Thursday, May 27, 2010

What was that book called?

I am excited to read Aimee Bender's new book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake which is due out on June 1. I read Ms. Bender's first book, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, because I was enamored with the title, and I must say the title of her new book appeals to me. A colleague of mine mentioned yesterday that she wanted to read Going Bovine by Libba Bray because of the intriguing qualities of the title and cover. When I invest my time in reading a book I want the title to matter. I recently finished a book, a book I really enjoyed, and every time I tried to tell someone about it I couldn't remember the title (and this is not just because of my flightiness or forgetfulness). Even after reading the book I couldn't figure out the significance of the title, and so it made it highly forgettable, and I have to say that really annoys me. It seems to me to be counterproductive to have an esoteric or just plain silly book title--don't you want the title to be on the tip of everyone's tongue? OK that is my rant for the day, and I still can't remember the name of that book that I really enjoyed.

FYI: Great review of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake on the NPR web site.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:44 AM

    A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Eggers always drives me crazy. Or is it A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius? It's a pain. And I really liked it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My vote for the best titles goes to Joe Coomer. Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God (set in Portsmouth!) &
    Apologizing to Dogs are among the best titles... and best books I have ever read.

    ReplyDelete

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