26 - A book with a pun in the title

[Lilith]

I enjoyed Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. A fun easy read, and I learned a lot!

[Sherri]

I used Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery # 1) by Vivien Chien.

[Melinda]

What about "The Egg and I"? Pun or not? I realize i'm having difficulty with the definition of a pun.

[Lilith]

Melinda wrote: "What about "The Egg and I"? Pun or not? I realize i'm having difficulty with the definition of a pun."

Hi Melinda, I'm not hearing it as pun. A pun will utilize a known phrase but play with the sounds or meanings of the words by switching in another word. There's lots more to the definition, but this part is easier to demonstrate examples.

Like in Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death mentioned above, the title plays on the phrase "kiss of death:".
By switching in the similar sounding 'quiche' for 'kiss', it works.
New title, new meaning.

If you can imagine your 7 year old child saying "Get it?", it's most likely a pun.

I can't think of a phrase that sounds like the egg and I . Hmm, if it were titled "The Thing and I" , I suppose it could be a pun on the "The King and I" - the play about Anna and the King of Siam.

Sorry! I hope this helps.

[Lilith]

I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation and loved it! The pun is explained on the back cover, in case you haven't heard the old joke.

Very informative, witty, funny. Glad I finally got to read it :)

[Melinda]

Lilith wrote: "I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation and loved it! The pun is explained on the back cover, in case you haven't heard the old joke.

Very informative,..."
I already read that!

[Melinda]

Lilith wrote: "Melinda wrote: "What about "The Egg and I"? Pun or not? I realize i'm having difficulty with the definition of a pun."

Hi Melinda, I'm not hearing it as pun. A pun will utilize a known phrase but ..."

How about Kitchen Confidential? Help help! I've read too many of the listed books already!

[Irene]

Melinda wrote: "How about Kitchen Confidential? Help help! I've read too many of the listed books already!"

Hi Melinda!

I just took a look at your to-read shelf to try to help you out, and to my surprise, the very first book on your list (the most-recently added) is a book with a pun in the title! InSight contains a pun because it's a play on the word insight (meaning intuition) and the words "in sight" referring to seeing/vision. According to the description of the book, the protagonist is blind but "sees deeper into [her love interest] than anyone ever cared to."

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver, which is also on your to-read shelf, is another pun because it refers to literally tearing down a house (losing a physical shelter) as well as to opening up one's eyes to the world, becoming unsheltered in the sense of no longer being emotionally protected from the unpleasant realities of life.

(Kitchen Confidential is not a pun because it neither contains a word with multiple meanings (like shoots/leaves) nor does it reference similar-sounding words (quiche of death), as Lilith explained above.)

Hope that helped!

[Melinda]

Irene wrote: "Melinda wrote: "How about Kitchen Confidential? Help help! I've read too many of the listed books already!"

Hi Melinda!

I just took a look at your to-read shelf to try to help you out, and to my..."

Thank you. Insight was added for another prompt, but the Kingsolver book is an option. Thank you.

[Ashley]

I read The Uncommon Reader, which I found on the list. I ended up enjoying it.

[Mikaela]

Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer wrote: "Does The Honey-Don't List count as a pun?"

I was wondering the same thing!

[Jill]

I read Tweet Cute for this prompt, but the The Honey-don't list also would work as I read that one too!! :)

[Lilith]

Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer wrote: "Does The Honey-Don't List count as a pun?"

I would count it. After all, the honey -do (list) is a pun on honeydew - the melon.
The title just takes the pun a step further and puns on "do". YMMV but I'd count it.

[Megan]

Hannah wrote: "I’ve just finished Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott for this one. It’s dripping in scandalous details from 1950s/1960s New York, following the end of Truma..."

how is this a pun?

[Sara]

I read Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. I'm Star Wars/Carrie Fisher fan so I enjoyed it. I'd alread seen the special on HBO.

[Irene]

Megan wrote: "Hannah wrote: "I’ve just finished Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott for this one. It’s dripping in scandalous details from 1950s/1960s New York, following t..."

The women in the book were called the "Swans." So the meaning of "Swan" in the title "Swan Song" has a double meaning:

1. A swan song is a "metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement" - here, the word "swan" is entirely metaphorical and could refer to anyone/thing
2. The group of vulnerable, elite women that Truman Capote called "swans" are the focus on this book, so the title "Swan Song" is referring literally to that group of "swans"

(Not the original poster, just agree that this title definitely fits the definition of a pun in that the title is a play on words using either a double meaning or similar-sounding words)

[Renee]

Plan to read

[Cheryl A.]

Read by Karen MacInerney on May 28.

[Natasha]

Would "This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay" be ok for this prompt?

[Erica]

I think this works

[Britany]

Finished Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Heather L]

Natasha wrote: "Would "This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay" be ok for this prompt?"

Sorry, but as that is a common phrase, I don’t see how it is a pun. A pun is a play on words.

[Nora]

Does this book fit the prompt?

The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank

[Linda]

Anjanette wrote: "Does this book fit the prompt?

The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank"

It's sort of a play on words, but I wouldn't call it a pun.

[Dewi]

I just read 'A Stranger City' by Linda Grant, would that count for this? Stranger being more strange as well as a person you don't know. (I don't know how to do the links in here, sorry!)

