On a whim, I asked ChatGPT to tell me what adjectives I use most often in my book reviews. And lo and behold, I got an answer within seconds.
The initial response was this:
On the website Bookshelf Fantasies, some of the most frequently used adjectives in book reviews include:
- Engaging: Reviews often describe books as engaging, highlighting the reader’s involvement and interest in the story.
- Enjoyable: Books that were liked or appreciated are often described as enjoyable.
- Great: This is commonly used to express high praise for the quality of the book or specific aspects like characters or plot.
- Interesting: Often used to describe intriguing plots or unique story elements that capture the reader’s attention.
- Memorable: Applied to characters or storylines that leave a lasting impression.
Then I expanded my request, and asked for the top 20 adjectives used, which yielded this response:
To determine the top 20 adjectives used in book reviews at Bookshelf Fantasies, I would need to analyze a large number of their posts in detail. However, I can provide a list based on the most common adjectives observed from the reviews I’ve analyzed so far:
- Engaging
- Enjoyable
- Great
- Interesting
- Memorable
- Gripping
- Fascinating
- Captivating
- Well-written
- Absorbing
- Intriguing
- Charming
- Exciting
- Thrilling
- Powerful
- Compelling
- Emotional
- Satisfying
- Thought-provoking
- Suspenseful
When I asked for the verbs I use most often in book reviews, the top few answers were not surprising:
- Enjoy
- Love
- Like
- Recommend
These don’t surprise me — I was already feeling like I use “enjoy” too often, although I haven’t come up with an alternative that works quite as well. Again, per ChatGPT…
Here are some thesaurus synonyms for the verb “enjoy”:
- Appreciate
- Relish
- Savor
- Delight in
- Revel in
- Take pleasure in
- Like
- Love
- Admire
- Fancy
These synonyms capture various nuances of the word “enjoy,” ranging from simply liking something to taking deep pleasure or satisfaction in it.
I can’t imagine using most of these… would I ever say that I “fancied” a book or “reveled in” a story?
Back to my adjectives…
“Enjoyable” pops up in the #2 position — I’m surprised to see that I use “engaging” even more. “Great” and “interesting” show up as numbers 3 and 4, and I don’t find that particularly “memorable” (#5).
“Great” feels especially mediocre to me, as far as language use goes. What am I trying to say when I describe something as “great”? There’s a lesson here for me, to be sure. I’d like to be more thoughtful about my descriptions. If something is “great”… well, why? What grabbed me? What made it special or noteworthy?
I have definitely not jumped on the ChatGPT bandwagon, and haven’t been a fan of the type of information I’ve received when I have played around with it. But for the purpose of looking at my word usage in recent posts, I have to admit that it’s pretty nifty! (“Nifty!” Now there’s a good alternative to “great”!)
Sure, I could pull a thesaurus off my (virtual) bookshelf. (I do still own a hardcover dictionary, but sadly, no physical editions of a thesaursus.) I could (and often do) turn to online thesaurus sites for help when I get stuck and need a good synonym.
I’m not committing to eliminating, or even just reducing, my use of the words on these lists, but it was an interesting exercise for me to see if some of what I believed about my recurring word usage was accurate. And as a takeaway, I’ll at least be more thoughtful in the future before describing something as “great”!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
I feel like I use a lot of the same words in my reviews, too. Try as I might, it’s hard to get away from the same words when you know they express exactly how you feel. I usually keep the thesaurus open when I’m writing a review just to help try not to sound too repetitive… but it can be hard. Yesterday I was writing a review and I wanted another word for clunky… but nothing felt right to use in comparison, so I just stuck with it. This was definitely an interesting experiment and I enjoyed reading it!
Thank you! It was a fun game to play with myself 🙂 — and sometimes, the right word is absolutely the right word, even if it’s one you feel like you use a lot. Clunky is a great one! And sometimes, it’s exactly right. 🙂
Clunky is my new favourite word, I know I’ve used it a few times now! But I agree, sometimes the word you use a lot just expresses what you feel best!
Using some of the same words is inevitable.. at least no swear words popped up!
Haha, I try to keep my f-bombs to a minimum — at least in my writing!
I love this use of ChatGPT. I always try not to use the same words too often in a review but it’s really hard to find different words sometimes. I’m conscious of possibly over using ‘enjoy’ but none of the synonyms work quite as well.
It was a fun exercise — not sure how much it will change my writing (and it’s so hard to avoid “enjoy”), but it’s at least giving me something to think about!
What a fascinating exercise, and yes, nifty would be a good word for it. I actually do have a physical, hard cover, thesaurus, on the shelf next to my desk. Mind you, it is a 1970 edition so… I’m guessing it might be missing some newer words. That said, I remember spending hours looking through it when I was younger, going down one rabbit hole after another. The MS Word version, however, is a touch more convenient, and I do use that often when writing my reviews. As for using ChatGPT… your idea is probably the only way I’d want to use it. I am VERY wary of anything AI (but I have tried the image generator a couple times).
I avoid using AI too, but this was fun to explore. I used to love my hardcover dictionary and thesaurus — as a word geek, I spent lots of hours exploring and discovering! I think hard copies can’t be beat — there’s something lovely about opening to a random page and finding something new.
Totally!
I have never used this, to be honest AI things like this terrify me! But it’s interesting to see your results. I always wonder if I use certain words over and over, and I’m sure I do, lol..
The only other time I tried an AI query was while planning a road trip. I asked for a sample itinerary, and the information I got back was unimpressive, to be honest — nothing that a google search wouldn’t have provided. This was a fun way to pass some time — it was interesting to learn about my word usage!
That’s an interesting exercise. When reading over old posts, I realized that I tend to overuse certain adjectives (“interesting” being a top one), so I’ve been looking for new ones to use, usually by reading/listening to other people’s reviews and tuning in to adjectives that jump out to me that sound great to use. I like nifty.
Haha, “nifty” is an oldie but a goodie! I was feeling like I’d been using the same words over and over, which is what prompted down this particular rabbit hole. I can’t swear that my writing will change, but at least I’ll be a bit more aware of my common adjectives.
I use fun way too much in my reviews, along with enjoyed, really liked, and compelling. It was fun to see what adjectives you use the most. 😀
I use fun and funny quite often too (I think) — and I know I tend to use “overall” while wrapping up reviews pretty regularly, and then get annoyed at myself for using it!
Oh I love this! I already know that word ‘amazing’ probably features in my reviews a lot along with ‘loved’ 🤣
I mean, when something is amazing, it’s worth saying so!! I think we all have our go-to words, and it can be hard to find alternates when we know what we want to say!
I’ve also not used this but I do have a fear that sometimes my reviews will all start to sound the same.
Lynn 😀
I was feeling that way for sure — not every read can be compelling! 🙂 I’m not sure how much of a difference this will make for my writing, but it’s at least making me aware of certain patterns and encouraging me to keep them in mind.
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Yeah this does sound like an interesting exercise to be fair!
At last, a use for AI that I can get behind! 🙂