| AEG | All Edges Gilt |
| ARC | Advance Reader's Copy. A paperback version released before the trade edition for publicity. These may have no artwork. |
| BCE | Book Club Edition. Some have less expensive bindings, materials, or inferior print quality, are often smaller and are therefore not as collectible - but are more likely to be found in mint condition. Some are equal in quality to trade editions, and many of this type have cover art not found in other editions. Some are deluxe editions and highly collectable (Easton Press, Folio). |
| BOMC | book of the month club |
| DJ / DW | Dust Jacket or Dust Wrapper. Protective paper, sometimes glossy or even laminated, that is wrapped around a book cover. Many are highly decorative and/or add value to the book. |
| Ed. | Edition |
| Ex-lib | Formerly owned by a lending library |
| FEP / FFEP / RFEP | Free Endpaper (or flyleaf) / Front Free Endpaper / Rear Free Endpaper. Blank or decorative pages added by the book binder. |
| HC / HB | Hardback or hardcover |
| ISBN | International Standard Book Number - books printed by major publishers after about 1970 will have one. Unique ten digit number which unmistakably identifies publisher, date, and edition. |
| MMPB | Mass Market Paperback, smaller and less expensive than a trade paperback |
| OOP | Out of print |
| PB | Paperback |
| PBO | Paperback Original. Indicates a first edition - not previously released in hardcover. |
| PO or P/O | Previous Owner |
| QPB or QPBC | Quality Paperback Book Club |
| SC or SLC | Slipcase; sometimes used to mean soft cover, check the context of the usage |
| SP | Sticker pull. Discoloration, color or paper loss, or any damage incurred in the process of removing a label. |
| SFBC | Science Fiction Book Club |
| TP | Title Page. |
| TPB | Trade paperback. Larger and sturdier than a standard paperback. |
| VOL / VOLS | Volume / Volumes. |
| Binding | Material used as a protective cover for a book. |
| Boards | the front and back covers of a hard bound book |
| Colophon | the last page of a book, stating the printing and type information. Some publishers put copyright information there. |
| Edges | The three unbound sides of the text block: the top (or head), the bottom (or foot) and the fore edge. |
| Endpapers | Pages added by the binder which become the FEP/REP and pastedowns. |
| Endpaper | Refers to the paper affixed to the boards when singular. Also called the pastedown. |
| Fore-edge | The front edge of the book; the last part you see before you open it |
| Gutter | A flexible trough between a board and the spine of a hard cover binding which allows movement at the hinge |
| Half Title Page | Sometimes found before the title page, with only the title of the book printed on it. |
| Headband | A strip of cloth affixed to bound signatures for decoration or reinforcement. |
| Hinge | Where a hardcover binding meets the endpapers inside the book |
| Gilt, Gilded, Foil | Metallic decoration most commonly used for spine or cover art, or a thin layer of gold leaf covering text block edges |
| Leaves | Pages |
| Mull | Cloth used to reinforce the hinges, pasted onto the body of the book, hidden by the spine and end papers |
| Number Line | Indicates impression. Commonly found on the copyright page. Some books will have none, some publishers use alphabet letters or other signs rather than numbers, or a combination. |
| Obverse | The front surface. |
| Pastedown | A term applied to paper pasted to a cover or slipcase, including endpapers and decorative labels. |
| Plate | An added page containing art or extra information |
| Recto | The right hand side - opposite of Verso |
| Signature | A section of the text block which was folded and sewn. |
| Slipcase | A protective and often decorative box made to contain a book or set of books |
| Text Block | All the pages of the book |
| Tipped-In | An item pasted down by one edge which may be expanded or removed, such as a map or photo. |
| Top Stain | The top edge of the text block has been colored for decorative purposes. Sometimes all the text block edges are stained a solid color or speckled. |
| Verso | The back of a page; the left side |
| Watermark | Faint background design sometimes found in high quality paper |
| Wraps / Wrappers | paperback or softcover binding |