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Mod
PACE
Fast-paced (relentless) - These exciting books focus on the action, and move the reader quickly through the story.
Relaxed pace (gradual, leisurely, measured, slow-paced, steady, unhurried) - These books unfold slowly and gradually because of descriptive language, focus on detail, or careful development of character or setting, allowing the reader to savor the narrative.
TONE
Atmospheric (ambient, evocative, impressionistic, redolent) - These titles feature distinct settings, and immerse the reader in the book's environment. These titles tend to have a more generic setting than books with a strong sense of place.
Bittersweet - These books have a mixed emotional edge – both pleasant and painful – which is significant to the story.
Bleak (desolate, disheartening, dreary, grim, stark) - The general outlook of these titles is dark, offering little room for hope or optimism. Some of these books may have bright spots, but the grim tone pervades the story.
Creepy (chilling, eerie, macabre, ominous, sinister, spooky, weird) - These books are unsettling in a visceral, skin-crawling way, and make the reader distinctly uneasy. Supernatural elements and eerie settings will often be found in these books.
Darkly humorous (black humor, morbid humor) - The humor found in these titles is biting. The tone and subject matter tend to be dark and sometimes morbid.
Disturbing (alarming, chilling, unsettling) - These books approach the darker side of human nature, and are unsettling in a sophisticated, psychological manner. They often feature socially marginal or dysfunctional individuals and families, and showcase the less pleasant sides of human interaction.
Dramatic (cinematic, flamboyant, melodramatic, passionate) - These books range from emotionally intense to expressive or flamboyant, and may have a cinematic quality.
Feel-good (cheering, comfortable, cozy, gentle, heartening, heartfelt, heartwarming, hopeful, peaceful) - These gentle, comfortable titles leave the reader with a hopeful feeling, and tend not to have potentially objectionable content.
Funny (amusing, comical, humorous, laugh-outloud, playful, tongue-incheek) - Laugh-out-loud humor and a light, playful tone characterize these books.
Gruesome (gory, grisly, bloody) - These titles include a significant amount of gore or other grisly elements.
Haunting (memorable, unforgettable) - These books have a memorable, unforgettable quality that stays with the reader.
Homespun (folksy, homely, plain, simple, unpretentious, unsophisticated, wholesome) - These books often have a rural or small-town setting and feature characters that are unpretentious and cherish old-fashioned values. Readers appreciate the books' simplicity.
Impassioned (ardent, fervent, intense, passionate) - Nonfiction use only. Authors of these titles are strongly advocating a point of view, making an argument, or telling an emotional story. Because of this, the books convey a strong emotion to readers.
Mod
Inspirational (edifying, encouraging, enriching,helpful, inspiring, motivating, nurturing, positive, uplifting) - These titles have an inspiring, enlightening, or
uplifting quality.
Melancholy (elegiac, gloomy, sad, somber) - These books have a sad, somber, or gloomy edge.
Menacing (foreboding, looming, nightmare, portentous, threatening, uneasy) - These books give the reader a feeling of foreboding or dread. A sense of threat or menace pervades the story.
Moody (brooding, emotionally weighted, melodramatic, obsessive, solemn) - These emotionally weighted books have a brooding tone and may be melodramatic.
Moving (affecting, distressing, heart-rending, poignant, touching, upsetting) - These books convey something that is profoundly touching, hitting a nerve with readers and deeply affecting them.
Nostalgic (elegiac, evocative, longing, recollection, reminiscence, wistful, yearning) - These books look back toward a particular place or time with longing or wistfulness. Sometimes the characters reminisce or recollect events in the past, and great attention is often paid to setting and period detail.
Offbeat (absurd, bizarre, eccentric, extraordinary, idiosyncratic, out there, quirky, wacky, zany) - Offbeat books are those books in which the author is recounting an unconventional, idiosyncratic, or unusual story in a manner that is also unusual. These stories often contain extreme plot twists, bizarre humor, and unique personalities.
Reflective (contemplative, elegiac, introspective, pensive, pondering, thoughtful) - These books feature characters who think seriously about their lives. This introspection can inspire a contemplative mood in the reader as well.
Romantic (passionate) - These books are not genre romances, but do feature strong romantic elements – either between characters or in the nature of the story or setting itself. Happy endings are not guaranteed!
Sobering (daunting, disheartening, dispiriting) - These books address weighty, grave, and solemn social issues. They often evoke a sense of shock in the reader because the topic being presented is hard-hitting and profoundly serious, and may be revelatory.
Steamy (lascivious, sensual, sexy) - These books contain a significant amount of
vividly described sex.
Strong sense of place (evocative) - The locale – real or imaginary – in these books
comes alive for the readers. The reader gains a good sense of the buildings, people, and lifestyles that make a place unique. This phrase is often linked to a subject heading that states the setting or location being described.
Suspenseful (cliff-hanging, nailbiting, tense) - These books keep the reader on edge with nail-biting suspense.
Thought-provoking (controversial, fascinating, interesting, intriguing, provocative) - These books stimulate interest or thought in the reader.
Upbeat (exuberant, hopeful, lighthearted, optimistic, playful, positive, sanguine) - These books are light, playful, and optimistic. Serious events can occur, but the ultimate outlook is hopeful.
Violent (bloodshed, brutality, hostile) - These books contain explicit or graphic violence.
Mod
WRITING STYLE
Accessible (approachable, easy-to-understand) - Nonfiction use only. These books explain an often complicated or technical issue in a manner that is easy for a general reader to understand.
Candid (direct, frank, forthcoming, forthright, unembellished) - The narrative style of these titles is frank and forthcoming, even when discussing potentially sensitive subjects.
Compelling (gripping) - These books have a powerful and irresistible effect on readers and draw them into the story.
