Bookish Terms and Slang

 

Bookish Terms and Slang:

    Have you ever been scrolling on social media or reading a book review and seen an acronym or bookish slang that you didn't understand? Well you are not alone! the number of times I've had to search what an acronym means is astronomical (and I'm not afraid to admit it!). 

    So I figured I would post some common ones that you will typically find on a review, post or on other bookish content and I will attempt to break them down into categories best as I can. 

Characters:

MC: Main character

FMC: Female main character

MMC: Male main character

POC/BIPOC: People of color/Black, Indigenous, and people of color

Protagonist: Main character driving the story

Antagonist: Character that is opposing the protagonist 

Anti-Hero: Flawed/ morally gray protagonist

Morally Gray: A character who is nt clearly good or evil

Villan Era: When the character embraces being "bad"

Chosen One: Character destined for greatness

Final Girl: Last surviving female character in horror books/movies

Relationship and Romance :

OTP: One true pairing 

FM: Fated mates

Ship: A couple that you want to be together 

Love Triangle: When your main character can not choose between two partners

Grumpy x Sunshine: Character paring dynamic

HEA (Happily Ever After): A guaranteed happy ending

HFN (Happy For Now): A temporary but positive ending

Slow Burn:  Romance develops gradually

Enemies to Lovers: Characters start as enemies

Friends to Lovers: Self-explanatory, beloved trope

Fake Dating: Characters pretend to date

Second Chance Romance: Former lovers reconnect

Love Triangle: One character torn between two love interests

Why Choose: A character doesn’t choose between love interests

Soulmates: Fated romantic pairing

Forbidden Romance:  Relationship is taboo or restricted

Touch Her and Die: Protective, possessive love interest trope

Found Family: Non-blood-related characters forming deep bonds

Book Boyfriend (BBF): Male character you only wish could be your real life love

Reading:

TBR: To be read - Your unread book pile

DNF: Did not finish

CR: currently reading- what you're reading ight now

Spoiler: anything that may reveal important details or content from a book

Cliffhanger: when the book ends during a moment of tension and you have to wait for the next one to see what happens. 

Reading Slump: Loss of motivation to read

Buddy Read: Reading a book simultaneously with a friend or others

Binge Read: reading a book or series in one sitting

Standalone: A book that is not a part of a series

Reread: reading a book again

Annotating: highlighting, tabbing or making notes in your book while reading

Reviewing and Bookish Community Terms:

ARC (Advance Reader Copy):  Early copy sent for review
NetGalley: Platform for requesting ARCs
Bookstagram:  Book community on Instagram
BookTok:  Book community on TikTok

Goodreads: Popular book-tracking and review site
Star Rating System: Usually a  1–5 rating scale
Spice Level: Amount of explicit romantic content
Content Warnings (CW):  Trigger warnings for sensitive topics

Unhaul: Getting rid of books
Book Haul: Showing recently acquired book

Canon: Official story events

Headcanon:  Personal interpretation not confirmed in canon

Fanfic (Fanfiction): Fan-written stories about existing work

Plot Twist: Unexpected story development

Trope: Common storytelling device

Worldbuilding: Development of fictional setting

Info Dump: Large amount of exposition at once

Easter Egg: Hidden reference in a story

Fourth Wall Break:  When a character acknowledges the audience (this happens more in movies)

Fade to Black: When the romance happens behind closed doors

OOP: Out of print. could be a book or cover that is no longer being produced 

POV: Point of view, this refers to the perspective we get to see in the book

Genere Specific Terms:

Romantasy:  Romance + Fantasy blend
Dark Romance: Romance with darker themes

Urban Fantasy:  Fantasy set in modern world

Cozy Fantasy: Low-stakes, comforting fantasy

Dystopian – Oppressive society setting

Magical Realism: Magic woven into realistic world

Epic Fantasy: Large-scale, high-stakes fantasy

I know this list is long and daunting, but hopefully it is helpful! I chose the most common terms, acronyms and slang that I come across day to day and did my best to define each one. Im sure there are many, many, many more terms and slang that I would be working on this list for months. So, I may try and update this list from time to time as I come across new terms.

 — From the shadows with love, MorallyGrayGhoulette