Hey everyone! How are you? I hope your month was good and that you took the time to take care of yourself.
Mine was okay. I worked from home, read many books and watched a lot of tv shows. My love for cooking, gardening and writing blossomed. I enjoyed that we were able to really take the time for things, not to be rushed like we often are in our daily routine. But I miss traveling, I miss hugs and kisses real bad. I really hope it will get better soon.
To cheer everyone up, I’m back on the blog today to talk about book titles. We’re always talking about book covers but never about book titles. It’s a bit weird because I’m pretty sure authors are working so hard to get the perfect title for their story.
So today I’m going to tell you what I like in book titles and share a few of my favorites. Let’s dive in, people!
? What I like to see in book titles
To be fair, before I had this idea, I didn’t really notice book titles before. Yeah… you read that right. I mean, I’m always attracted to the cover (sue me, you know we all do it). I’m looking at the pretty colors, at the scenery, at the characters on it… If it’s to my taste, I’m going to pick it up, really look at the title and then read the blurb. If not, it’s going to stay on the shelf and maybe I’ll be missing out on a big story.
Regarding the title, it doesn’t really weight in in my buying decision. It’s really the cover and the blurb that will make me want to get it or not. If the title is “weak”, I don’t think it will prevent me to buy the book.
After a bit of thinking, I realized I liked my titles short.
If it’s a long sentence, it’s a no-go. I’m not going to remember it and when people are going to ask what I’m reading, I’ll definitely draw a blank!
I do not like it when the title is so random it could be about any book.
For example, “The Girl”, “The romance” or “Friends” (I’m just spitballing here) aren’t titles that give the story any justice. It lacks depth. But it’s also not cool at all when the title reveals the whole plot, like “Character A dies”. I want the title to get me intrigued about the story and the characters, I want it to give me an atmosphere, a first taste. That’s why when it’s a metaphor and it almost seems like poetry, I get chills. You haven’t even read one page but you’re already immersed into this awesome world of words.
Last but not least, I absolutely love to find the title in the book!!
Yeees, I’m excited about that point! I really enjoy it when at first glance the title doesn’t really mean anything but as I read I find the title in the book and suddenly I get it. The light comes on! It’s powerful, it’s like the more you read, the more you get the keys to unlock the whole story. You’re right there with the author, it all makes sense and it’s beautiful.
? Top 10 favorite book titles
☔️ An Ember in the Ashes // The Edge of Anything // Every Other Weekend // Maybe in Another Life // All of This Is True
☔️ Our Year of Maybe // Just for Clicks // Emergency Contact // Starfish // The Beauty That Remains
What kind of book titles do YOU like? Do you have a few favorites you’d like to share?
If you’re a writer, how do you come up with your story’s title? Do you have an idea right from the start or do you only think about it at the very end?
Let’s chat in comments ?
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Such a good post. I’m with you on the covers, they are the hook that gets me interested. And I totally get the ‘finding the title’ thing too.
Thank you so much! ?
Yeees!!
Yaay, glad to see I’m not the only one ?
Finding the title in a book is SO satisfying!! I love when that happens 🙂
Yeees! ?
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
I love when I find the title in the book, too! You described that feeling perfectly.
Yaaaay, glad to see I’m not the only one ?
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
I love finding a title in a book too, but I prefer when it’s in the middle. I don’t like it when it is in the first or last lines. I agree that short titles are better, and they do have to be specific.
Yeeees, I totally agree with you! ? It’s gotta be in the middle of the book so I feel like I’ve earned it and I don’t want to wait the end to finally see it!
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the topic ??
I like shorter title too, but I think it’s just because I am too lazy to keep writing such a long title, when I am talking about it. And, YES! Finding the title in a book is fun. I love that!
Same here! I’m lazy ?
Yeees, so satisfying ?
Thanks for stopping by ??
I’ve never thought about book titles like this before! I also think I like my titles short and on the poetic end, though ? This is such a great post!
Yaaay ??
Thank you so so much! ?
To be honest, I’ve never thought about that neither but I also like titles to be short and if they’re long it’s nice if they have cool abbreviations. I also think that it’s helpful if authors – when naming book series – use the title of the first book and then add XY 1,2,… This way it’s much easier to find the books. // Nice post idea, Nyx!
Oh yeees, I do like cool abbreviations! It’s like if you know the abbreviation you’re in, you’re in the club ? Yes! I haven’t thought about that but I totally agree!