Complex style (dense, extravagant, intricate, layered, literary, multifaceted, sophisticated, thorough, well-crafted) - The writer pays careful attention to the use of language, which may skillfully combine several style elements; the story can often be read on a number of levels.
Conversational (chatty, colloquial, gabby, informal) - These books are written in informal language, as if a friend is relating a story.
Descriptive (expressive, flowery, illustrative, loquacious, vivid) - Using illustrative, expressive language, these books are filled with adjectives and elaborate descriptions.
Dialect (diction, idiom, lingo, local speech, localism, regional language, regionalism, slang, vernacular) - These books employ regional language, lingo, or slang, which often helps to evoke the setting.
Engaging (appealing, captivating, fascinating) - Often light in mood, these books capture the attention and the imagination of readers through narrative style, character, or use of detail.
Experimental (avant-garde, different, odd, rare, uncommon, unexpected, unfamiliar, unusual) - These books employ language, narrative structure, or even setting in an unusual or unexpected manner.
Gritty (graphic, hard-edged, noir) - These books include dark and unsettling details and often depict violence.
Jargon (buzz words, lingo, technical language) - These books use a lot of the specialized, technical language of a particular group, trade, or profession.
Journalistic (researched, well-researched) - Nonfiction use only. These books are well-researched but written in language that is more relaxed and conversational than scholarly. The issues are often newsworthy and the author is often a journalist.
Lush (evocative, lavish) - These books contain a large amount of descriptive language specifically geared towards one’s sense of taste, smell, hearing, or sight. Because of this level of detail, readers often feel as if they are actually experiencing what is being described
Lyrical (artistic, beautiful, elegant, flowing, graceful, poetic, rhythmic) - The language in these titles is elegant and beautiful, often with a rhythmic or poetic quality.
Persuasive(convincing, conclusive, credible, influential, logical, plausible, reasoned, well-argued) - Nonfiction use only. Authors advocate a point of view or make an argument in these books, often trying to sway readers to their opinions. While a book may present both sides of an issue, this is often used to bolster the original opinion.
Richly-detailed (detailed, expert knowledge, insider knowledge) - In these books, a strong level of detail informs the story's backdrop. Sometimes an author's special body of knowledge (e.g., of forensics, music, history, etc.) adds to the storyline, and sometimes there are so many "extras" included that the reader's experience is greatly enriched. This phrase is often linked to subject headings which convey this wealth of additional information.
Scholarly (academic, expert, intellectual, learned, smart, scholastic) - Nonfiction use only. These books are thoroughly researched and often address a complicated, technical, or academic issue. Their language may be academic, dry, or lofty, and they sometimes contain numerous footnotes or other supplemental material.
Spare (austere, restrained) - The writing in these books is minimal and elegant. Words are seldom wasted, and great attention is paid to the use of language.
Mod
Thoughtful (considerate, delicately-handled, mindful, respectful, sensitive, sensitively-handled) - Despite covering a sensitive or controversial topic, these books are considerately written and handle the subject with respect.
Witty (amusing, clever, cunning, droll, original, quick, sly, smart) - These books are cleverly written, and express amusing insights or relationships
About Appeal in NoveList
Recommending books based on their particular appeals (rather than, for example, by subject) is a readers' advisory concept endorsed and practiced by key RA librarians. In collaboration with some of these influential players, NoveList has developed a "vocabulary of appeal" to help readers – and the librarians serving them – find books that have the type of Storyline, Pace, Tone, and/or Writing Style they prefer.
Appeal Categories
Appeal in NoveList is presented in four categories: Storyline, Pace, Tone, and Writing Style. These appeal terms can be searched separately, or for a more targeted search can be combined with our subject, location, and genre headings.
Storyline
The Storyline tag is a quick way to determine a book's focus – is the plot what drives the story, or is character development where the real interest lies? Is the plot intricate and complex? This appeal factor will help readers find books with the overall structure they are looking for.
Pace
Pace is the rate at which a story unfolds for the reader. The NoveList vocabulary for this appeal factor is designed to identify books falling at either end of the pacing spectrum – those titles that are clearly fast-paced, or those which are steady and measured. Books which fall in the middle will not receive a pace appeal tag.
Tone Tone is the feeling that a book evokes in the reader. Is the mood of the story light and upbeat, or dark and menacing? Is it inspirational or bleak? Does the setting significantly add to the emotional content of the story? This is one of the most subtle and challenging of appeal factors, but also may be one of the most important to the reader.
Writing Style
In NoveList, "Writing style" as an appeal factor includes the language used in the book and the level of detail in the background. How is the book written? Are care and attention placed on the words or language used to convey the story, or is this secondary to the plot? Does the author excel at including "extras" which enrich the reader's experience?
Appeal Terms for Adults
STORYLINE
Character-driven (character-centered) - These books focus on the growth and development of the characters rather than on the plot.
Complex plot (complicated, convoluted, elaborate, intricate, layered, multifaceted ) - These books have intricate, complicated, or elaborate storylines – sometimes involving multiple plots, large casts of characters, or lots of twists and turns, and sometimes featuring stories which can be read in multiple ways, with layered meanings.
Issue-oriented (controversial, problem-oriented ) - Issue-oriented books explore controversial themes. These books include emotional, ethical, or social problems like depression, suicide, eating disorders, sex, drugs, sexual orientation, genetic research or prejudice.
Plot-driven (action-driven, plot-centered, story-centered) - These books are driven by the story and are focused around a pivotal event or series of events – character development is secondary to the plot.
World-building (constructed world) - These books immerse the reader in a vividly created imaginary world. Almost exclusively found in works of fantasy and science fiction, world-building is the creation of an imaginary world that possesses such intricacies as invented histories, languages, geography, or cultures.