The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

by Gabrielle Zevin

In April, The Paris Wife. In June, A Reliable Wife. In August, American Wife. In September, The Time Traveler’s Wife. In December, he runs out of decent books with wife in the title. They read Bel Canto.

The reading list of A.J.'s book club for moms. At some point in the 00s, I was told that the presence of the word "wife" in a title improved a book's sales. And then in the '10s, when the power of "wife" faded, the word "girl" (post "Gone Girl") became the go-to word for book titles. At some point, "girl" was replaced by "woman" and so it goes. Are there particular words in a title that incline (or disincline) you to read a book?