TITLES OF NOBILITY: I’m always wondering what makes for a good title. I used to like hideously overdone titles like By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept; I think I’ve broken myself of that by now. Here’s my list of titles that really kill me. I haven’t read many of the books listed; for these purposes that doesn’t really matter. The ones labeled “in context” are titles that only really resonate if you have a vague general sense of what the book is about, but again, none of these titles really require that you read the book. (There are also titles, like Brighton Rock, Declare, or Sweet Smell of Success, that are perfect once you’ve already finished the book, but that don’t initially attract you to the book.) In alphabetical order:

(in context) 1984

AS YOU LIKE IT

(in context) ATLAS SHRUGGED (and, once you know that this image never appears in the book itself, THE FOUNTAINHEAD)

THE BEAUTYFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN

(in context) BLOOD MERIDIAN

THE BOOK AGAINST GOD

CARDS OF IDENTITY

(in context) CHILDHOOD’S END

THE CITY OF THE SUN

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

CONFESSIONS OF A MASK

DARKNESS AT NOON

DEATH’S JEST-BOOK

EVERYTHING THAT RISES MUST CONVERGE

(in context) GONE WITH THE WIND

(in context) GREAT EXPECTATIONS

THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER

IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER

IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE

A LATE DIVORCE

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

THE LONG GOODBYE

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA (I note that this is the only book on this list that I have no desire to read–really not a Garcia Marquez fan–but the title is great)

MEA CUBA

(in context) NO EXIT

NORTH (Seamus Heaney)

(in context) THE OCTOBER PEOPLE

PALE FIRE

THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD AND HIS DEAD PALM-WINE TAPSTER IN THE DEAD’S TOWN (I hate myself for loving this title)

PUT OUT MORE FLAGS

RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE

THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA

THE SECRET HISTORY

SEVEN AGAINST THEBES

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER

STARS IN MY POCKET LIKE GRAINS OF SAND

THIS WAY FOR THE GAS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

THE WANTING SEED

(in context) A WINTER’S TALE

Your suggestions?