26 - A book with a pun in the title

[Karin]

Inga wrote: "What do you think about Terry Pratchett's titles?
I just read Wyrd Sisters, of course meaning Macbeth's weird sisters. In my German edition it is called MacBest. I gues..."

It is not a pun in English, because weird comes from the word wyrd in its etymology (word history) and is merely the contemporary spelling.

[Maria Hill]

Kirsten wrote: "The After Wife
"

I will probably be reading this one!

[Colleen]

Do you all think Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw would count for this one?

[Jamie]

The books in The Oxford Tearoom Mysteries (by H.Y. Hanna) almost all have puns in their titles. All-Butter ShortDead is the first in the series.

[Aimee]

I would say The Importance of Being Earnest counts here, because it's a play on the name Ernest (two characters pretend to be called Ernest at different times) and the idea of the characters not being truthful / earnest. It's also a great play and quick to read which could be a bonus for some people!

[Kim]

As someone said, need a book for this prompt, pick a cozy mystery. The one I picked was .

[Jessica]

Considering reading Fix Her Up for this one....would that work?

[Monica]

Yes, because fix her up could refer to fixing up a house or car or boat, and it could also refer to setting a woman up on a blind date.

[Drakeryn]

So Revelation Space just popped up on my goodreads feed (thanks Nadine!) and I think the sequel, Redemption Ark, would count for this prompt.

[Traci]

For a quick read as previously stated, cozy mysteries work well

I used Let's Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris for this prompt. It's a quick read that is part of a series but I hadn't read the others before and it was fairly stand alone in my opinion

[Debbie]

I read my first Penny Reid book, Beard Science. It was a little racier than I expected, but fun read all the same. I think I'll read another book in the series for the "book by an author who has written over 20 books" book.

[Megan]

I really love the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn, starting with Dog on It. Most of the titles are puns and the books are told from the point of view of Chet, a lovable dog.

[Amanda -]

I need some advice/confirmation, would this book fit this category? Midwife On The Orient Express: A Christmas Miracle

[Heather L]

Amanda - wrote: "I need some advice/confirmation, would this book fit this category? Midwife On The Orient Express: A Christmas Miracle"

Yes. The title plays on the Christie novel, Murder on the Orient Express, so definitely a pun.

[Diane]

Any thoughts on wether or not this is a pun? The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

[Amanda -]

Heather L wrote: "Amanda - wrote: "I need some advice/confirmation, would this book fit this category? Midwife On The Orient Express: A Christmas Miracle"

Yes. The title plays on the Christie novel,..."

Thanks Heather, much appreciated!

[Drakeryn]

Diane L. wrote: "Any thoughts on wether or not this is a pun? The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company"

I'm admittedly bad at puns, but I can't find any pun there.

[Megan]

Diane L. wrote: "Any thoughts on wether or not this is a pun? The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company"

I don't see any puns.

[Brandon]

It might be a reference to theme park rides, something that Disney is well known for. If you found it sufficiently witty, then go ahead and count it.

[Sarah]

Does anyone know why The Silence of the Girls is on the listopia list? I want to read it but can't figure out the pun

[Lilith]

It could be a play on The Silence of the Lambs. I haven't read it, but even if it wasn't meant as a pun, it could work as one for the prompt.

[Karin]

Sarah wrote: "Does anyone know why The Silence of the Girls is on the listopia list? I want to read it but can't figure out the pun"

Lilith is correct about where the title comes from, but it is NOT a pun even if it is a play on another title because girl and lambs do not have either a similar sound or sense (hast to be one or the other). In order to be a pun it has to fill one or both of the following:
n.
A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.


Sometimes doesn't mean there are any other types other than these two, but because these are the two types of puns.

[Siobhan]

going to read Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist for this

[Becky]

I’m going to read Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters for this prompt :)

[Beth]

Diving Belles by Lucy Wood. A book of short stories that incorporate Cornish folklore.

[Johanne]

I'm sure this is a language barrier thing, but I don't understand the Ella Minnow Pea pun. Please enlighten a very curious English-as-second-language speaker.

[Jen K]

Johanne wrote: "I'm sure this is a language barrier thing, but I don't understand the Ella Minnow Pea pun. Please enlighten a very curious English-as-second-language speaker."

Ella Minnow Pea is LMNOP and it's a story about the alphabet. It is quite cleverly written.

