# Have you purchased a book because of the title?



## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

Once in a while a book has such a GREAT title, I've purchased it just because the title was clever, provocative or irresistible in some other way.

I'm curious, have you ever purchased a book just because the title was a great one?

Fran Shaff


----------



## SorrowHeart (Feb 22, 2011)

I've never bought a book simply because of the title, but a title can either make me check a book out or pass without opening the cover.  Rightly or wrongly, if a title is intriguing or clever -- it makes me think the writing will be as well, so I try a sample.  And if the title is uninspired, I figure the same will probably hold true for the writing, so I usually don't even check it out.


----------



## Vickie Britton (Apr 11, 2012)

I purchased The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Started Early, Took the Dog, and Gone for Good on the merit of their titles.  They all posed a question I was curious about the answer to.  Gone for Good lived up to my expectations the most.


----------



## MHVK (Apr 6, 2012)

One of the most intriguing title for me in the last couple of years was 'The City and the City' by China Mieville. I'd never heard of him before this book, and was very glad I finally found him.

'Special Topics in Calamity Physics' by Marisha Pessl had an obvious gimmick for a title, but it leaped off the shelf into my hand anyway.


----------



## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

I don't think I've ever bought a book because of its title, but I have definitely NOT bought books because of their titles.


----------



## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

Right off, I can't think of a book I've purchased just from the title alone, but I have taken a closer look at a book based on the title. Now I have purchased books based on cover art before.


----------



## brianjanuary (Oct 18, 2011)

A good title makes me look at least!


----------



## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Never. It's usually the cover that gets me to pick up a book, the blurb that makes me open it up, and the first few pages which make me buy it.


----------



## Ann Herrick (Sep 24, 2010)

A title will attract my attention, but also the cover. Then I read the synopsis and usually check out the sample chapters. I have certainly found books that I didn't know I was even looking for by seeing the title.


----------



## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse Saw the title, read the blurb and 1-clicked.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I do not believe I've ever bought/read a book _because_ of the title, but I'm sure some have been contributing factors to getting me to take a look and decide if I wanted to, based on all the other factors that go into such a choice. I suspect some fairly recent reads such as "John Dies in the End" and "Death and the Penguin" benefited at least a bit from their titles, but by no means were the _reason_ I actually read (and liked) them.


----------



## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

YES! Only I bought it when it first came out in paperback. The name was so funny, I didn't even read the back to see what it was about, just bought it. This was my introduction to Christopher Moore, and I love his books.


----------



## John Blackport (Jul 18, 2011)

I haven't, but I think that's a major part of the success of _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies._

I'd say it's a major marketing consideration for any book that's intended as humorous.


----------



## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

For sure! - Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio - How can you not like that title. The book is by Amar Lakhous. He's also written one called The Pirates and the Bedbugs, but it hasn't been translated yet.


----------



## Kiyoshi9595 (Apr 23, 2012)

I usually will just check the summary out if the title piques my intrest. Now  if the summary is  intresting then I'll start reading it.


----------



## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

Susan Alison said:


> I don't think I've ever bought a book because of its title, but I have definitely NOT bought books because of their titles.


This is what I was going to say!


----------



## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Never. The title or the cover may catch my attention, but that's about it. Still, that's pretty good, if you don't catch my attention, I've already moved on to the next book. But once the book has my attention, I'll read the blurb. If it still has my attention, I will download the sample. And if I like the sample, I'll buy the book.


----------



## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I was anxious to read The Time Traveler's Wife when I saw it on a shelf in a friend's home.  I thought the title was intriguing.


----------



## Vickie Britton (Apr 11, 2012)

They say  you can't judge a book by it's cover.    Maybe you can't judge by the title, either.


----------



## George Berger (Aug 7, 2011)

A couple I can think of:

_Hullabaloo in The Guava Orchard_
_Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse_
_The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish_

Oh, and _Kiss the Girls and Make Them Spy_...


