Final answer:
The frictional force exerted on a stationary book when pushed is static friction, which counters motion until the applied force surpasses a threshold. It relies on surface interaction and the normal force but not the book's orientation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The frictional force exerted on the book when you push on it is an example of static friction. This is a force that opposes the relative motion or the tendency of motion between two surfaces in contact when they are at rest with respect to one another. The magnitude of the frictional force can change depending on several factors such as the nature of the surfaces in contact and the normal force being exerted on the surfaces, but it doesn't depend on the book's orientation or its motion in a gravitational field.
To understand this in the context of Newton's laws of motion, particularly Newton's first law of motion (inertia), static friction plays a role in preventing motion until a certain threshold of applied force is exceeded. Additionally, the normal force and gravitational force play a part, as the normal force is perpendicular to the surfaces in contact and is equal to the gravitational force acting downward through the center of mass of the book.