Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2019
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52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

My top pick right now is: My Sister, the Serial Killer
Serendipity wrote: "The concept of half a death is intriguing so I'll give The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle a go."
I feel like we may be reading a lot of the same books haha!
I have The 7 1/2 Deaths on my list as well, along with:
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
I feel like we may be reading a lot of the same books haha!
I have The 7 1/2 Deaths on my list as well, along with:
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell



The subtitle rather gives away what it's about! Funny travel stories - with one of them being about someone's bag bursting open on the conveyor belt as you go through customs and almost leaving some underwear behind, i imagine...!

A new Danish release is simply called de, meaning "They". She is also the author of This Should Be Written in the Present Tense.

Hah I have no idea why they went with the half a death for the US title. Apparently there was title clash so they changed it (I'm think maybe with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because I know someone whose order got muddled up on these two). It's a great book though, I just think the title amendment is weird in itself.

My top pick right now is: My Sister, the Serial Killer"
This is the one I'm planning on reading for an author with A, T, and Y in their name.


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and maybe
The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.
I read these this year. All very good reads. Some were excellent.
I’ll probably end up with
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (same as the 7 1/2 Deaths but for some reason they changed the name of the paperback for the US release from the original Seven to 7 1/2),
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, or
The Slow Regard of Silent Things (if I can make a dent in the rest of the Kingkiller Chronicles)
Oh! I'd recommend Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, for anyone looking for humor with just a hint of naughty (just a hint though!)



A few I read this year that (imo, at least) fit this prompt:
* The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
* The Gallery of Unfinished Girls
* Vampires in the Lemon Grove


So far, my list is:
* The Dead Mountaineer's Inn
* The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
* Gun, With Occasional Music
* Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop: And Other Practical Advice in Our Campaign Against the Fairy Kingdom


A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson
I liked Life After Life by Atkinson so I hope I like this one.

I like the groovy cover best, but apparently the book is also a movie staring Kate Winslet.


As an honorable mention since it came up in my search for weird titles and we had a fun convo over in pop sugar about it, there is also The Haunted Vagina. Thats weird. Had a good laugh about it with my dad and aunt while they were visiting last month. The description alone was strangely terrifying and some of the comments were hilarious ( depending on your sense of humor LOL)



I loved this book :-)

Not in Front of the Children: "Indencency, " Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time
Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit

Sexing The Cherry
Pussy, King of the Pirates
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break
Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence
The first three have been on my TBR list for ages, but the last one had such a great title I immediately had to add it to my list.

How to Be Black
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Sydney wrote: "I didn't get a chance to finish The Smell of Other People's Houses in 2018, so that will be my pick for this prompt! :)"
I have that one on my 2018 but the hold is taking a very long time to come through with the library. I may have to end up moving it to this slot as well.
I have that one on my 2018 but the hold is taking a very long time to come through with the library. I may have to end up moving it to this slot as well.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Bossypants
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Perks of Being a Wallflower


Escaping from Houdini
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
Mission: Improper
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs
Lost Among the Living
Dead and Kicking

Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead
The Regional Office is Under Attack!

or
Me Talk Pretty One Day
or
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
or
When You Are Engulfed in Flames

I will probably do that one too!

How to flirt with a naked werewolf by molly harper




Other books that could fit here (IMO) include:
You Die When You Die
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
Fingersmith
Nicky wrote: "I have been intending to read Grief is the Thing with Feathers which fits the prompt nicely I feel."
You could also read this for Something Borrowed -- the title is a line from an Emily Dickinson poem! (Well, the line is "Hope is the thing with feathers.." but yea.. similar.)
You could also read this for Something Borrowed -- the title is a line from an Emily Dickinson poem! (Well, the line is "Hope is the thing with feathers.." but yea.. similar.)

Thanks, I did not know that and as this is the first time I have done this challenge it is good to have lots of options.


Intriguing title and premise, but thought the story was just okay.
If anyone is still looking, these were all 5 star books for me:
You're Never Weird on the Internet (Probably only a book you'll love if you were already a fan of Felicia Day.)
Mustaches for Maddie (middle grade)
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (middle grade)


The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?
That it's a particular scent and I can kind of conjure up what I think that smell would be based of a specific person, but knowing it will be different for everyone.
Based on the title, what would you think this book would be about?
I'm ultimately not sure, but hopefully at some point the smell of other people's houses gets brought up

- What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?
The feral part.
- Based on the title, what are you expecting the book to be about?
I have no idea, that's what's intriguing about it. I just know it's a mystery.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder (other topics)A Visit from the Goon Squad (other topics)
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare (other topics)
When I Am Playing with My Cat, How Do I Know That She Is Not Playing with Me?: Montaigne and Being in Touch with Life (other topics)
Sugar Rush (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Sarah J. Harris (other topics)Jennifer Egan (other topics)
Saul Frampton (other topics)
Julie Burchill (other topics)
David Forrest (other topics)
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Suggestions
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: The Weirdest Titles for Fiction Books
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: Funny Book Titles
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: Odd Titles
Optional Questions
- What do you find weird or intriguing about the title?
- Based on the title, what are you expecting the book to be about?