May 27, 2007 • Print This Post

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I was thinking about titles today.  And the fact that there are so many titles out there that we just know.  Maybe we never even read the book, but we immediately recognize the name.  And I also started to think about the romance industry titles–and that so, so often you will hear someone say, “It was a great book.  But I can’t remember the title.”  I think I hear that more in the romance genre than in any other genre. 

Why is that?  I’ll admit I’ve never read The World According to Garp.  But I did recognize the title even before the movie came out.  Now, a book becoming a movie does immediately spread the recognition of a title, to be sure.   But think of all the titles you know (pre-movie).
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Salem’s Lot
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Kite Runner
Life of Pi
The Secret Lives of Bees 

Now granted, these books have gotten a lot of acclaim, which obviously makes the titles more memorable.  But again, I’m confused as to why a person can love a book and forget the title.  That very thing has happened to me many, many times with romance novel titles. 

Do you think they are sometimes too generic?  Too similar?  And does that happen to you within the romance genre?  More than other genres?

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