21st Century Literature discussion

Sometimes a book title draws you in immediately or turns you off just as quickly...

Whether you've read the book or not, what have been some of the best and worst book titles you've come across this year (these don't need to be books published in 2025, just books you read, read about, saw, or heard of for the first time this year)?

The titles that have been throwing me for a loop this year have been the ones that are so vague or so similar to something else that it's hard to hold them in your mind.

Case in point: This Is Where We Live. My friend read this and we've talked about it a few times and every time I have to ask her what it's called. Not helped by We Live Here Now coming out!

I'm also struggling to keep Bog Queen and The Bog Wife separate. Although Bog Queen may be my favourite title of the year...

Another title I really like is The Four Spent the Day Together. There's kind of a midcentury children's adventure novel glamour to it.

I am currently busy in A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East and it is such a poetic title. Also loved I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness, The Night Alphabet and The Expert of Subtle Revisions as titles this year.

The absolute worst title I've encountered this year is The Ex-Boyfriend's Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee.

Rachel wrote: "The absolute worst title I've encountered this year is The Ex-Boyfriend's Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee."

Ugh. That one does NOT roll off the tongue at all...

Marc wrote: "Ugh. That one does NOT roll off the tongue at all..."

It's quite the mouthful! 😂

I've been really fond of saying Schattenfroh out loud and enjoying bad puns like people posting "Where my Shattenbros at?" this year. Very fond of the children's book title, Duck, Death and the Tulip (which wasn't new to me this year, but sort of came back on my radar recently after forgetting/neglecting it for many years and I finally read it).

Ali Smith's Glyph / Gliff titles have me confused over which is which (and I'm genuinely fond of the word "glyph" so I'm bristling at "gliff" even though it's a different word entirely and the meaning is pretty cool).

Can't think of any that turned me off, though there are a lot similar to what Emmeline posted that I get confused or merge together in my head as one book because they seem "vague" or too alike one another. I've been getting authors mixed up a lot lately, too--I'll be in the thrift store and get excited when I see an Ann Quindlen book and then I have to remind myself it is Ann Quin I was hoping for!

The first title that comes to mind for me is a children's book, Piece Out about a game board piece who falls under the coffee table on family game night and has wild adventures MacGyver-ing its way back to the box. The pictures are fantastic!