Thank you so much, I’m happy you enjoyed it ??
you and Marie always come up with the most unique post ideas, i love reading them so much!! ?❤ i agree with you that i don’t judge a book’s title as harshly as i might judge the premise (or book cover lol), but it is frustrating if the title is bland or reveals a spoiler!! and it truly is such a magical feeling to find the title in the book! The Beauty That Remains is also one of my favorite book titles – it’s so beautiful and ties into the novel’s theme perfectly ?
fantastic post, Nyx!! ?
Awww thank you!! That makes us so so happy ??? Glad to see I’m not the only one feeling that way ?
Yeees!! I love this book title so much ??
Thanks again for your sweet words ??
Loved this!!
Thank you so much! ?
I think I am the opposite to you, as I’ve discovered that I really enjoy long and non-sensical titles haha some of my favourites are “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and “The Field Guide to the North American Teenager”. That’s not to say that I ONLY like long titles, but I love the weirdness that comes with it and thinking about whether you just forgot a word or something haha
Oh my god, those are pretty original titles!! I totally get what you mean, I guess I’m just too lazy to remember and write a book title that is more than two words, haha ??
ahahaha I do get that!
Believe it or not, Im mainly looking at the title first.. then the blurb. but of course because of book blogging, most times it’s the cover that attracts me when seeing them online xd
OMG YES I love that moment where the lightbulb clicks as you read and go “aaah!!! THIS IS WHY” — I like my titles to intrigue me, wanting to read further to know the why of that title. Others? idk- the form of the phrase just attracts me and I find it beautiful ahah; Bonus point if I can see myself relating to it already.
Exemples I like; “A totally awkward love story”, “No one here is alone”, “When the stars lead to you”, “The summer of impossibility”, etc.
Haha, the power of the cover can’t be beat! ?
Yeeees, it’s just SO satisfying!! ?
Oh yees to the relate thing! LOVE all of those ??
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! ?
I’ve never really though much about book titles before, but I agree with what you said! Long titles don’t bother me too much, however. It is fun to see the title in the book though!!
Yaaay! ? Thank you so much for stopping by ??
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I think it’s really cool when there’s a specific scene in a book that the title comes from and you can tell as a reader that’s what it is, but it doesn’t necessarily have the title in the text. Some of my favorite titles are Wicked Saints, Empire of Sand, The Boy Who Steals Houses, In a Dark Dark Wood, and A Song of Wraiths and Ruin to name a few.
Yeeees!! Totally! ?
Love those, good choices ?
Great post! 🙂
I’m so with you when you find the title inside the book and in that moment everything just clicks! I LOVE that moment, it feels like you’re connecting with the author and it’s just a beautiful moment 😀
Thank you so much! ?
Yeees, that’s exactly it! ??
I think more than I dislike generic titles like The Girl or spoiler titles like This Person Dies (which made me laugh as I read about these kinds of titles in your post because specific books came to mind immediately), I hate generic titles. I cannot tell you how long it took me to figure out the differences between the Steel Crow Saga, The Merciful Crow, and The Storm Crow. Too many crows! And it’s the same thing for Girls, Queen/Kings, and Thrones. I guess what I’m saying is I appreciate the uniqueness of contemporary titles more, although there are a few contemporaries that share the exact same name!
Personally I love a clever title. One that’s a play on words or a play on a classic phrase. If I think a title is clever I’ll definitely check out the synopsis, even if I haven’t seen the cover yet! And I definitely love when I can figure out why a specific title was chosen by reading the book. What I Carry is the perfect example of that. Both the title and cover fit so well, and as you read the book you understand more and more how well they fit!
This was a great post! It really made me think hard about my opinions on titles!
Oh my god yees! I didn’t have any specific titles in mind when I wrote that post but that’s totally it!! There are too many titles that are way too similars, it’s annoying! ?
I totally agree with you about the clever title! ? And yeees to the moment when you figure out why this title was chosen! SO satisfying!!
Aww, thank you! I’m so so happy you enjoyed it ??
I love a great book title. It doesn’t really matter to me if it’s long or short, as long as it’s interesting in some way. Plus, I LOVE seeing the title in the actual book, like you said. It’s so fun. I’m not a fan of those titles that are like a list of things – they are happening more and more, and I find them kind of annoying.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Yes you’re right! It’s gotta talk to you in some way ? Yeees, so satisfying ?
