Title Love

After the cover, the thing that most draws me to a book is the title. Here are some of my favorites:


A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
I think the title and cover work so well together on this one. The title is so evocative, and it's such a perfect fit for the novel.


Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
It's beautiful and sounds slightly dangerous, and it's my favorite Shannon Hale title.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I don't know if I can coherently describe why this one affects me the way it does. I love how final it sounds, but determined.

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
I love how funny this title is. I cried and cried at the end of Old Yeller and A Dog Called Kitty, so I really appreciated this book. Why do all the dogs have to die?



Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
The one is more about how well the cover and title work together. (The hardcover, not the paperback. I don't like the new cover design they gave it.) From the title we know that she's a taxi dancer, and I love the expression on the girl's face. What is she thinking about?






Now, for comparison, I offer you one of my worst titles from the past. At the time I was convinced I was a genius, but now . . . .

H.A.M.S. - Have A Mother Society Orphanage
I was in seventh grade. I was eating left over Easter ham, and through an IM conversation I convinced a friend that there was an orphanage on Warm Springs Avenue called HAMS, and that they had a job opening in the laundry department that her sister could apply for. She completely bought it. That is, until she called me to get more information about the job and I couldn't stop laughing. This was partially inspired by a true story: there really was an orphanage on that street in Boise, once upon a time. Now there are only rich people living in their fancy houses. We used to drive down that street and pick out our favorites, imagining ourselves living there.

The story wasn't much better then the name. Also, I printed the whole thing out in pink ink. No one would read it the entire way through because the color was slightly nauseating. (Or that's what they told me, anyway.)