Your 5 favourite book TITLES

[Astro Pen]

I have been considering this under discussed, but very important marketing element in our writing.
I thought it would be interesting to list our 5 favourite book titles, (NOT favourite books necessarily) and what attracts us to them?
Take your time, (I'm still compiling mine and will post later )

 

[nixie]

I like the titles, in no specific order.
The first 15 lives of Harry August - Claire North.
The Wind through the Keyhole- Stephen King.
The God is not Willing- Steven Erikson.
Gardens of the Moon- Steven Erikson.
The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss.

These are titles I'd be inclined to pick up even if I didn't know the author. Although the only one of these authors I hadn't heard of and don't know a lot about is Claire North, the book if memory serves me right was entertaining.

 

[Orcadian]

I cannot quickly think of five wonderful titles, as I'm usually more attracted to the content of a book, and sometimes to the name of a favourite author. But up there near the top would be The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Milan Kundera), which I find profoundly upsetting. I have never read this collection of short stories, which are too political for me. But the title seems to hint at terrible loss. The person implied has turned to laughter to help them bear the unbearable. But it is the laughter of a clown, not of recovery and moving on.

 

[elvet]

i've got so many, but here's a few memorable ones:
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
how can you not want to find out why there is only 16?
Seveneves by Neal Stevenson
A play on words. 7 Eves, all that's left after the world is destroyed.
Consider Phlebas by Ian Banks
What's to consider? How does a whole book revolve around that?
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
I picked this book up from the bargain bin, attracted by the title. Little did I know it would be the entry into one of my best loved fantasy series of all time.
The Ill-Made Knight by Christian Cameron
Seemed to go against the whole idea of the perfection of knighthood. I was curious to see what made him imperfect.

 

[Harpo]

This was in the school library in the mid 70s

 

[Astro Pen]

The Tamarind Seed Just a gorgeous title

Westward Ho! No young man wants to go east

The Magus Sounded mythological and intriguing, and was.

The Well at Worlds End Irresistable title to find out more about. Early fantasy from Morris.

The Terminal Beach Fits my Ballardian aesthetic perfectly

Subject to change, I know I'll wake up at 3 a.m. and think "Dang, I should have put that in."

 

[sknox]

I can't count Erikson's book, but it's not his fault. Garden on the Moon is a book by Pierre Boulle. I read the book when I was in high school and it always stuck with me.

Speaking of which, Planet of the Apes has to be counted as one of the better book titles.

 

[The Big Peat]

Hmm. I don't know about five, but I know Carpe Jugulum by Pratchett would be one.

The Spear Cuts Through Water definitely had a name that helped me pick it up.

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

"Hot Wireless Sets, Aspirin Tablets, The Sandpaper Sides Of Used Matchboxes & Something That May Have Been Castor Oil" by D.G. Compton (Because it recalls the odours of the past, and is overlong and quirky).

 

[-K2-]

Atlas Shrugged by Rand (1957) -- [inspiration for my series title]
Besides 'just plain awesome,' the title is huge--something that could upset the universe/world
Silent Spring by Carson (1962)
Alone it's good, but once you get the gist of the book it really hits home
To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee (1960)
It's superficially interesting, but once you get it, the title sticks with you
Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury (1953)
So clever, like renaming Soylent Green (Make Room, Make Room) - 100,000 Calories
Giant by Ferber (1952)
Giant what? Giant dreams, personality, character, problem--I have got to know! One and two word titles catch my eye.
Just-a-cuz: A Princess of Mars or Tarzan of the Apes by Burroughs (1912)
I prefer The Gods of Mars, but 'the' bugs me like 'A' PoM (remove the 'A and The' and they're great). So Tarzan otA wins that contest.

K2

 

[Guttersnipe]

The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers (sounds enchanting, definitely interesting)
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (reflects on the main character's diction)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (sounds like an epic boast)
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (one might expect a different kind of sci-fi story)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (non-fiction; appropriately absurd but descriptive title)

 

[Guttersnipe]

*Curious Incident

 

[Stephen Palmer]

@Astro Pen , would you mind if I referred to my own novels here? It's just that book titles are so important, and some of my have significance here. When I run my "Introducing..." writing class, I often focus on titles, using my own as examples.
Three come to mind. The Girls With Two Souls popped into my head one evening as I was watching the news, a full year before I wrote the novel. That title asks a question of the reader, as a good title can. It hooks them in. Tommy Catkins is a riff on the WW1 slang for a soldier - Tommy Atkins. And (B)eautiful Intelligence is a riff on (a)rtificial intelligence.
A good title, cover and blurb are critical to success for authors. The one above that stands out for me is 13 1/2 lives... you immediately wonder what that is about.

 

[-K2-]

Heard of a new one today: Hubris Maximus by Siddiqui (2025).
LMAO, what a great title. It's about Elon Musk and his newest nonsense. Too funny.

K2