Books With the Most Memorable Titles

Description: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter... The Unbearable Lightness of Being... Very Far Away from Anywhere Else... Sometimes, a title just stands out. Our List of the Month this August is devoted to the most striking, most memorable book titles we have encountered. Each participant may vote on ten titles. Given the subjective nature of the list, please do not downvote titles.
Members: 144 participating members
Aquila, jannon, DoomLuz, stevejapel73, KeithChaffee, paradoxosalpha, Porua, velvetdex, mwdolls, hipdeep, rarm, sturlington, saskia17, susanbooks, dewasus1, EMS_24, gypsysmom, kara.shamy, noveltea, perennialreader, cpg, miller.max, msjudy, Tess_W, Michael.Rimmer, mldg, RBeffa, ahef1963, CarolynBurke7, rhbouchard, Rommert, tommi180744, asiralh, Tosta, haydninvienna, charl08, Karen74Leigh, CarltonC, Hope_H, Delameyo, dale01, tardis, abbottthomas, merrystar, slimikin, cleed, al.vick, ManWithAnAgenda, muumi, ReneeGKC, jemmatcf, amanda4242, EerierIdyllMeme, Time2Read2, NoPlanetB, igorken, vwinsloe, Yuki-Onna, kleo, terran, katemcangus, Euryale, rfl22338, karenb, kleh, kaixo, barefootsong, lizzy50usa, ijustgetbored, WaltNoise, VenusofUrbino, JadrankaCuculovic, Ann_R, msemmag, Cecrow, dara85, gmathis, Bookish59, elahrairah, Stewdar, valentina_pelli06, yoyogod, anglemark, Micheller7, elkiedee, Luke.w, Dilara86, raidergirl3, masterdeski, vallis-salutis, nenasfilla, AbigailAdams26, Fartomic, olegalCA, bjappleg8, tealadytoo, princessgarnet, Tea58, Eavans, Julie_in_the_Library, tina1969, LinnyNatei, souloftherose, LDVoorberg, bluemama, Moloch, tshorrom, nrmay, Kathaleen, arethusarose, MM_Jones, cameronl, Morphidae, vancouverdeb, cheryl_bannerman, -Pia-, AnnGoraczko, ReadHanded, AndreasJ, oldtimers, ThinklingsBooks, RaeCreated, Jak_Z, KCGordon01, spyrunner, KaCatte, Verkruissen, c_why, laytonwoman3rd, djriave, lestrond, puabi, Doey, banriona, jeanie0510, Ling.Lass, Milda-TX, biscuits, Sethgsamuel, VivienneR, LibraryCin, charlottem, Capybara_99, SkateGuard

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Rank Title Author Added

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

38,027 members

708 reviews

4.2

20 Members: tardis, kaixo, charl08, abbottthomas, amanda4242, CarltonC, merrystar, Stewdar, kleh, igorken, kara.shamy, msemmag, barefootsong, JadrankaCuculovic, asiralh, Julie_in_the_Library, DoomLuz, cleed, Delameyo, valentina_pelli06
Explanations: Delameyo: Who wouldn't want to know how to jettison oneself far away from the troubles of Earth?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

43,419 members

1,308 reviews

3.9

19 Members: dara85, mwdolls, charl08, raidergirl3, LDVoorberg, CarltonC, kleh, igorken, jemmatcf, Verkruissen, jeanie0510, msemmag, barefootsong, JadrankaCuculovic, ManWithAnAgenda, Tosta, velvetdex, valentina_pelli06, rfl22338

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

18,570 members

463 reviews

17 Members: karenb, anglemark, charl08, CarltonC, kleh, igorken, Porua, al.vick, msemmag, barefootsong, Karen74Leigh, asiralh, DoomLuz, cleed, Luke.w, velvetdex, rfl22338

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

15,310 members

368 reviews

13 Members: Euryale, charl08, saskia17, CarltonC, sturlington, igorken, Dilara86, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda, asiralh, elahrairah, DoomLuz, Luke.w
Explanations: elahrairah: From the moment I heard of this book I was captivated. What did it mean? I read it expecting magic and wizards and stuff, what I got was a schooling.

