HYDERABAD: Every book reader is bound to have come across a book whose title is completely misleading from the story or would’ve completely underplayed what a great book it actually is.
Roald Dahl’s collection of short stories are indisputably fascinating with unexpected finales. What is more impressive about these stories is the author’s choice of very mundane titles - Skin, Taste, Pig, etc. Not particularly enthralling in the absence of writer’s name, readers do not have a reason to expect anything extraordinary from these stories. All the same, ignoring any of Dahl’s stories would be a bad idea.
The adage goes ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, yet a book title goes a long way in hooking its readers. We speak to bookworms in the city to find out if a title is the author’s prerogative or a reader’s preference.
In the era of competitive publishing and advertising, titles occupy the primary role in marketing books. Both budding and established authors often struggle to choose a fitting title for their stories. They are faced with the dilemma of re-changing their titles several times often due to pressure from editors, or for the fear of sounding unclever to laymen.
“A title gives me the first introduction to the book. Only if it entices me, do I read the brief summary at the back,” admits Aditya, an engineer and an avid reader who indulges in books of unknown authors. “I bought my first Haruki Murakami’s book simply because I liked the title,” recollects Joshi, a homemaker from Mettuguda, referring to A Wild Sheep Chase and who has been reading the Japanese author’s works since.
Titles undoubtedly drive sales; they are searched on Google, indexed in online retailing companies, discussed by people, and if a hit, will probably be used as metaphors someday. However, once a book is published, it is purely judged by the readers’ interests. So should a title be poetic, suggestive, metaphorical, unconnected to the story, all of the above or NOTA? Alas, the magical key lies with the reader and there is no definitive answer.
“I never disregard books for their bad titles, but I have bought a few for the good titles,” replies Aditya. Nandika, another local reader, disagrees, “Mills and Boon titles were so explicit that they put me off the first time I scanned the shelf. I wouldn’t want to be caught dead with a book titled In Her Boss’s Bed.” Nalini Iyer, a literature student, also refuses to add sleazy titles to her large book collection. “I pick up tacky-titled books only at libraries as I can put them back at the same speed,” she admits.
Catchy or boring, appropriate or irrelevant, titles are not isolated in the reader’s judgement. They in fact, for the most part, attract readers. “The trial and error method of choosing books solely based on their titles is interesting to me. That way I can learn what appeals to me rather than depending on others,” says Goutham, a central excise inspector from the city, who is still bemused by the incongruous title of his first read, To Kill A Mockingbird. Sunny, an IT consultant says, “I have had the misfortune to buy books with titles that were not in anyway related to the story. I notice this is a trend sometimes.”
For people like her and many more, a title is merely a tag.“My 10-year-old cousin was not discouraged when she wanted to buy The Princess Diaries. When I told her parents about the hottest-guys lists and chest measuring obsessions they freaked out. Titles can be deceiving which is why they have a synopsis on the back cover,” claims Nandika.
Ultimately, all seem to agree that a title does act as a window to the book, but it reveals just as much as it hides. So the question would really be, did you read this article because of the title?
