slump
A reading slump is what happens when no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to read. Nothing you pick up holds your attention therefore reading is seemly impossible.
Most readers go through a slump every so often. While a slump might seem like big deal, it’s perfectly normal.
Booktube
Booktube is a section of YouTube where readers posts videos to share their love of books. In this community you’ll find everything from book reviews to reading vlogs.
I first discovered Booktube about seven years ago and it’s such a great community to be apart of even if you don’t make videos.
Wrap Up
A wrap up is when someone in the bookish world tells everyone what they have read within a certain period of time. These are especially popular on booktube.
Sometimes creators will do wrap ups for a specific genre or season, but other times they will do general wrap ups at the end of the month.
Trope
While this word may elicit groans from some, tropes are popular topic among readers. Basically, a trope is a plot device that is used to help tell the story. Now, these tropes don’t make up a full plot on their own, but instead are pieces that add to it or drive it forward.
Some common/popular tropes include:
- The Chosen One
- Long Lost Family Member
- Serial Killer
- Lost Memories
BookTok
BookTok is the latest addition to bookish social media. This section of TikTok functions much like Booktube, but the content is much shorter and concise.
Final Thoughts
The bookish community might be a little zany and we love our acronyms, but it’s a great place to be.
Did I miss any other important terms? Let me know in the comments.
I didn’t realized there was special terms for reading. Thanks for this very informative post. I learned something new!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
My favorite is BookTok! New words are being made every day. Fun read!
Thank you!