[Johanne]

Oh! Thank you! I had never figured that out (maybe I don't pronounce it correctly in my head, I didn't think about the alphabet at all).

[Nadine in NY]

Johanne wrote: "Oh! Thank you! I had never figured that out (maybe I don't pronounce it correctly in my head, I didn't think about the alphabet at all)."

I think it only comes automatically to those of us who learned the English alphabet song as kids, and naturally misunderstood it at first haha!!

Although I guess as a kid what I heard was: “Ellem Enno Pee!”

[Julia]

My choice for this is Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump by Tevi Troy.

[Cara]

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou is very good. It could also count as a book by a journalist.

I don't often read nonfiction books, but John Carreyrou's promise to uncover the biggest scam in Silicon Valley was too tempting to ignore - and boy, did he deliver. He takes his readers into the depths of Theranos, a promising unicorn startup that crashed in 2015 when it was revealed that its CEO Elizabeth Holmes had been duping investors and was selling defective products and tests to patients. The sensational tales from Theranos employees and business partners gets more thrilling with each and every page. Would definitely recommend!

[Catie]

I read Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors.

A great choice if you like engineering disasters and computing errors. The author has a sense of humor. I listened to the audio book and it often made me laugh.

[Natasha]

Would Jane Slayre work for this?

[Lilith]

It certainly sounds like a pun on Jane Eyre :)

[Amanda]

For some reason I wrote The Hunting Party down for this prompt, and I'm not sure why - would anyone else see it as a pun? I think I probably meant to write it for a different category!

[Karin]

Catie wrote: "I read Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors.

A great choice if you like engineering disasters and computing errors. The author has a sense of humor. I listened to the audio book an..."

Did it mention the Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver? Just curious. Or the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver (built by the same company that did the Golden Gate bridge)?

[Evil Secret]

I read The Art of Inheriting Secrets By Barbra O'neal it is a pun because art work is used to solve the mystery

[Drakeryn]

Amanda wrote: "For some reason I wrote The Hunting Party down for this prompt, and I'm not sure why - would anyone else see it as a pun? I think I probably meant to write it for a different category!"

Possibly a double meaning of "party"? They're a group of friends throwing a party, but possibly also a "hunting party" (using "party" in the RPG sense, a crew of hunters). This is going off the blurb so I'm not sure if I'm stretching it.

[Jackie]

Drakeryn wrote: "Amanda wrote: "For some reason I wrote The Hunting Party down for this prompt, and I'm not sure why - would anyone else see it as a pun? I think I probably meant to write it for a different categor..."

Honestly, I'm not sure if I'd count it here. You could maybe say that there's a double entendre between the book being about characters at a hunting lodge and then a murder happening, but it's still a big stretch. Good book though, just maybe somewhere else.

[Libby]

[Grainne]

The Hunting Party: the hunter becomes the hunted maybe?! It’s not exactly a celebration ‘party’ either.

[Heather]

Amanda wrote: "For some reason I wrote The Hunting Party down for this prompt, and I'm not sure why - would anyone else see it as a pun? I think I probably meant to write it for a different category!"

Do you happen to already know who the killer is and their motivation? If so, that might be where you got the idea it's a pun. Honestly, I'm terrible at deciding if something is a pun or not so I can't make a judgement. The title could have a double meaning.

[Shelley]

TO prevent double counting I'm putting One Fell Sweep (one fell swoop) in here. However the precursor, which I also read yesterday because this series is hilarious, has a much better pun Sweep in Peace.

[Léa]

Hi fellow readers, just a small question.
Can The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror be considered a pun? (hyde/hide jekyll/kill) Do onomastic puns count?

Sincerely,
Me, who is in lockdown and has a limited choice of books and is desperately trying to make them fit in the prompts

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer]

Does The Honey-Don't List count as a pun?

[Monica]

Léa wrote: "Hi fellow readers, just a small question.
Can The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror be considered a pun? (hyde/hide jekyll/kill) Do onomastic puns coun..."

No, it's not a pun. But the book satisfies the prompt for an anthology.

[Rachel]

Tweet Cute! (Like meet cute 😄)

[Jennifer Muster]

I read "Books Can Be Deceiving" a really good cozy mystery.

[Dana]

Do you think Been There, Married That, would be considered? Thanks!

[Solenn]

I just finished Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death for this prompt today. Really easy cozy mystery..