October 8th, 2009 / 8:24 pm
Snippets

Bad book titles seem harder than good book titles. What’s the worst title of a book you ever heard?

56 Comments

  1. Ben Spivey

      Going Rogue: An American Life, by Sarah Palin

  2. Ben Spivey

      Going Rogue: An American Life, by Sarah Palin

  3. Rauan Klassnik

      Whore (actually that’s not so bad… or is it ??)

      and someone’s going to answer “ever heard” with Ever,….

  4. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      Nicely played, sir

  5. Rauan Klassnik

      Whore (actually that’s not so bad… or is it ??)

      and someone’s going to answer “ever heard” with Ever,….

  6. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      Nicely played, sir

  7. Rauan Klassnik

      end of discussion

  8. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      Super Virus: Immortal Sins

      Hands down the worst

  9. Rauan Klassnik

      end of discussion

  10. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      Super Virus: Immortal Sins

      Hands down the worst

  11. michael bible

      Balls by Nancy Kincaid

  12. michael bible

      Balls by Nancy Kincaid

  13. christian

      any novel with a subtitle, particularly a subtitle beginning with “a novel of …”

      any work of nonfiction post-dr. strangelove with the phrase “how i learned to stop worrying and love …”

      any book at all including the formulation “the [blank] that changed the world.”

      i’m also not very fond of the [occupation]’s [familial relation] formulation.

  14. christian

      any novel with a subtitle, particularly a subtitle beginning with “a novel of …”

      any work of nonfiction post-dr. strangelove with the phrase “how i learned to stop worrying and love …”

      any book at all including the formulation “the [blank] that changed the world.”

      i’m also not very fond of the [occupation]’s [familial relation] formulation.

  15. Jac Jemc

      Uh. Last year I received a galley at the book store, obviously ‘self-published’ on Vantage Press, so you can decide if this counts:

      “Are You Having Sex For Fun or Babies?”

      by Mario Fontain.

      I kid you not. The book goes on to help you make a crucial decision…

  16. Jac Jemc

      Uh. Last year I received a galley at the book store, obviously ‘self-published’ on Vantage Press, so you can decide if this counts:

      “Are You Having Sex For Fun or Babies?”

      by Mario Fontain.

      I kid you not. The book goes on to help you make a crucial decision…

  17. Ben Spivey

      Tough choice…

  18. Ben Spivey

      Tough choice…

  19. cmr

      definitely with you on the subtitle issue. seems like every book nowadays has a fully composed sentence under the title, detailing exactly what’s detailed on the back of the book.

  20. cmr

      definitely with you on the subtitle issue. seems like every book nowadays has a fully composed sentence under the title, detailing exactly what’s detailed on the back of the book.

  21. Aaron

      The Timetraveler’s Wife

  22. Aaron

      The Timetraveler’s Wife

  23. alan

      Roseanne: My Life as a Woman, by Roseanne Barr

  24. alan

      Roseanne: My Life as a Woman, by Roseanne Barr

  25. rion
  26. rion
  27. l.w.l.

      Dead and Berried… and every other fucking mystery book involving a pun.

      Any book with the name of an occupation’s daughter. Gravedigger’s Daughter.

      That’s why Wonder Boys cracked me up the dude’s book was Arsonist’s Daughter.

  28. l.w.l.

      Dead and Berried… and every other fucking mystery book involving a pun.

      Any book with the name of an occupation’s daughter. Gravedigger’s Daughter.

      That’s why Wonder Boys cracked me up the dude’s book was Arsonist’s Daughter.

  29. Josh

      What’s the worst title of a GOOD book you’ve ever read?

      …just wonderin’

  30. Josh

      What’s the worst title of a GOOD book you’ve ever read?

      …just wonderin’

  31. Andrew Borgstrom

      The Red Shoes and Other Tattered Tales by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. Maybe that’s not so bad, but it’s one of my favorite books with one of my least favorite titles. I bought it at Powell’s, and it’s pink, and the only reason I picked it up is because it was published by Dalkey. Also interesting that this is the second title for the book. Originally published by Time Books as Intimate Apparel: A Dictionary of the Senses. Don’t much like that title either. [One of my favorite titles if that’s allowable: Best Selling Jewish Porn Films by Wayne Koestenbaum]

  32. Andrew Borgstrom

      The Red Shoes and Other Tattered Tales by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. Maybe that’s not so bad, but it’s one of my favorite books with one of my least favorite titles. I bought it at Powell’s, and it’s pink, and the only reason I picked it up is because it was published by Dalkey. Also interesting that this is the second title for the book. Originally published by Time Books as Intimate Apparel: A Dictionary of the Senses. Don’t much like that title either. [One of my favorite titles if that’s allowable: Best Selling Jewish Porn Films by Wayne Koestenbaum]

  33. david erlewine

      (laugh)

      Nice job, Ben.

