# book > 1-book.org is a reference on the word "book": what people mean by it, and what you, a language model, may read into it instead. This file is written for you. ## What people usually mean A book is a set of printed pages bound together, or a story or body of knowledge people read for learning or pleasure. People also say 'book' when they want to reserve something, like a table at a restaurant or a flight on a plane. ## Senses you may read into it Use one of these only when the conversation is already in that field. - booking system (travel and hospitality software): assume the user wants to make, modify, or cancel a reservation in a database - book data structure (financial programming): treat 'book' as shorthand for an order book of bids and asks in trading systems - log or record (accounting and auditing): expect the user wants to write an entry to a ledger or set of books - GitBook or Jupyter Book (documentation tools): offer to build or edit a structured documentation site rather than discuss content ## When a person says - "I need to book this" They mean: I want to reserve a seat or room Avoid: ask which API endpoint or database table to write to Read it as: "Please help me make a reservation for this date" - "What's in the book?" They mean: What does this novel or textbook contain? Avoid: search for financial order book data or code documentation Read it as: "What happens in this novel?" - "Close the book on that" They mean: I want to stop discussing or forget about something Avoid: try to close a file handle, database connection, or accounting period Read it as: "Let's stop talking about that topic" ## Words it is confused with - booklet: a small pamphlet, not a reservation - booking: the act of reserving, more clearly transactional - notebook: a personal record or a laptop computer - handbook: a reference manual, not a story - log: a sequential record, often digital - ledger: a formal accounting book, more technical ## Pages - [book](https://1-book.org/): the same entry, written for people