“What’s In The Name?”

Turns out, a lot IS in the name. Listen up, Shakespeare.

This idea just popped up in my mind this morning, so this is pretty spontaneous. In this discussion post, we are going to be looking at how important book titles are, which kind of titles make me take a second look at the book (and which do not) and some of my personal favourite titles. Make yourself comfortable because we are starting…now!

The title of a book is like the first impression the reader gets of the book, perhaps even more so than the cover. The title forms the basis of reader’s judgement about the book. It is the title that gets talked about in general conversations, making it incredibly important for it to be a word or a set of words which catches people’s attention. The title is what is mentioned in as the heading of book review posts on blogs, and other social media.

Most people (including me) would not even care to read the book’s synopsis if the title does not sound good to them. When I am scrolling through Goodreads, I stop only when a title catches my attention. Then I look at the blurb, and then I take a look a the cover, the genres and the ratings. So the very first basis in which I decide to add a book to my tbr is the title, and the rest comes later. Of course, a good title can’t make a boring book look good, but it can definitely make an interesting book seem better. Ultimately, the title should be such that it makes you want to start reading the story.

• A title that uses some reference from the story, without giving away too much.
• A title whose real meaning becomes relevant only when I am quite far into the book. (That moment when I finally understand is like a lightbulb turning on in my head😂)
• Titles with puns, or some sort of word play
• Titles that are easy to pronounce and understand
• Vague one-word titles
• A surreal title that ignites curiosity on hearing it for the first time

• The word ‘and’ as a connector. I mean, I have nothing against it as such, but titles like “A and the B” (not a real book title! I am just giving an example) really discourage me from reading the book. It’s completely all right with children’s books and picture books (remember Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs?) but middle grade and young adult having such titles…its usually a no-go for me.
• Very obvious book titles, which are the names of the main character or the main setting. Any title whose meaning becomes obvious as soon as we start reading the book.

(these are purely my opinions, I do not mean to disregard or offend anyone)

Alright, time for some of my favourite titles! This is going to be interesting….*cracks knuckles*

Mightier Than The Sword by Jeffrey Archer : Can you think of any better way to describe an author? There could have been so many other boring names for this one, but instead the author took up a phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword” and removed the first three words. So impressive, right?

Supernova by Marissa Meyer is the third and final book in the Renegades series. If you don’t have any clue about the story, this may not sound like a very impressive title. But actually this title is a pun, and a good one at that. Its not the supernova as in the “space explosion”, it is supernova as in “the mc’s name is Nova, the book is about superheroes, and Nova is a villain”. Now can you see the genius behind that title?! (And I haven’t read this book yet, but I have read the first two, so I will probably get this this one soon)

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir : Although I didn’t enjoy this book very much, that can’t stop me from appreciating the title, can it? What I liked about this was how initially the reader has no idea why the book is named the way it is, and later on, I think about halfway through the book, this appears for the first time as a quote. “You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veterius.”,something like this, if I remember correctly?

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom : What an intriguing title! Doesn’t the title itself make most of you want to read this book? And the book was pretty good too, from what I remember.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie gave me chills from the moment I read the name of the book. And that might be one of the reasons I was so hesitant to read it. Yeah I am a scaredy cat. And it has sort of a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? And then there were none…

13 Reasons Why I think I am talking about this on my blog for the first time! I had read it a couple years back and didn’t really enjoy it that much. But. We are here to talk about the title, so isn’t this a nice, unique one? Kinda makes me feel its the start of an essay. 13 reasons why polar bears are going extinct…okay that just popped into my head 🙃

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Before ending this post, I wanted to share a completely random word fact : Today I realized that the words LUSTRE, RUSTLE and RESULT have exactly the same letters in different arrangements. How’s that?😏

How important do you think book titles are? Are there any books you picked up because of their title? Which are your favourite book titles? Any discussion post remains incomplete without your inputs, so be sure to put your thoughts in the comments section!

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