Novel vs. Book: When To Use Each Word
⚡ Quick summary
A novel is a type of book. Generally, a book is considered to be a novel if it is long, is written in prose, and is a work of fiction. A novel typically tells a narrative story about events that happen to characters in a particular setting.
During your life, you have likely read quite a few books and novels. However, you might not know exactly why one thing might be only called a book whereas something else is called both a book and a novel.
In this article, we’ll help you read up on the different meanings of the words book and novel, explain what criteria are typically used to decide if something is a novel, and provide other words that we use to refer to different types of books.
book vs. novel
While all novels are books, not all books are novels. A novel is a type of book just as a banana is a type of fruit. Generally, a book is considered to be a novel if it is long, is written in prose, and is a work of fiction. Typically, novels tell a narrative story about a person or group within a setting.
While the exact page count will vary, a novel usually must be at least around 50,000 words, and many novels are much longer than this. Sometimes, books will identify themselves as novels on the cover or in the title.
Because novels must be fictional, works of nonfiction are never considered to be novels. Nonfiction books are often simply referred to as books, identified by a more specific category, like a memoir or a dictionary, or are referred to by descriptive adjectives, like a history book or a coloring book. Novels are also distinct from poems, which are written in verse rather than prose.
Because novels are always fictional, it’s important to distinguish them from other types of books. Most nonfiction books, such as memoirs or reference books, place an importance on providing true, accurate information. For this reason, it is crucial that these books are not erroneously categorized as novels, since that would imply that they are actually works of fiction and the information they contain is either wrong or invented.
Examples of book and novel used in a sentence
Let’s turn the page and read some example sentences that show how we typically use the words book and novel.
- The Bible is one of history’s most influential books.
- The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- I found an interesting book about astronomy at the library.
- She has written many poems, novels, and short stories about robots.
This book is about the writing process that Stephen King uses when writing his horror novels.
Similar words
Books can be categorized in a variety of ways. In general, the word nonfiction refers to books that include true information or recount events that actually happened. By contrast, books that are referred to as fiction, such as novels, include made-up events or tell stories about imagined characters.
Sometimes, books are further categorized based on length. The terms novel, novella, and short story are some examples of categories applied based on how long a fiction book is.
Many reference books or informative books are categorized based on what information is in the book. Words like dictionary, memoir, autobiography, atlas, almanac, journal, and manual refer to books that contain specific types of information.
Books, like other forms of art, are also often assigned to different genres depending on certain qualities, such as themes or setting. Some examples of book genres include romance, science fiction, horror, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and historical fiction.
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