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We are sometimes advised on how important a good title is and yet it can be one of the most difficult things to decide on when you're writing. I suppose it's stating the obvious that a title should be one that inspires people to pick up the book in the library or bookshop and consider it further. It should reflect the book accurately, rather than just being clever.
"The Hound of The Baskervilles" has been given as one of the best titles and I agree with this but would also include "The Prisoner of Zenda", "The Hunt For Red October", and Great Expectations".
What do other Talkbackers think?
Comments
Least favourite title? 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian.' There was a vogue for those sort of titles a while ago and I find them annoying as the title has so little to do with the book.
And what about memorable titles that have been re-worked due to political correctness. Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Niggers' comes to mind. Who would ever dare conjure a title like that now?
I have quite a few favourite titles - and they're not all books I've even read. e.g. A Farewell to Arms.
One of my worst titles: The Map of Love. I would not have given it a second glance, but a friend - who also thought the title was naff - gave it to me.
There are titles that sound good but, as said above, have nothing to do with the book. I tend to like ones that are a bit poetic but that give you a clue or a sense of feeling like 'Of Mice and Men' or 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' (which also happen to be my two favourite books!)
The Restraint of Beasts is another of my favourite titles.
'Tis by Frank McCourt
Everything that Rises Must Converge.
Ana S. makes a good point about same titles in her blog. There may be no copyright on them but it's best to be individual.
In my post I forgot to mention that an example of a bad title is "The Casual Vacancy". It's flat and the book wouldn't have excited any interest if it hadn't been written by J.K. Rowling.
I read that and thought - no... no, it mustn't. It might drift off into space and disappear in any direction whatsoever. anyone who has seen a load of balloons let go will know that. Plus, of course, the higher you go, the more rare the air is - molecules becoming more and more distant. That title pisses me off so much I'd never so much as touch the book.
Speaking of 'strikes'; her Cormoran Strike series (under pseudonym of Robert Galbraith) is very good.