I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats

by Francesco Marciuliano

1,055 members

53 reviews

3.8

11 Members: laytonwoman3rd, mwdolls, muumi, masterdeski, Tea58, ReneeGKC, Bookish59, al.vick, Hope_H, stevejapel73, Fartomic
Explanations: stevejapel73: Well, because cats.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

by Carson McCullers

10,482 members

237 reviews

12 Members: puabi, kaixo, CarltonC, Tea58, katemcangus, AbigailAdams26, NoPlanetB, JadrankaCuculovic, ManWithAnAgenda, Karen74Leigh, Tosta, slimikin
Explanations: NoPlanetB: Here in the heart of Summer, sweet is life to me still - But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

by Robert M. Pirsig

18,368 members

276 reviews

3.8

11 Members: abbottthomas, dewasus1, haydninvienna, CarltonC, Stewdar, kleh, igorken, perennialreader, Karen74Leigh, asiralh, rfl22338

1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember Including One Hundred and Three Good Things, Five Bad Kings, and Two Genuine Dates

by W.C. Sellar

2,545 members

51 reviews

9 Members: tardis, anglemark, EerierIdyllMeme, haydninvienna, merrystar, Stewdar, kleh, djriave, Karen74Leigh

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

by Douglas Adams

13,954 members

117 reviews

3.9

10 Members: kaixo, Euryale, jannon, Bookish59, vwinsloe, gypsysmom, noveltea, asiralh, Julie_in_the_Library, cleed

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

by Italo Calvino

12,159 members

251 reviews

4.1

10 Members: anglemark, kaixo, lizzy50usa, saskia17, CarltonC, lestrond, susanbooks, Dilara86, msemmag, Delameyo
Explanations: lestrond: The title is open-ended - as should be the description of any story.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer

18,827 members

1,226 reviews

4.2

9 Members: raidergirl3, merrystar, perennialreader, tina1969, gypsysmom, msjudy, Tosta, Ann_R, rfl22338

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

by Catherynne M. Valente

3,716 members

254 reviews

4.1

9 Members: rarm, muumi, haydninvienna, merrystar, Bookish59, vwinsloe, Hope_H, barefootsong, asiralh

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

by T. Kingfisher

854 members

65 reviews

4.1

7 Members: tardis, charl08, haydninvienna, masterdeski, merrystar, Doey, al.vick

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

by Olga Tokarczuk

2,446 members

126 reviews

3.9

8 Members: Euryale, CarltonC, Milda-TX, Bookish59, vwinsloe, miller.max, Hope_H, cleed

We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda

by Philip Gourevitch

3,384 members

66 reviews

½ 4.4

6 Members: Moloch, AndreasJ, jemmatcf, Hope_H, LinnyNatei, elahrairah
Explanations: elahrairah: This was the first one I thought of for this list. A title that stabs you in the heart straight away.

Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

39,002 members

513 reviews

4.1

7 Members: vallis-salutis, mwdolls, Cecrow, sturlington, igorken, vwinsloe, Karen74Leigh
Explanations: vallis-salutis: Now a ubiquitous catchphrase.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: Stories

by Harlan Ellison

1,681 members

47 reviews

3.8

7 Members: Hope_H, tealadytoo, msemmag, Karen74Leigh, asiralh, DoomLuz, Fartomic

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

76,097 members

1,421 reviews

½ 4.4

7 Members: sturlington, jemmatcf, kara.shamy, Karen74Leigh, Tosta, DoomLuz, valentina_pelli06

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

by Douglas Adams

11,973 members

120 reviews

3.9

6 Members: tardis, kaixo, kleh, barefootsong, cleed, slimikin

My Family and Other Animals

by Gerald Durrell

5,109 members

146 reviews

4.2

6 Members: tardis, arethusarose, charl08, muumi, Stewdar, Delameyo
Explanations: muumi: Most of Gerald Durrell's titles are extremely memorable. A Zoo in My Luggage? The Overloaded Ark? This title can stand in for the entire oeuvre of a master title-maker.
Delameyo: This title came across my radar because the author Gerald Durrell not only spent time in Corfu, but also travelled to my native country, Guyana and described the biodiversity and wonder he encountered. It definitely makes me wonder what kind of people did such journeys around the globe, and appreciate his contributions to wildlife conservation.

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea

by Arthur Ransome

951 members

11 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: tardis, arethusarose, abbottthomas, c_why, bluemama

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by Judith Viorst

13,799 members

643 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: dara85, spyrunner, Time2Read2, Delameyo, stevejapel73
Explanations: spyrunner: I only read this because of the title.
stevejapel73: Haven't we all had these days?

