52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

[Bryony]

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Books with weird titles can be found in almost any genre you care to read. There’s even a prize for the Oddest Title of the Year.

Suggestions
Goodreads: The Weirdest Titles for Fiction Books
Goodreads: Funny Book Titles
Goodreads: Odd Titles
17 of the Weirdest Book Titles of All Time
Nominees for the 2018 Oddest Book Title Prize

Optional Questions
- What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?
- Based on the title, what are you expecting the book to be about?

[Nadine in NY]

I guess I'm a real sucker for weird and intriguing titles, because I have SO MANY on my TBR!!!

My top pick right now is: My Sister, the Serial Killer

[Serendipity]

The concept of half a death is intriguing so I'll give The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle a go.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Serendipity wrote: "The concept of half a death is intriguing so I'll give The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle a go."

I feel like we may be reading a lot of the same books haha!

I have The 7 1/2 Deaths on my list as well, along with:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

[Pam]

I'm looking at 2 books on the 2018 National Book list - Where the Dead Sit Talking and Disoriental and 2 on the NPR list- The Fox Was Ever the Hunter and ODY-C: Cycle One. If I use a book I own, then maybe Rush Oh!.

[Serendipity]

Yes Emily, we certainly seem to have overlapping tastes. Off to browse your plan now in search of inspiration for several prompts.

[Kathryn]

I've had Are Those Your Underpants on the Conveyor?: Hilarious Tales of Travel on a Very Small Planet by Mark Sheehan on my TBR for ages - maybe next year is the year to read it!

The subtitle rather gives away what it's about! Funny travel stories - with one of them being about someone's bag bursting open on the conveyor belt as you go through customs and almost leaving some underwear behind, i imagine...!

[Johanne]

There are so many good weird titles out there! I don´t know what I´ll read yet - but these titles come to mind: Stille dager i Mixing Part by Erlend Loe. It means "Lazy Days in Mixing Part" and the "mixing part" is actually an autotranslation of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the place where the book is set. Sadly it´s translated to just Lazy Days in English. Other good ones are I Curse the River of Time and If on a Winter's Night a Traveler.
A new Danish release is simply called de, meaning "They". She is also the author of This Should Be Written in the Present Tense.

[Ellie]

Serendipity wrote: "The concept of half a death is intriguing so I'll give The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle a go."

Hah I have no idea why they went with the half a death for the US title. Apparently there was title clash so they changed it (I'm think maybe with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because I know someone whose order got muddled up on these two). It's a great book though, I just think the title amendment is weird in itself.

[Brittany]

Nadine wrote: "I guess I'm a real sucker for weird and intriguing titles, because I have SO MANY on my TBR!!!

My top pick right now is: My Sister, the Serial Killer"

This is the one I'm planning on reading for an author with A, T, and Y in their name.

[Brittany]

I Can't Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I've Put My Faith in Beyoncé is probably the strangest title I have on my TBR so that will be the plan.

[Jacqueline]

There’s also
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and maybe
The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.
I read these this year. All very good reads. Some were excellent.

I’ll probably end up with
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (same as the 7 1/2 Deaths but for some reason they changed the name of the paperback for the US release from the original Seven to 7 1/2),
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, or
The Slow Regard of Silent Things (if I can make a dent in the rest of the Kingkiller Chronicles)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Oh! I'd recommend Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, for anyone looking for humor with just a hint of naughty (just a hint though!)

[Jill]

I am either going to read Special Topics in Calamity Physics or Instructions for a Heatwave for this prompt.

[Jacqueline]

Oh yes...I forgot Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Emily. I loved that book. It was one of Reece Witherspoon’s picks.

[Mel]

Leaning toward Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories for this one, because it's such a strange and intriguing title to me.

A few I read this year that (imo, at least) fit this prompt:
* The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
* The Gallery of Unfinished Girls
* Vampires in the Lemon Grove

[Sabrina]

so many choices! will probably do The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society . I find that I'm usually drawn in by a lot of weird titles and that's often how books end up on my TBR

[Kelly]

I picked Vox. I thought it sounded like an interesting premise and a weird one word title!

[Angie]

I've read a few of those listed above. I loved Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I did not care for Vox. Interesting premise but annoying narrator.

So far, my list is:

* The Dead Mountaineer's Inn
* The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
* Gun, With Occasional Music
* Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop: And Other Practical Advice in Our Campaign Against the Fairy Kingdom

[VanesGirl]

i choose My First Five Husbands... And the Ones Who Got Away by Rue McClanahan. I love the "Golden Girls" and this is "Blanches" Biography :)

[Kathy]

I'm trying to read the first 10 books on my TBR this year and #5 has an intriguing title.

A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson

I liked Life After Life by Atkinson so I hope I like this one.

[Tracy]

My choice for this one is Hideous Kinky. It's such a weird title, what does it even mean? I can't figure out how it would even relate to the story. Also, this one is on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, if anyone is working their way through that.

