Nabokov's "Likable Rapists," and other renamed books

Jonathan Safran Foer as Too Soon

Ah, Friday. The weekend is impending, and you mentally clocked out of work yesterday anyway, so the last thing you want to do is mull over complex topics like "net neutrality" or "Justin Bieber." Luckily, The Rumpus has tipped us off to Dan Wilber's blog, Better Book Titles. Brilliantly simple, it takes your favorite books and gives them pithy titles that more accurately warn readers what they're getting themselves into.

We've included a number of our favorites below, so scroll away, you unproductive employee. When you're done, you should definitely go to Wilber's blog for more.

Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita as Likable Rapist

John Updike's Old People Fucking

David Foster Wallace book Infinite Jest as Too Long

Bret Easton Ellis book Less Than Zero as Kids Love Drugs

Bret Easton Ellis Imperial Bedrooms as Adults Love Drugs Also

Michael Chabon Kavalier and Clay as Gay Jewish Magicians Kill Nazis

James Joyce book One Long Sentence About Handjobs

Commentarium (9 Comments)

Aug 13 10 - 11:26am
Bealzebub

My Friday was just made 500% better by this post. Well done, Nerve. Well done.

Aug 13 10 - 11:55am
Johnny Utah

I enjoyed that, I really did, but I have some nitpicky quibbles, including this one: I don't think the rapist was supposed to be likable, per se, in Lolita!

Aug 13 10 - 11:56am
md

"Why Didn't They Just Ride The Eagles To Mordor?" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Aug 13 10 - 2:56pm
Johnny Utah

Nice one, md.

How about this?

"Deus Ex Machina and Telepathy," by Stephen King, a series of 40-50 novels spanning roughly from 1973 to 2010 thus far. (I am a King fan, by the way, so I say this with love.)

Aug 13 10 - 4:24pm
Me

"Religious Symbolism and Fake History Means I Don't Have to Use a Plot or Good Characters" by Dan Brown.

Sep 04 10 - 5:54pm
scg

"Puberty With Wands And Stuff" by JK Rowling

Nov 20 11 - 10:39pm
Deon

That's not even 10 mnitues well spent!

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