I totally agree with you!!
Thanks for stopping by ??
I like book titles that have an almost poetic flair to them <3
Yeeees ??
I know I definitely judge a book by it’s cover! I don’t neccessarily prefer short titles. For example: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight is such a great title for that particular book. (yes, i make this example because I see in below on the Instagram feed 😀 ).
I agree that titles that are generic, like the examples you gave, are less interesting.
Great post! And great ides for a post too 🙂
Yeah, I think we all do it ?
Oh yeees, that’s definitely a good one!!
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it ??
I love it when the title turns out to have some relevance in the story too! Although tbh I think I mainly judge a title when it’s one that initially makes me go ‘ooh that sounds interesting’. Like Opium & Absinthe, Strange The Dreamer, Mexican Gothic, Year Of The Witching. I guess if they hint at being both beautifully magical and a little bit dark that I’m intrigued?
Yaaay! ? Oh yeees! It’s gotta talk to you in some way. Oooh, good ones! ?
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
Omg I agree, some titles are super vague and general while others give everything. I like the titles to be intriguing and maybe have the character name. And ooooh it’s amazing when you can spot the title in the book!!!
Oh yeees with the character name! ?
Yaaay! ??
I love finding the title in the book!
Yeeees, so satisfying! ??
Ooh yes I’m definitely attracted to a book initially by its cover/spine depending on which I’m seeing first, and then the synopsis; title doesn’t really weigh in unless it’s really bad haha. When it comes to my own writing I tend to come up with the title while I’m thinking about plot? So like for example, the story I’ve been working on as my main project for the last four years is called Dangerous Games, and I don’t really remember how the title came to me but the title is a reference to the antagonist’s scheming, and the phrase does come up in the book a few times haha.
Yeaah, same here! ?
That’s awesome! That’s such a good name ?
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts ??
This is a fun post! So I like WEIRD titles! Like the stranger the better. If it catches my attention, I am likely going to want to read it. Or titles that seem poetic in some way, I love those too! Here are a few examples: Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies; The Smell of Other People’s Houses; Exit, Pursued by a Bear; That Inevitable Victorian Thing; Walk on Earth a Stranger; A Madness So Discreet…. such fun! I agree about generic titles too- especially when I go to my TBR and see I have 3 books with the same boring title!
Thank you so much ?
Oh yeeees, those are really good ones!! ??
Yeah so annoying, haha ?
Just realized that I haven’t really given book titles much thought when buying books. The book covers and spines really do attract the eyes first. Much like you, I found that I like titles that are short and easy to remember, plus major bonus points for clever ones as well! There’s this one comic book I’ve discovered from another blogger, and even though I haven’t read that at all, I can’t get the title out of my mind: Vampire State Building, a comic about vampires attacking New York (specifically in, yes, you guessed it right, the Empire State Building)! I feel that titles like that adds more fun for readers. What a fun discussion post, Nyx! 😀
Yeees same here, it’s the cover that attracts me! ?
Yaaay just like me ??
Oh, that’s such a good one!! I love it! ?
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it ??
I love it when I find the title in the book as well. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt! LOL!
YEEES, totally! ?
I couldn’t agree more! Perfect book titles reveal enough about the story to make me intrigued, but I also like to discover their true meaning in the book. I actually really like longer titles, though? There’s something regal about them?
Yeees! ?
Haha, I get that! ?
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
Well, I can tell you I’m sick of book titles with the words “mother” or “daughter” or “wife” in the title. I thought we’d gone past the era where women are identified only by who they’re related to! Drives me CRAZY!
YEEES! I totally agree!!
I feel like I’m not the type to really pay attention to titles, hehe. I’m more of a cover-lover! As long as the title is short and catchy/memorable, I’m attracted to it!
Same here! ?
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
I have to admit I have never given much thought about titles before, but I think I also prefer them short!! Oh, and I wanted to read They Both Die At The End but at the same time I don’t wanna get attached to characters that will literally die at the end (because that’s what I’m supposing will happen, right?) so I get what you’re saying about titles revealing the plot hahaha
Glad I made you think about them ?
Haha, yeah! I’d rather be surprised!
Thank you so much for stopping by ??
I love the titles starfish and ember in the ashes!
Yaaaay! ??