[Keely]

I did “Come” by Rita Theresa which is her life story and details her experiences being a sex worker. Great read!

[Anna]

I've just started listening to Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In (the author is a Vietnamese refugee).

It's very engaging -- though the F-word makes a regular appearance, so not great for those with young ears nearby.

[Janette]

Does The Lies That Bind count for this prompt?

[Lilith]

Janette wrote: "Does The Lies That Bind count for this prompt?"

Sounds like it works to me!

[Alicia]

Trying to make sure I'm not going crazy after reading this thread.

I was going to read Felix Ever After because in Latin felix can mean happy or lucky.

Makes sense, right?

[Heather L]

Janette wrote: "Does The Lies That Bind count for this prompt?"

Yes. It’s a play on the phrase ‘the ties that bind.’

[Irene]

Alicia wrote: "Trying to make sure I'm not going crazy after reading this thread.

I was going to read Felix Ever After because in Latin felix can mean happy or lucky.

Makes sense, right?"

I’d say no. It’s a clever title that’s obviously referencing the phrase “Happy Ever After,” but a pun needs to be wordplay involving words that sound alike (Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist) or a word with at least two different meanings used in the book (Night Mare).

“Happy” and “Felix” aren’t words spelled the same with different meanings; they’re the complete opposite actually as they’re words spelled differently with a similar meaning. Like cilantro/coriander, or other synonyms.
Additionally, “Felix” doesn’t sound like “Happy” either.

You might be able to make it work it you go for a different angle: Felix being a word with two or more meanings used in the book. One, it’s the protagonist’s name. Two, it means happy. This would ONLY work if the book/author explicitly tells you that it translates to happy, and if it’s also amusing/ironic/meaningful to the book in some way.
(For example, Anne of Green Gables doesn’t count as a pun even though Anne also means favored/grace.)

This is my opinion, as someone who loves following prompts to a T and rarely stretches them. Of course, it’s totally up to you if you want to count it anyway!!

[Anshita]

I've decided to read Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson. What made me choose it was the sample I was able to read before buying the book, it was interesting and gripping.

[Delia]

I decided to pick up Frankly in Love for this prompt.

[Novels and Neckties -]

The moment I finally notice that SWORD IN THE STARS is a pun on Sword in the stone!

It's book 2 in a series though.

Do you think ONCE & FUTURE counts for this prompt? It refers to King Arthur and the book is an Arthur retelling.
Yeah or Ney?

[Kristy]

I'd count Felix Ever After.

But I also counted "The Ugly Duchess".

[Kristy]

Just to be clear, a pun does not have to rely soley upon homophones. It can be based upon multiple definitions of a word changing the meaning of a phrase.

pun: a joke exploiting the *different possible meanings of a word* or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings.

[Meagan]

I feel like you can use Felix Ever After. After reading the book (and the author telling us Felix means happy), I think the author was basically telling us that to interpret the title as "Happy Ever After". It is definitely a play on words and exploits the fact that Felix means happy. so I say go for it.

[Irene]

Meagan ✊🏼 Blacklivesmatter ✊🏼Blacktranslivesmatter wrote: "I feel like you can use Felix Ever After. After reading the book (and the author telling us Felix means happy), I think the author was basically telling us that to interpret the title as "Happy Eve..."

Oh, if the author mentions that Felix means happy (like it's relevant to the character/book) then I would agree that it's a pun!!

[Cornerofmadness]

If nothing else cozy mysteries love the puns. I read Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower It wasn't bad.

[Kathleen]

would "once upon a river" work for this prompt?

[Barbara]

I read Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther by Craig Pittman.

It will make you love the Florida Panther, but hate Florida politicians.

[Tamara]

I read "Ruff Around the Edges" by Roxanne St. Claire.

[Isabel]

I'm not a native speaker so I need a bit of help with this one. Is "Cards on the table" a pun? It's an Agatha Christie mystery about a murder connected to a bridge game. So it's the expression all cards on the table, and literally a card game on the table. Is that a pun? It does mean two things but it's not funny like the other puns I see on here. Cards on the Table

[Heather]

Isabel wrote: "I'm not a native speaker so I need a bit of help with this one. Is "Cards on the table" a pun? It's an Agatha Christie mystery about a murder connected to a bridge game. So it's the expression all ..."

Even native speakers aren't always great with puns. I really struggled with this prompt myself. A pun can be a play on words that sound the same or it can be a play on meaning. It doesn't have to be funny, although puns are usually jokes.

I think a play on meaning would be something like Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie. Folly can mean foolishness, but it's also a type of building. In that book, the folly (house) is the setting and the owner dies because of folly (foolishness). Cards on the Table might also be a play on meaning?

Honesty, this prompt is really confusing for me! I wouldn't blame anyone who got it "wrong."

[Taylor]

I just finished New Kid and each chapter title was a pun on a popular movie. It was a lot of fun and if you're willing to stretch a little bit it could definitely fill this prompt!

[Kꌗꓘ]

Does this book In a Holidaze count as a pun?

[Lilith]

I think it would. "Holidaze" is a homonym with "Holidays", and gives the word a new meaning.

[Harini]

Would the book Diary of a Nobody work for this prompt?

[Virginia]

I read SeinLanguage for this prompt. It was also my "book you don't know where you got it" for the Unread shelf project.