Distilling a book title to one word is a literary art and a marketing craft that has been practiced through the ages. History has given us some classic one-word titles such as Ulysses, Hamlet, Walden, Frankenstein, Kidnapped or Lolita.
Today the one-word title is a favorite for thrillers. It seems to promise excitement and a crisp pace; and it demonstrates a certain shock value.
Happy reading.
Collision
By Jeff Abbott
Fiction A
Missing
By Karin Alvtegen
Fiction A
Illegal
By Paul Levine
Fiction L
The mysterious elements of a one-word title work well for, well, mysteries. We want to know what is left unsaid.
Findings
By Mary Anna Evans
Fiction E
Dissolution
By C.J. Sansom
Fiction S
But westerns and romances also use attention-grabbing mono-titles.
Abandon
By Carla Neggers
Fiction N
Missy
By Chris Hannan
Fiction H
Resolution
By Robert Parker
Fiction P
Was it Peter Benchly’s Jaws, or perhaps Alex Haley’s Roots that set off the modern hunt for one-word titles? The seduction of single-word titles extends to movies, musicals, comic books and TV shows. Consider the following: Casablanca, Bambi, or Madagascar. Oklahoma, Evita, Chicago. Batman and Peanuts. Lost or Monk.
Today a punchy one-word-title followed by a descriptive sub-title is a favorite format for non-fiction titles.
Nemesis: The Last
Days of the American Republic
By Chalmers Johnson
973.931 Jo
Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better
By David Shipley and
Will Schwalbe
658.05469 Sh
Some non-fiction authors use single word titles to introduce new ideas:
Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business
658.4063 Ho
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
By Richard H. Thaler
and Cass R. Sunstein
330.019 Th
Outliers
By Malcolm Galdwell
811.09 M
Other non-fiction writers want the drama of a single title, but can’t resist telling you more.
Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids
By Julie Salamon
362.11097 Sa
Single-word titles haven’t always been the rage. Some 18th century authors subscribed to the if-some-is-good-more-is-better philosophy. Take for example: A Voyage to the South Sea, Undertaken by Command of His Majesty, For the Purpose of Conveying the Bread-Fruit Tree to the West Indies, In His Majesty’s Ship The Bounty, Commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh (1792, RH 910.4 Bl). But look what happened to him.
Like Bligh certain people are universally known by a single word name making short work of biography title selection:
Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire
By Rajmohan Gandhi
954.03509 Ga
Or in this case both the biographer and the biographee warranted single word names:
Scorsese
By Ebert
791.43023 Eb
Fiction writers sometimes use the one word name as a way to evoke the same singularity for their characters.
Scarpetta
By Patricia Cornwell
Fiction C
Drood
By Daniel Suarez
Fiction S
And autobiographical works are not immune to one-word titles:
Audition
By Barbara Walters
070.92 Wa
Infidel
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali
949.2073 Hi
All the books and movies mentioned in this column are available at Lihu‘e Library or through any of the neighborhood libraries on Kaua‘i. Contemplate the power of a title and give the one-word wonders a try.
•Carolyn Larson is head librarian at Lihu‘e Public Library. Her weekly column brings you the buzz on new, popular and good books available at your neighborhood library. Book annotations are culled from online publishers’ descriptions and published reviews.
