Stop naming books "The <profession>'s <relation>"!!!

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

Point of order. Is "prisoner" a paying profession?

Yes it can be. Federal Prisoners make from $.12 to $.40 and hour. Montana prisoners get $.65 an hour. Georgia does not pay it's inmates.
Apache

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Apache

Yes it can be. Federal Prisoners make from $.12 to $.40 and hour. Montana prisoners get $.65 an hour. Georgia does not pay it's inmates.
Apache

As the man with the new artificial hip said, "I stand corrected".

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'll have you know The Dung Flinger's Third Cousin (Twice Removed) was absolutely brilliant. Riveting.

Wait, is dung flinging a profession?

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JDK1962

Wait, is dung flinging a profession?

Certainly - immortalised in song here... http://www.thewurzels.com/lyricsdung.htm

[Quexos]

I would settle for a mediocre title provided the story is well written.
Or is a story whose title is a splinter in some people's brain, necessarily a bad book ?

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by Quexos

I would settle for a mediocre title provided the story is well written.
Or is a story whose title is a splinter in some people's brain, necessarily a bad book ?

I would argue that, by now, the use of that form of title shows a significant lack of imagination that will likely be reflected in the content.

I will set aside my bias and tackle Obreht's The Tiger's Wife soon. But only because it was so well-reviewed. And because "tiger" is not a profession. Unless you're Hobbes.

[LovesMacs]

I just did a quick check and no one seems to have claimed The Sister's Sister or The Brother's Brother.

[BenG]

You have "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick DeWitt, but I don't think it counts.
(Not to mention the Smother's Brothers)

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by BenG

You have "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick DeWitt, but I don't think it counts.
(Not to mention the Smother's Brothers)

I actually read The Sisters Brothers. Excellent book.

[Rizla]

What about "The <profession>'s Mistress"? There must be some, shirley?

These titles say a lot about how women function in society and see themselves. That is changing. What about the "Executive's House-husband"? Social mores dictate this title unsexy. This could be easily fixed with a cover showing a glistening, over-developed, tatooed torso (male), perhaps holding a child's hand or a just-washed plate, while being eyed up by the scheming, glamorous, raven-headed neighbour (female) from her red sports-car.

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by Rizla

What about "The <profession>'s Mistress"? There must be some, shirley?

While not a formal relation, I think it's an excellent addition.

And don't call me Shirley.

[Bilbo1967]

On ForumSpy, this thread shows as, "Stop naming books "The 's "!!!"

[HomeInMyShoes]

At some point we are going to run out of titles and with all of this self-publishing-anyone-can-be-an-author nonsense we are certainly going to be rehashing a lot of old ideas.

Imagine if famous authors named their books like, say Jackson Pollock did. Or maybe if they titled works like composer opus numbering.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by JDK1962

And don't call me Shirley.

Can I call you Betty? You can call me Al

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Imagine if famous authors named their books like, say Jackson Pollock did.

I like that - Jules Verne, No. 3 (Journey to the Center of the Earth); Jules Verne, No. 11 (Around the World in Eighty Days).