Wondrous One Word Title Books: Bookish Blog Hop Day 7

Titles matter, and when they are condensed into one single word, they somehow matter more. That one word carries so much responsibility. It has to convey all that the book is without being overwhelming or underwhelming, and it has to appeal. So today’s topic for our blog hop (the last day actually of this winter blog hop) is one word title books.

Looking into books with one word titles led me to this fascinating article about author’s takes on their own books with one word titles. And then there is one from Kindlepreneur on how to title books with a section about one word titles.

As for me, interesting titles always catch my eye, sometimes more so than the book cover. Especially when they are clever or intriguing or simply straightforward and just say it as it is, and of course, sometimes they are just that one word the author has chosen to represent their work. From Stephen King’s It or Carrie (both of which that I have not read) to classics like Pygmalion and Odyssey or Persuasion, the literary world is full of one-word titled treasures. Today, we at the Bookish Blog Hop are exploring some of our favorite such titles and books.

Wondrous One Word Titles

My Picks

As for me, it was hard to finalize one pick, so I am simply going to rattle out a few titles that I have loved since forever and since more recently as well! I am sticking to children’s reads for this selection, and while there are so many more just in children’s books itself, limiting this list to three.

One of the earliest such reads is Heidi. I wandered with my minds eye to Switzerland when I was maybe 8 or 9, and it was such a grand journey indeed. I romped the hills with Heidi and Peter, and longed to spend time with her grandpa!

More recently there was Coraline by Neil Gaiman (he has certainly become one of my favs). We loved the movie, of course (and Gaiman apparently did too) but the book took me to this whole other world, you see (pun intended!)

And one last book I want to mention is Wonder. I have to admit, I cried while reading the book and as I watched the movie.

Kriti @ Armed with A Book

Kriti’s Pick: HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

If you like horror then this one might be of interest to you: HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is the best horror I have ever read! I raved about it on the blog recently, reflecting on the genre, the book, its messaging and all that I have experienced thanks to this amazing book. It is important to note that this is a translated book and for it to give me the kind of emotional reaction is unprecedented in my opinion. I had not expected it at all. Also note that this book portrays very dark themes so please be cautious if you decide to pick it up.

This is the story of a town that no one can leave and the actions that the teenagers will take to get out seemed like a promising read. What I did not realize was how guttural and vulnerable it would make its characters, and me. I cried so much through this book and so many times after reading it. The whole day after I finished, I was a little out. This has never happened before. There are parts of it that don’t make sense to me but my brain very much does not want to make sense of them. It is better this way.

HEX is often described as a disturbing book by reviewers and I believe that is only the tip of the iceberg. The writing and translation are absorbing – the moments that will build the most tension and suspense are stretched to the limit, keeping the reader at the edge of their seat. It made me think about how low we can go as humans if the circumstances turn out that way. It also made me confront grief like no other book.
Find this book on Goodreads.

Leslie Conzatti @ The Upstream Writer

Leslie’s Pick: Renegades by Marissa Meyer

One of the books I’ve read with a one-word title is one that I recently finished and very much enjoyed: Renegades by Marissa Meyer. It’s her new series, a trilogy delving into the world of “teenage superheroes” as opposed to re-telling fairy tales–and it’s amazing!

The premise is fairly standard as far as YA superhero tropes go: a cataclysmic event causes some people to manifest a “superpower” gene, while others don’t. The superpowered ones are called Prodigies, and anyone who’s discovered as a Prodigy is expected to join the Renegades: the elite class of superpowered protectors. Generally, if you’re a Prodigy and you’re not with the Renegades, then it is assumed that you are an Anarchist: the Prodigies who use their powers to try and take down the Renegades.

The main character is Nova, who is known as Nightmare, a Prodigy who can make people fall asleep around her. She runs with the Anarchists mostly, but she’s discovered by the Renegades and passes herself off as a new Prodigy code-named Insomnia, claiming that her “superpower” is that she never sleeps. Her position as a double-agent is tested time and again, as different Renegades come close to discovering who she really is, and the Anarchists want her to use her position to subvert the Renegades… and to make it even more complicated, Nova befriends a Renegade named Sketch who is not only hell-bent on finding out all that he can about Nightmare… but he’s got a volatile secret of his own!

I enjoyed Renegades every bit as much as I have loved everything else Meyer has written, and I can’t wait to read the other books in the trilogy to find out how it ends!

Kaili @ Owl Book World

Kaili’s Pick: You by Caroline Kepnes

So, the first book that actually comes to mind is the book called You. The story follows a man who works at a bookstore. He’s cranky and doesn’t like dealing with people but there are times he’s good at hiding it. When the perfect girl shows up he starts to stalk her and lure her in. What she doesn’t know is that he’s not a very good person.

A couple of years ago I started the book but have yet to finish the series. The show is up on Netflix for those who enjoy books that deal with serial killers. Just a bit of a heads up the story really isn’t for everyone!

Brandy Potter @ Brandy Potter Books

Brandy’s Pick: Emma by Jane Austen

How many of you have seen the movie Clueless? Did you know it was based on a Jane Austen novel called Emma? No? Well it is. And it is a suburb novel right down to the doting on her widowed father. For those who don’t know. Emma, a privileged gentleman’s daughter, considers herself the best matchmaker in the county. Upon meeting an underprivileged girl, named Harriet, she attempts to make the girl a match way out of her stratosphere. To Emma’s dismay, everything goes sideways on her very quickly. Charming, witty, romantic and funny, it is one of Austen’s best.

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, so what are some of your favorite one word title books? Have you read any of the listed/featured books today? If you want to join in on the fun of the bookish blog hop in the next round, check out our FB group here. And I hope I made you curious enough to want to check out the previous days of the blog hop now. So here they are for your perusal:

1: A Book About A Bookstore
2: A Book in a Series
3: A Book on your TBR
4: A Book your picked up for the cover
5: An award winning book worth the hype (coming soon)
6: A Book with a Number in the Title

Lady In Read Writes

A Blog(ful) Of Niches