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

by Oliver Sacks

11,195 members

203 reviews

3.9

6 Members: Euryale, abbottthomas, Micheller7, EMS_24, al.vick, asiralh

My Sister, the Serial Killer

by Oyinkan Braithwaite

3,257 members

238 reviews

3.8

5 Members: souloftherose, noveltea, DoomLuz, Delameyo, Fartomic
Explanations: Delameyo: Last name is similar to mine. Young African female author talking about a sensitive, yet poignant relationship in an unexpectedly sardonic way. And the cover!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

by Benjamin Stevenson

698 members

43 reviews

3.8

5 Members: souloftherose, Bookish59, olegalCA, Hope_H, RaeCreated

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

by David Foster Wallace

4,691 members

73 reviews

4.1

5 Members: cpg, muumi, vwinsloe, kara.shamy, Karen74Leigh

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

21,958 members

263 reviews

5 Members: haydninvienna, CarltonC, katemcangus, AbigailAdams26, cleed

Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays (FSG Classics)

by Joan Didion

3,991 members

82 reviews

4.1

5 Members: charl08, abbottthomas, CarltonC, katemcangus, stevejapel73

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death

by Caitlin Doughty

981 members

42 reviews

4 Members: VivienneR, LibraryCin, Hope_H, Ann_R

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

by Mike Brown

751 members

35 reviews

4.1

4 Members: muumi, raidergirl3, Time2Read2, Hope_H

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

by Rivka Galchen

484 members

23 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: rarm, miller.max, kara.shamy, Tosta

Interview with the Vampire

by Anne Rice

22,309 members

321 reviews

3.8

4 Members: tina1969, Karen74Leigh, DoomLuz, Luke.w

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

by Fannie Flagg

8,686 members

184 reviews

4.1

4 Members: Hope_H, Karen74Leigh, Tosta, Kathaleen

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

by Charles Yu

2,171 members

130 reviews

½ 3.4

4 Members: karenb, ReneeGKC, asiralh, KeithChaffee

The Celery Stalks at Midnight

by James Howe

2,262 members

23 reviews

3.8

4 Members: EerierIdyllMeme, muumi, al.vick, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: muumi: I've always liked this title. Not enough to read a children's book about vegetarian vampire bunnies, but enough to smile about it.

1984

by George Orwell

79,291 members

1,241 reviews

4.2

4 Members: Cecrow, sturlington, velvetdex, valentina_pelli06

If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him

by Sharyn McCrumb

756 members

12 reviews

½ 3.6

4 Members: tardis, dara85, Time2Read2, Hope_H

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat

by Bill Watterson

4,150 members

23 reviews

½ 4.6

4 Members: charl08, merrystar, al.vick, LinnyNatei

No Country for Old Men

by Cormac McCarthy

10,730 members

287 reviews

4 Members: abbottthomas, katemcangus, kara.shamy, DoomLuz

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

5,027 members

338 reviews

4.1

3 Members: biscuits, msjudy, barefootsong

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

18,490 members

334 reviews

4 Members: hipdeep, rarm, sturlington, rfl22338

When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi

5,204 members

299 reviews

4.2

4 Members: mwdolls, katemcangus, Tess_W, kara.shamy

Just One Damned Thing After Another

by Jodi Taylor

1,926 members

140 reviews

3.8

4 Members: tardis, amanda4242, igorken, stevejapel73

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

11,276 members

786 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: VenusofUrbino, Tosta, Eavans

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

by Becky Chambers

1,860 members

103 reviews

4.2

3 Members: Morphidae, saskia17, barefootsong

A Cat's Guide to Bonding with Dragons

by Chris Behrsin

26 members

1 review

½ 3.6

3 Members: masterdeski, al.vick, KaCatte

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand

by Samuel R. Delany

1,335 members

22 reviews

3 Members: karenb, paradoxosalpha, amanda4242
Explanations: paradoxosalpha: Who couldn't love this title?

Life: A User's Manual

by Georges Perec

3,681 members

53 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: kaixo, EMS_24, bluemama

