Comments on: Book Titles

By: RLB

RLB — Thu, 05 Feb 2004 05:19:47 +0000

Hmm… Perhaps I should stop visiting websites randomly. I have no idea where I am. Sure, I could simply raise my head to look at the name of this place, but I don’t want to, because that would be logical; that is not my way. If there’s someone actually reading this, then you leave me no options other than to shake my head in digust. I mean, what I’m talking about has nothing to do with whatever is going on in here. I’d know what’s going on “in here” but I still don’t want to look up. I might, go blind or something along those lines. If I were to go blind, then I wouldn’t be able to use my computer to randomly post comments at websites I know nothing about any longer. And that would be just WRONG.

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Tue, 03 Feb 2004 11:01:15 +0000

Why don’t you and LA collaborate on a book and call it Parts? It seems to me that the mereological properties of organ transplants would pose enough problems to fill a big thick book.

By: PG

PG — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 22:20:02 +0000

My first thought in response to "American Skin" was, Oh yes, the Bruce Springsteen song. As for the book on blood and organ donation in the U.S. and Europe, perhaps it would be interesting to play off the fact that while these nations are technologically advanced, there are some things for which they still haven't been able to make good artificial substitutes. "Accepting No Substitutes: Blood and Organ Donation in the United States and Europe." There's already a book on the subject called "life from death," another called "twice dead," a "raising the dead." Any title about getting life from death ignores that blood donors are alive and increasing numbers of organ donors are as well. "Spare Parts," "Courage to Fail." If the title is to be taken from something unrelated, I like "Organs Across Bodies."

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 18:11:29 +0000

The Kidneys: A Euro-American Dynasty, From Humble Beginnings to Power in Massachusetts and the Nation

By: tina

tina — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 17:42:13 +0000

Of Blood and Guts

By: Another Damned Medievalist

Another Damned Medievalist — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 16:49:49 +0000

My dissertation title has no colon and no subtitle. Several people in the department (history) told me in a patronizing tone that it was “charming” and “old-fashioned.” Me—I thought it was just clear. However, a couple colleagues in English recently told me that their advisors had expressed the opinion that a clever title (of the type in question, vague:subtitle) was every bit as important as the content. WTF?

By: Mats

Mats — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 22:16:27 +0000

Bret Easton Ellis, “American Psyco”

By: Steve Carr

Steve Carr — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:21:10 +0000

Where does this idea that vague grandiose titles are a recent phenomenon come from? The fifties, which P.B. Almeida suggests was a less commercial time, was the heyday of these titles (and these kinds of books): “The Lonely Crowd,” “The Organization Man,” “The Last Landscape,” “American Dilemma” (well, that was the forties), “The Image,” etc.

By: Skinny

Skinny — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 17:56:54 +0000

“Jigsaw Men”, in allusion to the similarly titled Larry Niven story.

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 14:35:59 +0000

I’ve always been fond of the “Rocky and Bullwinkel” form of titles- for the most simple version, just drop the colon (no pun intended, given it’s about organs!) and put in an “or”. But, it’s better if you can make the first part serious, the second a bit funny. Another under-used style today is the long baroque title- try putting as much of the introduction or preface as you can in the tile, seems to be the style.

By: Abiola Lapite

Abiola Lapite — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 10:56:21 +0000

“American Organs” – for that special double-entendre appeal.

By: Jolyon

Jolyon — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 10:44:24 +0000

On principle, I never buy a book bearing the imprint of the “Vague Grandiose Title: slightly less vague subtitle” formula, especially if the author has a middle initial. Still, if you must, how about: “Get Organ-ized: How to spill your guts and make a million”? But I prefer “Venting Spleen“, which would play nicely on the Romance language connotations of ‘selling’ (vendre etc) and ‘bellies’ (ventre etc), as well as conjuring visions of innards being ‘vented’ from one’s cavities (hey, I’m warming to the subject). And presumably your book will be mildly critical of someone, somewhere so the title will also have its usual English connotations.

By: John Kozak

John Kozak — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 10:02:16 +0000

> Welsh Skin The confessions of Dai the Boot?

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 08:57:01 +0000

When I worked in publishing there was (at least at my firm) a rash of titles of the form “Between X and Y”, sometimes varied to “From X to Y”. Scans well, includes the words you want and leaves the contents open. BTW, I think Welsh Skin sounds rather good, though I can’t decide whether the genre is porno, murder-mystery, or celebrity autobiography (Catherine Zeta-Jones?).

By: Kieran Healy

Kieran Healy — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 08:39:18 +0000

Two Nations Divided By a Common Lung Wish Ow!