They say never to judge a book by its cover, but no one said anything about its title. And when the title of the book I’m about to read tells me absolutely nothing, I judge. If only I had discovered Better Book Titles sooner! Dan Wilbur, a comedian and writer, started his Better Book Titles blog to “cut through all the cryptic crap” and tell the readers what the books are really about. Genius, right?
Examples: Still, Not Worse Than Child Touching AKA The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. My personal favorite? Way Easier to Watch Than Read which is, of course, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. But you’re now warned. Some titles are NSFW.
I keep thinking this blog could have been useful when I read Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor. I’d like to suggest Grotesquely Confusing to Wilbur’s repertoire. And as a matter of fact, I can. Wilbur posts a new title every weekday and a reader submission each Friday. So get to rewriting history, people. And maybe with a new title, you’ll inspire someone to NOT read a literary classic.*
What improved book titles would you suggest? Head to the comments with your best ideas.
*Note: Here on Shelf Life we are NOT recommending that you quit reading. Instead, we are insisting you get a good laugh out of these silly, new titles.
