Tuesday Ten: Funny Book Titles

This week's Tuesday Ten from The Broke and the Bookish is a rewind, so I've decided to tackle one of the earliest themes -- ten "most hilarious" book titles. I'm limiting myself to the books I've read and though the titles aren't often LOL-worthy, they are odd, offbeat, and, yes, funny. Sometimes a bit ridiculous, too.

1. You'll Never Nanny In This Town Again: The True Adventures of A Hollywood Nanny

Suzanne Hansen

Oh, I quite like this book. It's decades old, but still a great "insider" look at the lives (and families) of the rich and famous, with a particular focus on the ways "the help" is treated especially in regards to their children. As someone who works with kids, I loved the often-relatable-if-exaggerated accounts.

2. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

Jessica Brody

This title (much like its story) just reeks of spoiled-bratdom. 

3. Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Austin Kleon

This is a great little gem of a book, with an attention-getting title. Totally recommended, by the way.

4. The Babysitter Murders

Janet Ruth Young

This one is completely un-hilarious, but instead a hundred percent startling and a little scary. For the paperback release the title was changed to the more-apt Things I Shouldn't Think.

5. Stupid Fast

Geoff Herbach

Ahhhhhhahahaha I love this title. Say it really fast and it sounds awesome. I don't know why, it just does. Stupidfast!

6. Withering Tights

Louise Rennison

I am such a fan of puns. Wordplay.

7. How to Say Goodbye in Robot

Natalie Standiford

This title just never fails to make me smile. So, so good.

8. Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales From an Allergic Life

Sandra Beasley

It occurs to me now that memoir-type books often have awesome titles. Got any more great ones for me? (Also, as an aside, the book itself is also really awesome and so informative when it comes to food allergies.)

9. Sleepwalk With Me

Mike Birbiglia

Again, a memoir. Again, a slight little twist on words. And again, very recommended.

10. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Erin McCahan

I really can't say enough good things about the title or the book.

Going through my list of 'read' books on Goodreads I've discovered that I've read a novel called How to Be Bad, and also a novel called How to Be Good. Huh. 

Tuesday Ten: Books I Read Because of Their Cover or Title

I rarely read books solely based on the cover or title, if I'm being honest. Especially as I've started reviewing and just by osmosis seem to know so much more about what books are coming out and what they're about. But for this week's Broke and Bookish Top Ten Tuesday, here are ten books where the title/cover played a huge role, even if it wasn't the only thing.

1. After the Kiss

Terra Elan McVoy

That cover. So, so, so good. I just love it.

2. Sweethearts

Sara Zarr

Alright, I admit, the flap copy played a part in me buying this book - the story interested me. But without that adorable and slightly-sad cover I never would have picked the book up. Plus, can we mention how great the title is? LOVE. (It should be noted that this is one of my all-time favorite books.)

3. The Summer I Turned Pretty

Jenny Han

Yes, the covers of the books in this series are beautiful. But what really caught me was this title. I adore it. I'm not sure I can think of a title that's captured my attention more than this one.

4. The Lonely Hearts Club

Elizabeth Eulberg

YOU SEE THIS COVER? Adore.

5. The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading

Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance

Okay, okay, another brilliant title. Just the perfect amount of geeky and quirky here. And who doesn't love a good fish-out-of-water tale?

6. Some Girls Are

Courtney Summers

Another great title. Dang, they're more plentiful than I thought apparently. And I could talk about this one for ages. And yeah, I knew it was about girls bullying each other and that was definitely a big part of the reason I read the book, but the title helped tons.

7. Scrambled Eggs at Midnight

Heather Hepler & Brad Barkley

WIN WIN WIN. So many wins for this title/cover combo. And the book also is great.

8. Tweet Heart

Elizabeth Rudnick

This one's a bit of a cheat: if I'm being honest I bought the book 100% because it was written in tweets. (Tweets!) But I figure it sort of works because I could tell that from the title. Right?

9. An Abundance of Katherines

John Green

I know a lot of people didn't love the hardcover cover of An Abundance of Katherines, but I must be in the minority here because this cover was THE ENTIRE REASON I picked up the book. I absolutely love it and am sad that I now have the paperback version. (Thank you to my dad for LOSING THE BOOK. Or giving it away. Or whatever my dad does to the books I let him borrow that makes them disappear.)

10. A Little Friendly Advice

Siobhan Vivian

Again, the cover, so adorable. So perfect.

On Titles

Whenever I try to do a post on titles it turns into a mess, but the truth is that titles intrigue me. Especially titles for books that aren't out yet and might not even have a title or synopsis. For those of us who follow our favorite authors on Twitter and their blogs, a title is often the first we find out about any upcoming books and I often find myself adding books to my wishlist based solely on the author and title. And then, once I read a book, the title often takes on a slightly new meaning. The book either lives down or lives up to its title, depending on how good the story and title are.

Here are some titles to a few books I've read somewhat recently.

Jessie <3 NYC - Honestly, even if I hadn't read Keris Stainton's previous novel and wasn't already a fan of her having talked to her a bit on Twitter, I still would have wanted to read this based on the title alone. It's so cute! So New-York-y and also a bit internet-y at the same time

The Day Before - I'm sure this title is probably one meant to provoke questions (the day before what, exactly?) but for me it just hit as a very bland title, similar to Sometimes It Happens. What drew me to this book instead was the fact that I like the author (are we sensing a trend here?) and the fact that the book is told in verse, which I love.

Before I Fall - You guys, it took way too long for me to actually "get" this title, but now that I do I absolutely love it and think it fits the book perfectly.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot - This is one of those titles that I completely love and it was a huge part of the reason I wanted to read the book in the first place. And it does fit the story, but I think the title is, overall, better than the book, which always leaves me with a strange feeling of unmet potential.

So what about you guys - do you pay attention to titles? And if so, how much? Does it affect your reading/buying habits? What are some of your favorite titles?

Favorite Titles

I'm nearing the end of edits for what I've been calling #thebandbook, a novel that has had umpteen thousand titles so far. As I near the possible end of this editing journey and start to think of what I'm going to call it when I query, I'm looking at my favorite YA titles for inspiration.

Looking at my shelves (both the literal shelves and Goodreads), I'm noticing a few definite trends in what I like:

• Cute titles that include the character's name.
• Titles that sound like they could very easily be for a self-help or other nonfiction work.

Here's a short list of my favorite titles for YA books. Unfortunately, the title I have in mind for my own book doesn't exactly follow either of the above favorite trends (although maybe, possibly, if I stretched my mind, it could be the title of a memoir).

The Year of Secret Assignments
The Unwritten Rule
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Love You Hate You Miss You
Some Girls Are
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
The Boyfriend List
The Rules of Survival


So, with this in mind, a couple of questions. What are some of your favorite titles? And are there any particular trends you see in your favorites?