I like the groovy cover best, but apparently the book is also a movie staring Kate Winslet.


As an honorable mention since it came up in my search for weird titles and we had a fun convo over in pop sugar about it, there is also The Haunted Vagina. Thats weird. Had a good laugh about it with my dad and aunt while they were visiting last month. The description alone was strangely terrifying and some of the comments were hilarious ( depending on your sense of humor LOL)

[Sydney]

I didn't get a chance to finish The Smell of Other People's Houses in 2018, so that will be my pick for this prompt! :)

[Tracy]

Sydney wrote: "I didn't get a chance to finish The Smell of Other People's Houses in 2018, so that will be my pick for this prompt! :)"

I loved this book :-)

[Steve]

A few from my bookshelf and TBR I might use:

Not in Front of the Children: "Indencency, " Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time
Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit

[Melanie]

This is such a fun prompt to search for! Right now my options are looking like:

Sexing The Cherry
Pussy, King of the Pirates
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break
Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence

The first three have been on my TBR list for ages, but the last one had such a great title I immediately had to add it to my list.

[Amanda]

A few that I liked this year:
How to Be Black
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Sydney wrote: "I didn't get a chance to finish The Smell of Other People's Houses in 2018, so that will be my pick for this prompt! :)"

I have that one on my 2018 but the hold is taking a very long time to come through with the library. I may have to end up moving it to this slot as well.

[Nicole]

I think I'm going with one of these:

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Bossypants
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

[Brittany]

I'm reading Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History and I feel like it would definitely fit here. I'm enjoying it so far and it would be a good pick if anyone is looking for nonfiction reads.

[Sally906]

I'm going to read The Bunny That Took Over The World by Steven Olsen - both weird and intriguing :)

[Lauren]

Here are a few on my TBR:

Escaping from Houdini
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
Mission: Improper
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs
Lost Among the Living
Dead and Kicking

[JoDee]

My possible choices:
Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead
The Regional Office is Under Attack!

[Susan]

This is as good a reason as any to read Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

or
Me Talk Pretty One Day
or
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
or
When You Are Engulfed in Flames

[Karishma]

Sabrina wrote: "so many choices! will probably do The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society . I find that I'm usually drawn in by a lot of weird titles and that's often how books end up on ..."

I will probably do that one too!

[Karishma]

Also ,

Will Save the Galaxy for Food sounds interesting!

[Mom2triplets04]

Going with one that has been on my tbr for a long time. It's time to read about werewolves.

How to flirt with a naked werewolf by molly harper

[SadieReadsAgain]

My pick is a collection of essays called Damaged Gods: Cults And Heroes Reappraised. I'm expecting it to be opinionated and weird, like it's author Julie Burchill...and I'm not sure I'll agree with everything in it!

[Alaina]

I've been wanting to read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe for ages and I think it's about time I get to it

[Rokkan]

I read Norwegian by Night for this one, my first completed challenge of the year! It was a TBD note in my plan, and having read it... I may have shoe horned a teeny bit. On the title alone it seems a little quirky, perhaps an editing error since Norway by Night would make more general sense. After all if you're Norwegian by night then surely you're Norwegian by day too, right?

Other books that could fit here (IMO) include:
You Die When You Die
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Fingersmith

[Courtney]

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde

[Nicola]

I have been intending to read Grief is the Thing with Feathers which fits the prompt nicely I feel.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Nicky wrote: "I have been intending to read Grief is the Thing with Feathers which fits the prompt nicely I feel."

You could also read this for Something Borrowed -- the title is a line from an Emily Dickinson poem! (Well, the line is "Hope is the thing with feathers.." but yea.. similar.)

[Nicola]

Emily wrote: You could also read this for Something Borrowed -- the title is a..."


Thanks, I did not know that and as this is the first time I have done this challenge it is good to have lots of options.

[Jen]

There are so many on my TBR shelf but most will work for other prompts so I went with They Both Die at the End. Liked it did not love it.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

For this prompt I read the short story: Cinderella Is Evil.

Intriguing title and premise, but thought the story was just okay.

If anyone is still looking, these were all 5 star books for me:

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Probably only a book you'll love if you were already a fan of Felicia Day.)

Mustaches for Maddie (middle grade)

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (middle grade)

[Ann]

I'm trying Daddy-Long-Legs or maybe Call the Midwife since both books are on my TBR list.

[Melitta]

The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?

That it's a particular scent and I can kind of conjure up what I think that smell would be based of a specific person, but knowing it will be different for everyone.

Based on the title, what would you think this book would be about?

I'm ultimately not sure, but hopefully at some point the smell of other people's houses gets brought up

[Milena]

The Feral Detective
- What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?
The feral part.
- Based on the title, what are you expecting the book to be about?
I have no idea, that's what's intriguing about it. I just know it's a mystery.

[Marilyn]

For this one, I thought the title of Trevor Noah's memoir, BORN A CRIME, met the challenge. It was certainly an intriguing enough of a title to get me to read it! I loved it.