March 10, 2009The Familiar and the UnfamiliarDo you have a favorite book title? One that is memorable and interesting, all the while telling you just what the book is about? Here's another perspective on what makes an ideal nonfiction book title. Previously I wrote that the ideal title employed two elements: content and creativity. You can also think of them as the familiar and the unfamiliar. The Familiar The Unfamiliar You've heard this before: the best titles do both. Here's some bestselling history samples from a recent Amazon list. 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century The Lost City of Z: A Deadly Tale of Obsession in the Amazon Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in the First Age of Terror Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Actually, these titles aren't perfect in my mind. They tend to rely too much on the subtitle to convey the familiar, the content. But the titles are arresting. Also, two of the titles that don't clearly convey content (Team of Rivals and Collapse) are written by superstar, previously bestselling authors. As I've said before, it just doesn't matter as much what the title is when the author is already very well-known. The two, I think, that best combine the familiar with the unfamiliar, creativity with content, are The Lost City of Z and The Day Wall Street Exploded. Both convey specific information and intrigue. The one looks to be a true-life Indiana Jones; the other says it's a dramatic slice of economics in the United States. Who said history was boring? Posted by Andy Le Peau
at March 10, 2009 8:59 AM
History definitely is not boring. I tend to read non-fiction and sometimes selected fiction but usually if I know the author. Recently I read David McCullough's "Mornings on Horseback". I thoroughly enjoyed this book referred to by a friend. I had not ever read anything by this author but had a book by him in my own library "Truman." I had not read it. Now I am reading this one, and have just received "John Adams" after enjoying the first one by this author and well into the second one. Lorelie Linton Comment by: Lorelie at March 14, 2009 9:23 AMHi Lorelie McCullough is definitely one of the best narrative historians around, and a favorite of mine. "Truman" and "John Adams" are both great reads, as is "1776." I've never been disappointed in anything I've read by him. Andy Comment by: Andy Le Peau at March 16, 2009 9:25 AMComments are closed for this entry. |
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