Bookstagram jargon, busted

If you’ve recently discovered the lovely #Bookstagram community of readers, writers and bloggers over on Instagram, you may have spotted some unfamiliar abbreviations cropping up regularly in posts.

Here’s a quick lowdown of the most popular acronyms, and what they mean:

• ALC = Advanced listener copy

  A free copy of an audiobook sent by publishers in exchange for promotion or a review.

• ARC = Advanced reader copy.

  A free copy of a book sent by publishers in exchange for promotion or a review.

• CR = Current read.

  The book a reader is currently enjoying!

• DNF = Did not finish.

  A book that a reader didn’t enjoy, and stopped reading.

• LFL = Little free library.

  A free, mini public library or bookshelf that anyone is welcome to donate to or borrow books from.

• MC = Main character.

  Simply, the main character of a story.

• TBR = To be read.

  Books that a collector hasn’t had a chance to read yet. (We’ve all been there!)

• TW = Trigger warning.

  Used to warn users of certain themes or topics in a book that may be controversial or upsetting.

• WIP = Work in progress.

  A term used by writers to describe their current, unfinished story draft.

• YA = Young adult.

  A genre of fiction aimed at teenagers and young adults, e.g. The Hunger Games, or A Court of Thorns and Roses.
  

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B x