Describing books – B1+ English Vocabulary

Describing books

In this B1+ Upper-intermediate Vocabulary Lesson about Describing Books, you will learn essential terms and phrases used to describe books and reading habits. Check the pictures, definitions and examples below to understand these terms better.

Adjectives

If a book is 1 easy to read, it contains simple language, so reading it entails little effort. If it is 2 hard to read, it may be written in a style that makes it difficult to understand and focus on.

• I found the book easy to read, so I finished it in one afternoon.
• The novel was hard to read, and there were many parts that I didn’t understand.

When a book is 3 readable, it is engaging, and you can read it without effort.

• I’m looking for something readable that’s easy to get into.

If a book is 4 well or beautifully written, it is written in an attractive or elegant style.

• It’s such a beautifully written book. The author really has a flair for language.

If a book is 5 moving, it makes you feel strong emotions of sadness, sympathy, etc., and if it is 6 gripping, the story is so interesting or exciting that it is hard to put down.

• The story was so moving that it brought a tear to my eye.
• The book was so gripping that I couldn’t put it down.

When a book is 7 action-packed, it is full of action and excitement.

• The book was action-packed; there was never a dull moment.

If a story is 8 predictable, you can easily guess what is going to happen.

• The story was so predictable; it was obvious that they’d get married in the end.

If a story is 9 far-fetched, it is usually exaggerated and unbelievable.

• The story was rather far-fetched; things like that just don’t happen in real life.

If a book is 10 thought-provoking, it makes you think and gives you ideas.

• The book was quite thought-provoking and made me question a lot of things.

An 11 award-winning book is a book that has won at least one award, and if a  book is 12 widely acclaimed, it is popular and has received good reviews.

• He has written two award-winning novels that have been published in 20 languages.
• The book is widely acclaimed both in the UK and overseas.

Noun phrases

A 1 page-turner is a book that is so exciting that you cannot stop reading, while a 2 best-seller is a book that is popular and is noted for its record sales.

• It’s one of the shop’s best-sellers, so it’s currently out of stock.
• The book was a real page-turner; I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

A 3 heavy read is a book that contains serious content and may therefore be hard to focus on, and a 4 long read is a book with many pages that takes a long time to read.

• It’s a bit of a heavy read, and I’m not really enjoying it.
• The book has over 900 pages, so it’s quite a long read.

A 5 must-read is a book that comes highly recommended.

• It’s a must-read for anyone interested in science fiction.

6 Bedtime reading is reading material that is suitable for reading before going to bed and is therefore unlikely to have any disturbing or frightening content.

• I hardly think a ghost story is suitable bedtime reading for a child.

A 7 bookworm or an avid reader is someone who reads a lot.

• Tom’s such a bookworm/an avid reader; he gets through five books a week.

An 8 account of something is a detailed description or narrative of an event, experience, or series of events.

• The book is an account of the author’s travels through South America.

A 9 twist is an unexpected change or development in the story, often used to surprise the reader.

• The novel’s twist at the end completely changed my perception of the main character.

The 10 setting is the time and place in which a book is set, the 11 central character is the person around whom the book is centred, and the 12 plot is the story and what happens in the book.

• The setting of the book is modern-day London.
• The central character is a detective who spends her life-solving crimes,
• I was eager to see how the plot would unfold.

Verbs and Verb Phrases

If someone says they couldn’t 1 put a book down, it was so exciting that it was difficult to stop reading.

• The book was so exciting that I couldn’t put it down.

If you 2 get hooked on a book, the content is so gripping that you become addicted to it and want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

• The story was so gripping that it didn’t take me long to get hooked.

When you 3 flick through a book, you turn the pages quickly without reading it properly, whereas if you 4 read a book from cover to cover, you read every part of the book from start to finish.

• I spent the afternoon flicking through books in a local bookshop.
• I read the book from cover to cover; I didn’t miss a word.

If a book 5 is based on something, e.g., someone’s life or an event, it is structured around a similar story, and if it 6 is set in a certain place or time, that is where/when the story takes place.

• The book is based on the life of a 20th-century poet.
• I enjoy reading sci-fi novels and books that are set in the future.

If a book 7 depicts something, it represents or tells a story about it.

• The novel depicts the story of a famous Russian dancer.

When a story 8 unfolds, it develops and reveals information gradually.

• I was curious to find out how the story would unfold.

After completing the exercises in this lesson on Describing Books, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flascards to revise and help you memorize the terms.