On Being Told That Her Second Husband Has Taken His First Lover and Other Stories

by Tess Slesinger

60 members

3 Members: elkiedee, susanbooks, KCGordon01

For Whom the Bell Tolls

by Ernest Hemingway

18,407 members

177 reviews

3.9

3 Members: RBeffa, jemmatcf, rfl22338

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse

by Louise Erdrich

1,934 members

62 reviews

4.1

3 Members: mwdolls, perennialreader, msjudy

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

8,039 members

700 reviews

3.8

3 Members: muumi, VenusofUrbino, ReneeGKC

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

23,586 members

296 reviews

4.1

3 Members: mwdolls, tshorrom, Delameyo

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse

by Charlie Mackesy

2,750 members

115 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: perennialreader, Luke.w, Kathaleen

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

by E. L. Konigsburg

15,615 members

271 reviews

4.2

3 Members: gmathis, jannon, ManWithAnAgenda

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

by Diana Gabaldon

1,298 members

29 reviews

4.2

3 Members: rarm, Tess_W, cleed

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman

8,105 members

503 reviews

4.1

3 Members: Micheller7, Tosta, Ann_R

Books Do Furnish a Room

by Anthony Powell

420 members

14 reviews

3.8

3 Members: charl08, abbottthomas, Time2Read2

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

38,017 members

926 reviews

3 Members: jannon, tshorrom, stevejapel73

Like Water for Chocolate

by Laura Esquivel

11,661 members

251 reviews

3.8

3 Members: mldg, jemmatcf, Delameyo

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

by Yukio Mishima

2,848 members

55 reviews

3.8

3 Members: rarm, amanda4242, Michael.Rimmer

The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad

by Minister Faust

252 members

9 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: tardis, karenb, KeithChaffee

Ella Minnow Pea

by Mark Dunn

3,779 members

251 reviews

3.9

3 Members: VenusofUrbino, msjudy, cleed

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

20,977 members

460 reviews

3.9

3 Members: jemmatcf, NoPlanetB, kara.shamy

The Fellowship of the Ring

by J. R. R. Tolkien

52,569 members

464 reviews

½ 4.4

3 Members: kleo, kara.shamy, Ann_R

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl

6,492 members

304 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: EMS_24, ReneeGKC, katemcangus
Explanations: EMS_24: I have no idea what the book is about, but the title has always been intriguing to me

If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe

by Jason Pargin

179 members

7 reviews

4.1

2 Members: paradoxosalpha, olegalCA
Explanations: paradoxosalpha: Um, well, don't you think so?

Something Under the Bed Is Drooling

by Bill Watterson

3,965 members

17 reviews

½ 4.6

3 Members: cpg, Time2Read2, ManWithAnAgenda

Of Human Bondage

by W. Somerset Maugham

8,225 members

143 reviews

4.1

3 Members: charl08, jemmatcf, Tess_W

Bimbos of the Death Sun

by Sharyn McCrumb

1,059 members

34 reviews

3.8

3 Members: noveltea, ManWithAnAgenda, cleed

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

77,831 members

1,336 reviews

½ 4.4

2 Members: sturlington, susanbooks

In Search of Lost Time

by Marcel Proust

3,941 members

43 reviews

½ 4.5

2 Members: ReneeGKC, susanbooks

Far from the Madding Crowd

by Thomas Hardy

11,023 members

188 reviews

3 Members: susanbooks, rhbouchard, Tess_W
Explanations: rhbouchard: This has to be among the top ten. We all have experienced a "Madding Crowd".

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives and Broken Hearts

by Julian Rubinstein

703 members

28 reviews

2 Members: VenusofUrbino, jemmatcf

The Lady's Not for Burning

by Christopher Fry

442 members

7 reviews

½ 4.5

2 Members: haydninvienna, merrystar

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

by Amos Tutuola

240 members

7 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: rarm, Michael.Rimmer

Once Is Not Enough

by Jacqueline Susann

467 members

6 reviews

3.2

2 Members: mwdolls, Tess_W

Love in the Time of Cholera

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

27,105 members

396 reviews

2 Members: rhbouchard, rfl22338
Explanations: rhbouchard: Well, no better interesting title.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

by Haruki Murakami

17,451 members

365 reviews

4.2

2 Members: miller.max, NoPlanetB
Explanations: NoPlanetB: “Anyway Mr Wind-Up Bird, did you notice that the ladder’s gone?”

Get Off the Unicorn

by Anne McCaffrey

2,187 members

14 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: muumi, masterdeski
Explanations: muumi: This one is not just an unusual title, it's a hilarious editorial mistake. McCaffrey wanted "Get OF", ie progeny of ,"the Unicorn" and it got stupidly changed -- and it made her laugh and agree to keep it because it's funny in its own right.