Dear Readers:
Just after Dr. Ink wrote his list of favorite titles, he found a nifty little book by André Bernard called “Now All We Need Is A Title.” The author explores the history of interesting book titles and how they got that way.
He describes, for instance, how Hitler wanted to title “Mein Kampf” (“My Struggle”) as “Four-and-a-Half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice.” The man had many problems, not the least of which was prolixity.
Here’s a quick list of interesting titles explicated by Bernard:
• “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,” by Sloan Wilson (1955), originally “A Candle at Midnight.”
• “Catch-22,” by Joseph Heller (1961), originally “Catch-18.”
• “Tess of the D’Urbervilles,” by Thomas Hardy (1891), originally “The Body and Soul of Sue, Too Late, Beloved!, A Daughter of the D’Urbervilles.”
Bernard points out that many great titles come from Shakespeare: “Brave New World,” “Pale Fire,” “The Dogs of War,” “The Sound and the Fury,” “Something Wicked This Way Comes.”
And he notes that mystery writer Raymond Chandler compiled lists of great titles for which he never wrote books. These include, “The Corpse Came In Person,” “The Man with the Shredded Ear,” “All Guns Are Loaded,” “Too Late to Sleep.”
Doc thought he was the only author so inclined. He’s never gotten around to writing these classics:
• “Surfing the Alaska Pipeline”
• “Hold DeMayo”
• “A Man’s Gotta Do”
• “Hung Jury”
Dr. Ink invites readers to submit titles for books they’ve never written.
