No Shelf Control

You might see me or other book lovers use these funny terms or acronyms. Here’s a guide to what they mean!!

Acronyms

ARC/eARC

Advanced reader copies are books that the author gives away for free for honest reviews. eARCs are the same thing, just digital. You can get ARCs off of different websites like Netgalley.

RTC

Review to come is usually used in blogs and other book review platforms.

TBR

To be read is meant for all you guys with those never ending book lists!

DNF

Did not finish. Fun fact, I’ve only DNFed two books!

CR

Currently reading

BIPOC

Black, indigenous, person of color. This is a term that includes more than the standard person of color, POC.

POV

Point of view

Publishing and Signing

Book tour

A tour the author goes on to raise hype for their book and do signing and book talks. Book tours have moved mostly online since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blurb

The summary on the back of the book, Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and more! (authors usually don’t write these!)

Testimony

The little snippets of praise on the back of the book. These can be by other authors or large book review firms, like Kirkus reviews or Publishers Weekly!

Bookplate

A book plate has several purposes, such as for authors to sign books more efficiently and to make ownership of a book. Authors may sign many “stickers” that can then be placed into the book.

Galley

Galleys are the versions of books right before the final proofreading! (Don’t confuse these with ARCs, which are almost 100% finalized!)

Self Pub

A self pub book is a novel that the author published without a publishing house or company.

Indie book

An indie book is similar to a self pub, only the author used a small publishing house.

Cover reveal

As a way to raise hype for their upcoming book, authors will do a cover reveal!

Genres and Ratings

PB

Picture book

MG

Middle grade is usually written for ages 9 to 12, but can be enjoyed by readers of all ages!!

YA

The young adult genre is usually intended ages 13 to 18, this is the majority of the reviews I write here!

NA

The new adult intended audience is 19 to 30. I haven’t read any NA books, so I won’t have any blog posts or recs about these!

CRF (contemp)

Contemporary realistic fiction, also called contemp, is a genre that usually takes place in the present day.

High Fantasy

You might already know this one, but it’s basically your classic fantasy with dragons, castles, globins, and more!

CW/TW

Content or trigger warnings are used to warn readers of any iffy or triggering content. If there are any CW/TW that aren’t obvious from the review, I’ll list them at the bottom of the post!

Random

Sprayed and Stenciled Edges

Sprayed edges are when the edges of the page are colored! Sometimes the book will also have stenciled edges, which is when there are designed printed onto the sides of the pages as well! Sprayed and stenciled edges are usually reserved for special editions.

Shelfie

A shelfie is basically just a photo of your bookshelf!

Book hangover

This is when you feel a little sad when you finish a great book or book series. Symptoms include feeling as if you’ve lost a world, many fictional friends, and being unable to start a new book because you are still stuck in an old one.

Reading slump

When you haven’t been reading much or at all lately. Books that get you out of your slump are called slump busters!

Buddy Read

A buddy read is a mini book club! Usually between 2 readers, but it can be more! You’ll discuss the book and your opinions along the way, and once you’ve finished reading.

Page Time

Page time is like getting a lot of lines in a movie or getting more field time during a game. It’s pretty much how often certain characters show up on the pages. Really good characters will have you begging the author to give them more page time!

Terms Your English Teacher Made You Learn

Unreliable narrator

When the narrator may be giving you one-sided views. This means you might naturally side with them.

Plot Driven

A plot driven book is well structured, engaging, and usually focuses on larger scale concepts or issues.

Character Driven

A character driven book focuses a lot on the character’s thoughts and feelings, and the plot doesn’t matter as much. These books allow readers to form deep connections with characters.