----------



## Eliza Baum (Jul 16, 2011)

John Blackport said:


> I haven't, but I think that's a major part of the success of _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies._


This is the one that immediately came to mind. I didn't 1-click it, but I did ask for it for Christmas.


----------



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

balaspa said:


> I was anxious to read The Time Traveler's Wife when I saw it on a shelf in a friend's home. I thought the title was intriguing.


I was anxious to watch the movie because the title gave me the mistaken impression it was a sequel to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Needless to say, I was in for a surprise.


----------



## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I think the title has sometimes drawn me in - to check the book out more thoroughly.  After I finished the Hunger Games trilogy - I wanted to read more like it and was drawn to the Uglies/Pretties/Specials trilogy by Westerfeld -  Interesting titles and I really enjoyed them.  I can imagine it is really hard for an author to think of something new that hasn't been done before..


----------



## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

Great feedback, everyone. I've really enjoyed the posts.

I hadn't thought about the title being repulsive enough to make someone NOT buy a book, but it seems a title can be just as influential in a negative way as it can in a positive way.

Thanks for posting the titles/covers of interesting books you'd recommend too!

Fran Shaff


----------



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

For fiction, author name is the key marketing tool to get to me. If an author showed me a good time previously, I am a potential sale. Title might get my attention at least, but can also backfire. 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


----------



## John A. A. Logan (Jan 25, 2012)

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA's title caught my eye on a random book store browse...had never heard of it...then the black cover...then the book description...then read one of the greatest novels I've ever read.


----------



## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

Personally, I'm a sucker for any book title with Atlantis in it. 

I have been entrapped by it to the point of parting with money well over a dozen times. Unfortunately, it's not usually the gateway to a positive experience, as there's a lot of pulp and sloppy stuff out there when I've been hoping for a fresh or deeper story experience. 

At the moment I think I've gone a solid 12 months without being overwhelmed by temptation, so I think I'm learning...


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I love monsters, and I love dogs. So a natural for me was _Lives of the Monster Dogs_.

Others:

_The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Something Wicked This Way Comes_ (but stealing from Shakespeare probably shouldn't count)
_When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?_


----------



## izzy (Jun 12, 2010)

Very few titles sell me but the title is always a reason why I click. Especially when I'm looking at one book and see an interesting title in Amazon's recommendation section.


----------



## William Woodall (Jun 8, 2009)

The only time I can remember doing this recently was with "Eternity Road" which just sounded intriguing to me and had some pretty decent cover art, too.  I have to confess that I was disappointed with it and never actually finished the book, but it had a great title.

Now there have been quite a few times when I was tempted to buy a book I was pretty sure I wouldn't like, just because it had an awesome cover.


----------



## ShanaMars (Apr 29, 2012)

Not _just_ the title, no. OTOH, I have bought books just because of the author, without even reading the description or the sample. (E.g. any new Slider book, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.)


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I did pick up a free Kindle book last week based on the title alone - *Here's to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit - Oh Look! A Chicken!* - I barely read the description, just hit the "Buy Now" button. At the regular price of $7.95, though, I probably wouldn't have made such an impulse "purchase".


----------



## Joseph_Evans (Jul 24, 2011)

I bought Never Let Me Go based on its title. I wish the book had been more obviously sentimental though, since that's what I was expecting from the title! It was very reserved and minimalistic, which I would have expected if I had done my research on Kazuo Ishiguro first!


----------



## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

That's what made me buy "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time."  It was good too; a shame the follow up book was kind of lame.


----------



## s0nicfreak (Jun 10, 2010)

only Go the Fuck to Sleep


----------



## JBool56 (Feb 22, 2012)

> I ...The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Started Early, Took the Dog, and Gone for Good...


...Sounds like a novel in itself!

There are a couple of books on Amazon which I've had to force myself from getting on the strength of the title alone:

'Catch her in the Rye'
and
'Tom's Lawyer', which is apparently 'a Mark Twain mystery'...

