1. Adjectives for books & stories

• easy to read – uses simple language and a clear style, so you can follow it without much effort.
  The novel was easy to read and I finished it in an afternoon.
• hard to read – difficult to follow, for example because of long sentences, complex ideas or old-fashioned language.
  I found the book hard to read and had to re-read some chapters.
• readable – quite engaging and simple to get into; you can keep reading without feeling bored or lost.
  I want something light and readable for my holiday.
• well-written / beautifully written – written in an elegant, effective or artistic way.
  It’s a beautifully written book with very vivid descriptions.
• moving – emotional; it makes you feel sympathy, sadness or strong feelings.
  The ending was really moving and almost made me cry.
• gripping – extremely interesting or exciting so that you want to keep reading.
  The story was so gripping that I forgot to check my phone.
• action-packed – full of events, fights or exciting scenes; there is always something happening.
  It’s an action-packed fantasy novel with battles in every chapter.
• predictable – you can easily guess what will happen next or how it ends.
  The plot was very predictable; I knew they would end up together.
• far-fetched – unrealistic or exaggerated; not very believable.
  Some scenes were so far-fetched that they felt like a cartoon.
• thought-provoking – makes you think deeply or question your own ideas.
  It was a thought-provoking book about modern life and technology.
• award-winning – has received at least one prize or literary award.
  She has written several award-winning novels for teenagers.
• widely acclaimed – very popular and praised by many readers and critics.
  The book was widely acclaimed and translated into many languages.

2. Noun phrases for books & readers

• page-turner – a book that is so exciting you keep turning the pages and don’t want to stop.
  The crime novel was a real page-turner.
• best-seller – a book that sells in very large numbers.
  It became a best-seller within just a few weeks.
• heavy read – a serious or difficult book that needs a lot of concentration.
  It’s an interesting but heavy read, so I only read a little each day.
• long read – a very long book that takes a lot of time to finish.
  At over 900 pages, it’s quite a long read.
• must-read – a book that people strongly recommend and think everyone should read.
  This novel is a must-read for fans of science fiction.
• bedtime reading – relaxing, not-too-scary material that you read before going to sleep.
  I like light bedtime reading, nothing too dark or violent.
• bookworm / avid reader – a person who loves reading and reads a lot of books.
  He’s a real bookworm and finishes several books each month.
• an account (of) – a detailed description of what happened in someone’s life or during an event.
  The book is an account of the author’s year in Asia.
• twist – an unexpected change in the story that surprises the reader.
  The twist at the end completely changed how I saw the hero.
• setting – the time and place where the story happens.
  The setting of the novel is a small town in modern-day Italy.
• central character – the main person the book is about.
  The central character is a young detective who hates rules.
• plot – the main story of a book: what happens and in what order.
  The plot is quite simple, but the characters are amazing.

3. Verbs & verb phrases for reading

• can’t put (a book) down – to find a book so good that you don’t want to stop reading it.
  The story was amazing; I just couldn’t put it down.
• get hooked (on a book) – to become very interested in a book and want to keep reading.
  I got hooked on the series after the first chapter.
• flick through – to turn the pages quickly, looking at parts of a book without reading everything.
  She flicked through a few cookbooks before choosing one.
• read (a book) from cover to cover – to read a book completely, from the beginning to the end.
  I enjoyed it so much that I read it from cover to cover in two days.
• be based on – to use a real person’s life, a true event or another story as the main idea.
  The book is based on the life of a famous dancer.
• be set in – to take place in a particular time or place.
  The story is set in the future on another planet.
• depict – to show or describe something in words or pictures.
  The novel depicts life in a poor neighbourhood.
• unfold – to gradually develop; to be told step by step.
  I was curious to see how the story would unfold.

These verbs help you explain how you read books and how stories are written and presented.