long, long book titles- mine included
February 6, 2009
The title for my pending book, due April 09, is really rather long:
Weird Monologues for a Rainy Life (irreverent ramblings from the end of the world)
(by Lorette C. Luzajic)

but it wasn’t the longest title I found!
How to Teach Children About Money: A Step-By-Step Adult Guide to Help Children Learn About Earning, Saving, Spending and Investing Their Money
(by Hassell Bradley)
or:
Victorian Domestic Architectural Plans and Details: 734 Scale Drawings of Doorways, Windows, Staircases, Moldings, Cornices, and Other Elements (v. 1)
(by William T. Comstock)
Just try memorizing this one:
Amazons of the Avant Garde: Alexandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Varvara Stepanova, Nadezhda Udaltsova
(by Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin)
and of special contemporary relevance:
Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us … and What to Do About It
(by Dick Morris)
This one sounds more interesting, though:
Hollow Earth: The Long And Curious History Of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations And Marvelous Machines Below The Earth’s Surface
(by David Standish)
For quite some time, this was the longest book title:
The history of the wars of New-England with the Eastern Indians; or, a narrative of their continued perfidy and cruelty, from the 10th of August, 1703, to the peace renewed 13th of July, 1713. And from the 25th of July, 1722, to their submission 15th December, 1725, which was ratified August 5th, 1726
(by Samuel Penhallow)
But 150 years later, it was outdone:
Our new West; records of travel between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean…with details of the wonderful natural scenery, agriculture, mines, business, social life, progress and prospects of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, including a full description of the Pacific railroad and of the life of the Mormons, Indians and Chinese
(by Samuel Bowles, 1869)
And again, it took another century and a half to write a longer title:
Daniel Radcliffe the story of the not so ordinary boy chosen from …….’ and ends with ‘to his ever royal crown of fame’
(1022 word title (That’s four pages long and I’m not going to write the whole thing out!)
for a book about actor Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, by Dr Subramonian)
Dr. Subramonian may need this one by the time he’s done promoting the above:
A Handbook on Hanging, Being a short introduction to the fine art of Execution, and containing much useful information on Neck-breaking, Throttling, Strangling, Asphyxiation, Decapitation and electrocution; as well as Data and Wrinkles for Hangmen, an account of the late Mr. Berry’s method of Killing and his working list of Drops; to which is added a Hangman’s Ready Reckoner and certain other items of interest, New edition enlarged diligently compared and revised in accordance with the most recent Developments. All Very Proper to be read and Kept in Every Family.
(by Charles Duff)



August 31, 2009 at 12:40 am
Thanks for your great post. I like the title of your new book. I’m working on my second book right now, and, when I run out of energy for writing, I’ve been brainstorming titles. I’m drawn to the longer titles (perhaps not as long as some of the ones you posted). Are there any long fiction titles that you particularly like? I’ve been trying to figure out what makes the difference between an appealing title (like Weird Monologues for a Rainy Life) and a long title that just seem odd or trendy. What do you think? My favorite title of all time is A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.
September 3, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Cool site, love the info.