false 989632 M Spokane, WA 03/2008 12/2009 283369 Kealan Patrick Burke 111012 Victor Gischler 479779 John Ajvide Lindqvist 50 5658 5536 true 5680043 read 6 true 2030098 currently-reading 116 true 2030097 to-read 40 false 2070428 have-read Darker Than Night (Paperback) by Owl Goingback]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20151572 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175475532s/518731.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:10:51 -0800 http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/257339-the-importance-of-titles http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1241666347p2/18340.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:45:00 -0800 I know for some neither are that important as it is the story that matters. While this may be true to some extent, a title (like a cover) can make or break a book.

A good title should relate in some way to the story, even if it's just a strange, esoteric relationship. A good title will catch your attention and make you curious as to the story. Just as a cover image does.

Of course, not every title can be just right and are instead fairly utilitarian. Serving the simple job of giving you something with which to refer to the book. (clumsy sentence -grin-)

Some examples of titles I think work well.

The Mysterious Planet - Lester Del Rey
The Magic Goes Away - Larry Niven
Of Men and Monsters - William Tenn
I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
The Lurker at the Threshold - HP Lovecraft
Ghost Walk - Brian Keene

Then some that are simple and utilitarian (and boring!)

Ghosts - Noel Hynd
Utopia - Lincoln Child
Temple - Matthew Reilly
Empire - Orson Scott Card
Wrong - Ruth Rendell

For me, the first ones work well. They give me an idea of the story and even make me curious enough to look further.
The second bunch of titles work fine, but they say very little. Which, I admit, can work very well too. But the problem is that we can end up with dozens of novels with the same title. That can be a pain.

Titles are important. In non-fiction they have to be descriptive and factual, while in fiction, they need to prey upon our imagination and make us curious.]]> Night of Light (Mass Market Paperback) by Philip José Farmer]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81610388 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1237513527s/2132250.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:44:06 -0800 The Muller-Fokker Effect (Paperback) by John Thomas Sladek]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81610238 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:42:39 -0800 Empire (Mass Market Paperback) by Orson Scott Card]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81610130 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182218651s/1245587.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:41:43 -0800 The Devil's Advocate (Paperback) by Andrew Neiderman]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81610075 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:41:13 -0800 Greatheart Silver (Paperback) by Philip José Farmer]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81610031 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1238929947s/987986.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:40:53 -0800 Double Planet (Paperback) by John R. Gribbin]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81609987 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:40:33 -0800 The Azriel Uprising (Paperback) by Allyn Thompson]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81609953 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 989632 Brett http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221028309p2/989632.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/989632-brett Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:40:13 -0800