book
1 physical parts of books
2 contents of books
3 different kinds of book
4 books to write in
5 writing and producing a book
6 buying, borrowing and keeping books
7 reading a book
see also WRITE
1 physical parts of books
- a number of pieces of paper, with words printed or written on them, joined together in a cover: book
At present I'm reading a book about space travel. ◎ This book has been a best-seller (= bought by a lot of people) for months.
- one of the sheets of paper in a book: page; one side of a page: page
It was a very old book and some of the pages were missing. ◎ It's a long book - over five hundred pages.
- the letters and words that are printed in a book: print (noun U)
This print is so small I can hardly read it.
※ more on pages PAGE
- the outside part of a book or magazine: cover
- a book which has a hard cover: hardback
Until now, it's only been available in hardback.
- a book which has a soft cover: paperback
Is there a paperback version?
2 contents of books
- the name of a book: title
It's about a journey across Africa by train - but I can't remember the title.
- (used about a book) named: entitled
The winner of this year's literature prize is a book entitled 'Tomorrow's Children'.
- a short piece of writing at the beginning of a book which says sth about the book: preface, foreword
- one of the parts into which a book is divided: chapter
Chapter 12 is about pronouns.
- the words at the beginning of a chapter or section, which tell you its name: heading
chapter headings ◎ a new section heading
- a list of the main subjects in a book and the page numbers where you can find them: contents (noun plural)
the contents page
- one of a set or series of books: part, volume
This encyclopedia comes in twelve volumes.
- a list of names and subjects arranged in alphabetical order at the end of a book: index
Look it up in the index.
- a list of the books and articles that a writer used when writing a book, or a list of books related to a particular subject: bibliography
There's a very useful bibliography at the end of this book.
- a section at the end of a book which gives extra information: appendix (plural appendices)
- to say what the subject of a book is, you can say that it is on/about sb/sth, it deals* with sb/sth, it covers sth
Have you got a book about Venice? ◎ His first book dealt with vegetarian cookery.
- when we want to talk about sth that is written in a book, we can say that the book says* sth
What does the encyclopedia say about Shakespeare's parents?
3 different kinds of book
- a book which tells a story about people or events that are not real: novel
- a book which tells an exciting story, often about a crime: thriller
- a book which tells the story of sb's life: biography; a biography which sb writes about their own life: autobiography
- a book of stories for children: story book
- a book for children with pictures: picture book
- a book of songs: song book
- stories, novels, etc which describe events and people that do not really exist: fiction (noun U)
- books that are about real people and events: non-fiction (noun U)
- novels, poems and plays which are considered to be of high quality, and an important part of a country's culture: literature (noun U)
I'm studying 20th century German literature.
※ more on literature LITERATURE
- a book which contains hymns: hymn book
- a book which contains prayers: prayer book
- the book which describes how the world was created according to the Christian and Jewish religions, and tells the story of the life of Jesus Christ: the Bible
- the holy book of the Muslims: the Koran
- the holy books of religion, such as the Bible: scripture (noun U), the scriptures (noun plural)
- a book which you use to find out information: reference book
- a small book with a soft cover which usually gives information or advice: booklet
- a book which consists of only a few pages giving some information: pamphlet
※ reference books| A BOOK THAT ※¦ | IS CALLED ※¦ | | gives lists of words and their meanings, etc | a dictionary | | contains maps | an atlas | | gives information about many subjects, arranged in alphabetical order | an encyclopedia | | describes a town or country, and suggests interesting places to visit there | a (travel) guide, guidebook | | explains how to do or operate sth, for example a computer | a manual | | explains how to prepare food and cook it | a recipe book, cookery book, cookbook | | you use to study and to help you understand a subject | a textbook | | gives lists of people's names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc | a directory | | has photos of things you can buy and details about prices, etc | catalogue (AmE catalog) |
4 books to write in
- a book which consists of a number of blank pages which you can write in: notebook; a notebook that people use mainly at school: exercise book
- a small book that you keep the addresses of people you know in: address book
- a book in which you write down your appointments, etc; or a book in which you write down what happens to you each day: diary
- a book which has blank pages on which you can stick photos, stamps, etc: album
- a book which has large blank pages on which you can stick pictures, newspaper articles, etc: scrapbook
5 writing and producing a book
- to put words about a particular subject on paper, creating a book: write* sth
My wife's writing a novel.
- a person who writes books: writer
- a person who has written a particular book: author
Who's the author of this book?
- the books, articles, etc written by a person or a group of people: writings (noun plural)
selected writings of 20th-century authors
- the money which an author receives each time that a book that he/she has written is sold: royalties (noun plural)
※ more on writing WRITE
- to produce a book and make it available to the public: publish sth; a person or firm that publishes books: publisher
His book will be published in about six months' time. ◎ Her first novel was rejected by fifteen publishers.
- to be published for the first time: come* out, appear
When this book first came out, it was considered to be very shocking.
※ more on publishing books PUBLISH
- one book, of which many have been produced: copy
Is there a copy of 'Hamlet' in the library?
- the form in which a book, newspaper, etc appears; or a number of copies of a book, newspaper, etc printed at the same time: edition 'Which edition have you got?' 'The second one - it's got two new chapters.'
There were 6 000 copies printed in this edition.
6 buying, borrowing and keeping books
- a shop where you can buy books: bookshop (AmE bookstore)
- a small shop in the street, at a railway station, etc where you can buy newspapers, magazines and books: bookstall (AmE news-stand)
- a person who sells books: bookseller
- a small card with an amount of money written on it that you can use to buy a book: (BrE) book token
I bought him a ※£15 book token for his birthday.
- not new when you buy it: second-hand
I got it second-hand. ◎ a second-hand bookshop
- a place where you can go to read, study and borrow books: library
※ more on libraries LIBRARY
- a piece of furniture with shelves which you keep books in: bookcase
- a piece of wood attached to the wall which you can put books on: shelf (plural shelves)
- a heavy object used for holding books upright on a shelf: bookend
7 reading a book
- to turn back the cover of a book in order to look inside: open a book; opposite: close a book
She asked us to open our books at page 15. ◎ Now close your book and see how much you can remember.
- to look at and understand written words: read* (sth)
'What are you doing?' 'I'm reading.' 'What are you reading?' 'A book about Henry VIII.'
※ more on reading READ
- a piece of writing, usually in a newspaper or magazine, which gives sb's opinion of a book: review
Her first book got a really bad review in 'The Times'.
- a person whose job it is to write reviews: reviewer, critic
※ MORE ...
- the words that are sometimes written at the beginning of a book, where the author writes that the book is for a particular person: dedication; to write a dedication: dedicate sth to sb
There's a dedication to his wife at the beginning of his book. ◎ He dedicated it to his mother and father.
- a short piece of writing at the beginning or end of a book in which the author thanks people who have helped him/her: acknowledgements (noun plural)
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