chick-lit: a sometimes derogatory term for literature aimed at women, about single women in their twenties who are looking for love
trick-lit: “Trick Lit is the term [Seth Godin invented] for a chick lit novel that pretends to be something else, hoping to rope people in with an interesting premise. 30 pages later, you discover that you were deceived, that it’s just another piece of genre trash.” Interestingly, there’s no such word to describe a word for serious literature written by women which nevertheless gets covered in pastel covers (a la the dark and brilliant work of Lionel Shriver).
clit-lit: romance aimed at women but with more erotica than usual
dick-lit: chick-lit for men
quick-lit: Expression that encompasses both chick lit and dick lit. Essentially quick lit is light, contemporary fiction that is quickly and easily read and (most often) takes place in an urban environment.
sick-lit: a subgenre of YA which deals with characters who are in some way physically incapacitated, whether it’s from cancer (The Fault In Our Stars), mental illness, or recovering from an accident (If I Stay)
hick-lit: a specifically American genre featuring parochial characters without much money living in the country
brick-lit: that genre of travel literature in which a sophisticatedly jaded man, woman, or couple falls in love with a crumbling farmhouse in some exotic, rural locale and in the comic struggle to restore said farmhouse, and via encounters with the native populace, gleans profound lessons about life, love, and local color. —Jonathan Miles, Garden and Gun
flick-lit: books which have been adapted for the big screen
click-lit: one of the many words for ‘transmedia storytelling’. “”The idea is to make something inspired by the novel – where the book is the brief – rather than an obvious dramatisation, so that it has the potential to go beyond the book and to add something to the reading experience.” (The Guardian)
kick-lit: literature about football
thick-lit: a term used to describe the kind of literature that is not worthy of serious study, but which is nevertheless studied in schools.
s(c)tick-lit: A writing genre in which the author undertakes an odd or stuntlike project with the intention of writing about the experience.
mick-lit: A category of Popular, generally humorous, literature by Irish male writers, and about the Irish Male Condition. Includes authors such as John Banville, Ross O’Carroll Kelly, and even classic authors such James Joyce and Oscar Wilde.
Further Suggestions
broomstick-lit: a subgenre of fantasy featuring witches who ride broomsticks, keep black cats and brew potions in cauldrons
lipstick-lit: books you love so much you actually kiss them
tick-lit: canonical works you feel you should read, but you only read them so you can tick them off your bucket list
homesick-lit: books set in your hometown, or read when younger in a comfortable, homely spot, which you re-read when you’re away at college or on AFS
yardstick-lit: books writers read in their own genre, and can’t help comparing their own work to
toothpick-lit: meaty stories
picnic-lit: paperbacks about food that you slip into a picnic basket and read while lying under a tree
seasick-lit: books which are full of emotional ups-and-downs and leave you in a different place after you’ve put them down (with relief)
candlestick-lit: stories set in Gothic mansions
walking-stick-lit: stories enjoyed by your Nan and Pop
politic-lit: chick-lit written about politics e.g. Campaign Ruby by Jessica Rudd
arithmetic-lit: fiction featuring a magical world which works on maths. Includes heavy mathematical explanations.
dip-stick lit: stories about mechanics
slick-lit: stories about oil spills
