The Book Glossary

From romantasy to DNF, plain-English definitions of the genres, tropes and reading terms people actually search for, each with example books.

genre

Bildungsroman

A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age novel that traces a protagonist's psychological and moral growth from youth into adulthood.

Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)

Cli-fi, or climate fiction, is literature that centers climate change and environmental crisis as core themes, often imagining their human and societal consequences.

Cottagecore Fantasy

Cottagecore fantasy is fiction blending magic with an idealized rural, pastoral lifestyle centered on cottages, gardens, baking, and gentle self-sufficiency.

Cozy Fantasy

Cozy fantasy is low-stakes, comforting fantasy that prioritizes warmth, community, and everyday life over epic battles or world-ending conflict.

Cozy Mystery

A cozy mystery is a gentle whodunit set in a close-knit community, featuring an amateur sleuth and violence kept safely off the page.

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a science fiction subgenre depicting high-tech, low-life futures dominated by megacorporations, hackers, and pervasive artificial intelligence.

Dark Academia

Dark academia is a genre and aesthetic centered on elite scholarly settings, obsessive intellectual pursuit, and the moral decay lurking beneath them.

Grimdark

Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction defined by morally ambiguous characters, brutal violence, and bleak, cynical worlds where heroism is scarce.

Literary Fiction

Literary fiction is character- and prose-driven writing that prioritizes style, theme, and psychological depth over plot-driven, commercial entertainment.

LitRPG

LitRPG is a genre in which characters inhabit a game-like world, with explicit RPG mechanics such as levels, stats, quests, and skills driving the narrative.

Magical Realism

Magical realism is fiction in which magical or fantastical elements appear as ordinary, unremarkable features of an otherwise realistic world.

Romantasy

Romantasy is fiction that blends romance and fantasy, giving equal weight to a central love story and an immersive magical or otherworldly plot.

Upmarket Fiction

Upmarket fiction bridges literary and commercial writing, pairing polished, thoughtful prose with a compelling, accessible plot that appeals to a wide audience.

trope

Chosen One

The chosen one is a trope in which a single, often ordinary protagonist is destined or prophesied to save the world or fulfill a unique purpose.

Enemies-to-Lovers

Enemies-to-lovers is a romance trope in which two characters begin as rivals or adversaries and gradually fall in love as their antagonism erodes.

Found Family

Found family is a trope in which unrelated characters form deep, familial bonds by choice, becoming one another's true support and kin.

Love Triangle

A love triangle is a romance trope in which one character must choose between two potential partners, driving conflict and emotional tension.

Morally Grey

A morally grey character occupies the ethical middle ground, acting from mixed motives that resist clear labels of hero or villain.

Slow Burn

A slow burn is a romance that develops gradually over an extended period, building tension and intimacy before the relationship is fully realized.

community

ARC (Advance Reader Copy)

An ARC, or Advance Reader Copy, is a pre-publication edition of a book sent to reviewers, influencers, and booksellers ahead of its release.

Book Hangover

A book hangover is the lingering emotional aftermath of finishing a book so immersive that returning to reality or starting another feels impossible.

Bookstagram

Bookstagram is the community of book-focused accounts on Instagram that share stylized photography, reviews, and recommendations about books and reading.

BookTok

BookTok is the book-focused community on TikTok whose viral videos and recommendations drive massive sales and revive backlist titles.

Buddy Read

A buddy read is when two or more people read the same book at the same pace to discuss it together as they go.

DNF (Did Not Finish)

DNF stands for 'Did Not Finish,' meaning a reader stopped reading a book before completing it, usually because it failed to hold their interest.

TBR (To Be Read)

TBR stands for 'To Be Read,' referring to a reader's list or pile of books they intend to read but haven't yet.

format

Deckle Edge

A deckle edge is the intentionally rough, uneven, untrimmed edge of a book's pages, historically a byproduct of handmade paper and now a decorative feature.

Novella

A novella is a work of prose fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, typically between 17,500 and 40,000 words.

Omnibus

An omnibus is a single volume that collects multiple previously published works, often an entire series or an author's related books, in one edition.