But then, I'm afraid I've always been a sucker for a pun!


----------



## Paul Harris (Apr 25, 2012)

The Glass Book of The Dream Eaters was one for me, but I was really disappointed.  I always try to finish any book I start, but this one beat me.  

On the positive side, Tom Sharpe titles always make me smile, and know that I am in for a great ride.  Being a huge fan also helps, but 'Riotous Assembly' was the first book of his I read, and that was partly down to the title.

Generally it is the blurb that hooks me.  Plus a cool cover.


----------



## Miriam Minger (Nov 27, 2010)

You bet!  Great titles show lots of thought behind it, which hopefully translates into great writing.  



Miriam Minger


----------



## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

MHVK said:


> One of the most intriguing title for me in the last couple of years was 'The City and the City' by China Mieville. I'd never heard of him before this book, and was very glad I finally found him.
> 
> 'Special Topics in Calamity Physics' by Marisha Pessl had an obvious gimmick for a title, but it leaped off the shelf into my hand anyway.


Pessl has a great title, and the book is good, too.


----------



## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Way back I discovered Erma Bombeck because of her titles. _The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank _etc


----------



## FranShaff (Apr 26, 2011)

One of my favorite books "The Grapes of Wrath" is an example of using something familiar in a title to catch a reader's eye. The line appears in the well-known song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." I read somewhere that Steinbeck lifted the title from that song, but, whether he did that for a specific reason or not, I don't really know.

Really enjoying everyone's posts.

Thanks!

Fran Shaff


----------



## Darstan (Apr 21, 2012)

never purchased a book on title alone, but many times titles have made me stop and look through a book, which has led to a purchase.


----------



## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

Yes, Clash of Civilizations Over an El;evator in Piazza Vittorio - how could anyone possibly resist that? Plus the cover was cute and intriguing.


----------



## sheiler1963 (Nov 23, 2011)

I once stole a book based on the title............


----------



## Tracey Ivy (May 7, 2012)

A title gets me to open the book. Don't know if I've ever really bought one just because of the title.


----------



## Paul Dale (Feb 29, 2012)

John Blackport said:


> I haven't, but I think that's a major part of the success of _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies._
> 
> I'd say it's a major marketing consideration for any book that's intended as humorous.


Agreed. The example you posted made me go and look, and even though it's not a book link I took the time to search.


----------



## Julius St Clair (May 8, 2012)

I don't think I've ever bought a book because of its title. I've definitely passed on books due to it though. I remember seeing "Animal Farm" and rejecting outright because I've seen too many bad animal movies. But when I had to teach it to one of my freshman classes, I fell in love with it. I'm getting better at not judging a book by its cover or title.


----------



## goldie (May 9, 2012)

absolutely. 
I travel quite frequently, and I pick the books on the bookstand at the airport based on the title and the cover.


----------



## Boatie (May 8, 2012)

All the time. Even though they say you can't judge a book by its cover, really great titles inevitably draw me in.


----------



## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

Susan Alison said:


> I don't think I've ever bought a book because of its title, but I have definitely NOT bought books because of their titles.


Same here.


----------



## Vickie Britton (Apr 11, 2012)

I have found out through experience that the brighter covers get looked at more.  While they are pretty to look at, the cover may have little to do with the contents. But when I personally buy a book what makes the final decision for me is the writing style.  I read the back blurb, the first page and a passage or two in the middle.  That's the best way I can tell if a book is for me.  While there are several authors I usually read, it doesn't really matter if it is an author I've tried before or not, as long as the idea and the writing draws me in.


----------



## KTaylor-Green (Aug 24, 2011)

Yes, I have.....the latest being The Night Circus. Even after reading it, the title rolls around in my head. Someday, I may forget a lot of the content but I will never forget the title.


----------



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

John Blackport said:


> _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies._


I confess I purchased that book solely on the title.


----------

