Looking for Bookstagram terms you need to know?
If you’re new to the Bookstagram world, you’re probably going to run into a lot of mysterious abbreviations. Well, I’m here to break those down for you so the Bookstagram world is a little less intimidating.
This is such a friendly community, like, for reals. I was welcomed like 15 times when I started my Instagram for this. But on all these posts and any book-related Facebook groups, you’re going to run into a lot of these, so here are some really common Bookstagram abbreviations broken down for you.
Bookstagram Abbreviations
TBR – To be read
DNF – Did not finish
CR – Currently reading
CL – Currently listening
GR – Goodreads
MC – Main Character
POV – Point of view
ARC – Advanced Readers Copy (books sent out by publishers/authors to get reviews before it is published)
eARC – A digital ARC
HP – Harry Potter
SJM – Sarah J Maas (an author)
TOG – Throne of Glass (an SJM series)
ACOTAR (ACOMAF & ACOWAR) – A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Mist and Fury & A Court Of Wings and Ruins) another SJM series
BAM – Books-A-Million (store)
B&N – Barnes & Noble (store)
KU – Kindle Unlimited
YA – Young adult genre
NA – New adult genre
CoHo – Colleen Hoover (author)
OTP – One true pairing
BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, and people of color
BOTM – Book of the Month, a subscription service
QOTD – Question of the day
RTC – Review to come
NSFW – Not safe for work
Bookstagram Terms
Bookstagram – The book community on Instagram
Booktube – The book community on YouTube
Book Twitter – The book community on Twitter
Booktok – The book side of TikTok
Reading slump – This is when you just don’t want to read, you can’t get into anything, you don’t want too pick up a book. Maybe you want to read but nothing is doing it for you.
Shelfie – A selfie, but your bookshelf. Example: Let me see your shelfies for inspiration!
Book hangover – When you’re so upset/sad/distressed after finishing a great book. Example: I have such a book hangover from Shantaram, I don’t even know what to do with myself!
Buddy read/Read along – When two or more people read a book at the same time so they can talk about it as they go. Example: I’m doing a buddy read with my sister, want to join us? (I don’t actually have a sister)
Ship(ping) – When you’re a fan of two people being in a realtionship. Example: I ship Hermione and Draco.
Mood reading – This is when you read whatever you’re in the mood for at the time of choosing a book instead of from a set TBR or list. I’m a mood reader.
Rep search – Small brands will often have rep searches to find bookstagrammers to work with, usually requiring a feed post to enter.
Wrap-up – This is usually showing books read in a certain period of time, usually monthly and yearly.
NetGalley – A platform to get eArcs.
Pango – A book selling app
Trope – Literary devices often used in books like enemies to lovers, the chosen one, found family, or reluctant hero to name a few.
Insta love – When two characters fall in love like, immediately. Instantly, if you will.
Enemies to lovers – A trope where two characters start off hating each other, you know, enemies, who eventually fall in love.
Sapphic – Not bookstagram specific but used there a lot. It’s a book with lesbian characters.
Own Voices – A book whose author and protagonist share a marginalized identity. Example: A disabled author writing a main character with the same disability. There is some controversy over the term now.
Hopefully this helps you navigate the Bookstagram world a little easier. Let me know if there’s anything I should add. Join me over on my Bookstagram to keep up to date with what I’m reading and just get to know each other!
Thankks for writing this
Of coure! I hope you found it helpful 🙂