Public Book (Of Orders)

That copy of American Psycho you and your friends passed around when you were 14. One form of public book.

The financial kind features much less sex and violence. This version includes a list of orders for an individual security, like a stock. It details all the buy and sell orders that people have made for the stock. It's a record of activity in the security...like a guest book at a hotel, or like that creepy list you keep of all the people you've ever dated.

Nowadays, public books are kept electronically. The market specialist for that particular security will update the list as new orders come in. Otherwise, a specific order book official will be put in charge of maintaining the record.