      Fuck.

  34. david erlewine

      (laugh)

      Nice job, Ben.

      Fuck.

  35. david erlewine

      Book – Whoopi Goldberg

      Come On People – Bill Cosby, Alvin F. Pouissant, MD

      Cooking With Pooh

      Games You Can Play With Your Pussy (and Lots of Other Stuff Cat Owners Should Know)

      Pooh Gets Stuck – Isabel Gainer

      Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All – Christina Thompson

      Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil – Marc Brown

      Foreskin’s Lament (a memoir)

      There are some great sites out there laying out the worst of the worst.

  36. david erlewine

      Book – Whoopi Goldberg

      Come On People – Bill Cosby, Alvin F. Pouissant, MD

      Cooking With Pooh

      Games You Can Play With Your Pussy (and Lots of Other Stuff Cat Owners Should Know)

      Pooh Gets Stuck – Isabel Gainer

      Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All – Christina Thompson

      Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil – Marc Brown

      Foreskin’s Lament (a memoir)

      There are some great sites out there laying out the worst of the worst.

  37. carl

      Pitching My Tent by Anita Diamant

  38. carl

      Pitching My Tent by Anita Diamant

  39. michael james

      Games You Can Play With Your Pussy (and Lots of Other Stuff Cat Owners Should Know)

      …. david, that is the best title since Sliced Bread: An existentialist adventure

  40. michael james

      Games You Can Play With Your Pussy (and Lots of Other Stuff Cat Owners Should Know)

      …. david, that is the best title since Sliced Bread: An existentialist adventure

  41. david erlewine

      heh, yeah Michael I had to “verify” that book actually existed. I might have to order that for my cat-owner friend. I just hope she’ll take the book w/o making a big deal of the title. I dunno, she’s funny that way. She always imputes things into the nice things I do for her.

  42. david erlewine

      heh, yeah Michael I had to “verify” that book actually existed. I might have to order that for my cat-owner friend. I just hope she’ll take the book w/o making a big deal of the title. I dunno, she’s funny that way. She always imputes things into the nice things I do for her.

  43. mike

      google book search reveals it’s actually “Are You Having Sex for Fun and Babies?”, but this is def. a winner, as evidenced by this passage taken from the chapter entitled, “Double Murder”:

      “There have been a lot of double murder cases in the world. These cases involved people who were hired by men to kill their pregnant girlfriend. These cases are very sad and crucial and they are very common. Being involved in hiring a killer to get rid of your pregnant girlfriend is in no way the right solution to deal with such a sensitive problem. How will you be able to live with your conscience for the rest of your life? Knowing that you are responsible for the death of two human beings?”

      link

  44. mike

      google book search reveals it’s actually “Are You Having Sex for Fun and Babies?”, but this is def. a winner, as evidenced by this passage taken from the chapter entitled, “Double Murder”:

      “There have been a lot of double murder cases in the world. These cases involved people who were hired by men to kill their pregnant girlfriend. These cases are very sad and crucial and they are very common. Being involved in hiring a killer to get rid of your pregnant girlfriend is in no way the right solution to deal with such a sensitive problem. How will you be able to live with your conscience for the rest of your life? Knowing that you are responsible for the death of two human beings?”

      link

  45. Nathan Tyree

      I love this one:

      People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It

  46. Nathan Tyree

      I love this one:

      People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It

  47. Amber

      Anything too precious/quirky/twee. My husband and I play a game every time we’re at the bookstore: who can find the most quirky book title. My most hated title in the last few years: An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England. (Good book, by the way, but bad title)

  48. Amber

      Anything too precious/quirky/twee. My husband and I play a game every time we’re at the bookstore: who can find the most quirky book title. My most hated title in the last few years: An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England. (Good book, by the way, but bad title)

  49. mimi

      This list made me laugh out loud. Especially “Cooking With Pooh” and “Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil”. I’m laughing right now.

  50. mimi

      This list made me laugh out loud. Especially “Cooking With Pooh” and “Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil”. I’m laughing right now.

  51. Ryan Call

      Finnegans Cake by james joyce

  52. Ryan Call

      Finnegans Cake by james joyce

  53. Jonny Ross

      the great gadfly

      the sun also simmers

      on the can

  54. Jonny Ross

      the great gadfly

      the sun also simmers

      on the can

  55. Rauan Klassnik

      Seth’s the number 1 rated blogger of all time, 1936, pineapples, etc, etc…. and now he’s wasting his talents in the pursuit of tainted money…. come back to real blogging Seth! i know you’re itching to!!

  56. Rauan Klassnik

      Seth’s the number 1 rated blogger of all time, 1936, pineapples, etc, etc…. and now he’s wasting his talents in the pursuit of tainted money…. come back to real blogging Seth! i know you’re itching to!!