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 