I am obsessed with book titles and how some really strange, overlong and obscure misnomers slip through the editing process. I have a bone to pick with these titles I recently found in a few minutes searching for self-help and do-it-yourself books on the library catalog. Great books with ambiguous titles can really put me off. Salut. En garde!
Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Have Always Wanted: Boost Your Brain to Improve Your Weight, Skin, Heart, Energy and Focus, by Daniel Amen, 2010
Assaut: Brother Amen, please. If I could imagine my way into a size 6 I would! I’ll just pop down to the UW and pick up a different brain…
Also on health issues:
Coup Lancé: Many very smart PhD-types have studied DNA for years and not been able to “outsmart” genes.
The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet, by Alicia Silverstone
Coup passé: Perhaps the words “… and the Universe!” should be added to the title to make it even more emphatic.
How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work: Shameless Tricks for Growing Radically Simple Flowers, Veggies, Lawns, Landscaping and More, by Jeff Bredenberg
Fleché: My kind of book, only I would rather read “How to Get Out of Gardening and Yard Work.”)
Also on working the land and living with nature:
One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3 Foot Square, by Lolo Houbein
Redoublement: I eat more than that.
The Homesteading Handbook: Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine and More, by Abibgail R. Gehring
Croisé: Shades of the good old life; has it come around again?
Get me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank, by Randy Hutter Epstein
Coupé: or, The Timeline of Pain?
Also on childbirth:
Birthing a Better Way: 12 Secrets for Natural Childbirth, by Kalena Cook
Passé avant: I can think of lots of better ways…
Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience, by Elizabeth Davis
Touché: I wonder how many kids the author has.
I Brake for Meltdowns: How to Handle the Most Exasperating Behaviors of Your 2-to-5-year-old, by Michelle Nicholasen
Ballestra: See if your kids are as exasperating as the author’s!
Also on parenting:
Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change Your Child’s Attitude, Behavior and Character in Five Days, by Kevin Leman
Changement de Rythme: Tempting, isn’t it?
Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool, by Hal Edward Runkel.
Phrases d’armes: What a concept! Do the kids get to scream?
Your Kids are Your Own Fault: A Guide for Raising Responsible, Productive Adults, by Larry Winget
Froissement: I don’t care for your tone, buster.
Salut!
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