tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post4419431681311024038..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: Changing titlesStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-23324979003712717492014-03-19T11:45:16.400+00:002014-03-19T11:45:16.400+00:00I really don't like the changed Shoes titles a...I really don't like the changed Shoes titles at all, and while there are lots of examples of silly American changes here, I've come across one where the UK publishers have changed the American titles from ones that are distinct and sometimes interesting to ones that are just confusing. The crime fiction series is by S J Rozan and features Lydia Chin and Bill Smith:<br /><br />The Shanghai Moon - Trail of Blood<br />Winter and Night - Blood Ties<br />Stone Quarry - Bad Blood<br />Reflecting the Sky - Blood Rites<br />On the Line - Out for Blood<br /><br />They're totally confusing and dull, I think.<br /><br />Lucinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-75831977518884862472014-03-09T23:06:07.370+00:002014-03-09T23:06:07.370+00:00Very good example, Angela! P&P is certainly th...Very good example, Angela! P&P is certainly the better title, I agree.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-54352193561907003642014-03-09T23:05:45.439+00:002014-03-09T23:05:45.439+00:00A very good point! And I've sometimes got exci...A very good point! And I've sometimes got excited about adding to my collection of an author I love, only to discover that it's simply a question of retitling.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-19568097397826238972014-03-09T23:04:58.424+00:002014-03-09T23:04:58.424+00:00Ok, THAT is much less forgiveable. What were they ...Ok, THAT is much less forgiveable. What were they thinking??StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-2752186859919065812014-03-09T23:04:40.004+00:002014-03-09T23:04:40.004+00:00Oh, didn't know that! Another example of a bri...Oh, didn't know that! Another example of a brilliantly original title being made much worse. Tut tut.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-59353241296708683202014-03-09T23:04:10.611+00:002014-03-09T23:04:10.611+00:00Yes! Yes! I almost mentioned this one, and couldn&...Yes! Yes! I almost mentioned this one, and couldn't express why I disliked the change - but you pinpoint it brilliantly!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-83341235549737959242014-03-09T23:03:48.353+00:002014-03-09T23:03:48.353+00:00Which of the Larsson titles do you prefer? I actua...Which of the Larsson titles do you prefer? I actually like the UK/US version.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-78142511305295289102014-03-09T23:03:28.394+00:002014-03-09T23:03:28.394+00:00I hadn't realised Curious George had been anyt...I hadn't realised Curious George had been anything else! Well, I've only come across CG through the sitcom Friends; I don't think he exists in the UK.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-68725829658426455342014-03-09T23:00:15.521+00:002014-03-09T23:00:15.521+00:00I know!! They definitely went rather overboard...I know!! They definitely went rather overboard...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-11974723546549063632014-03-09T22:59:43.097+00:002014-03-09T22:59:43.097+00:00She did, thank you Ellen! I'm looking forward ...She did, thank you Ellen! I'm looking forward to reading it - and I thought I'd emailed you, so sorry that I clearly didn't.<br /><br />I think Karen might be right, that the titles went the other way around, but I only think that because the most recent edition arrived in the post the other day.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-64790177339554272392014-03-09T22:58:22.960+00:002014-03-09T22:58:22.960+00:00I didn't realise that! What a rubbish change o...I didn't realise that! What a rubbish change of title, I agree. Not my favourite book (and put my hometown in the wrong county!) but a great title in the original.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-73876340683233826112014-03-09T22:57:44.108+00:002014-03-09T22:57:44.108+00:00I remember you mentioning the Parker Pyne thing - ...I remember you mentioning the Parker Pyne thing - awful! I suppose the Mirrors title in English is pretty poor too, as the figurative sense isn't very clear. Hmm. But not as tenuous as The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3670690359392157432014-03-09T22:56:47.596+00:002014-03-09T22:56:47.596+00:00A very good example! Also makes hunting for it onl...A very good example! Also makes hunting for it online tricky.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-204738729191639372014-03-07T10:26:42.019+00:002014-03-07T10:26:42.019+00:00A good change ... are they allowed here? ... was f...A good change ... are they allowed here? ... was from <i>First Impressions</i> to <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. And I think what happened was that, under its first title and submitted by Austen's father, it was rejected. Then, when <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> became something of a hit the publishers asked for other work - by then Austen had reworked <i>First Impressions</i> - and suggested she capitalise on the two-noun title idea ... .Angela Younghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708737998692926877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-47027742469534572812014-03-07T02:35:11.374+00:002014-03-07T02:35:11.374+00:00I dislike title changes, especially between Britis...I dislike title changes, especially between British & American editions -- it makes it SO HARD when trying to order books for the library. You have to always double check to make sure you don't already have the book under another title, and it doesn't always work -- so the poor readers tell us once they've figured it out...WHY?? Oh, the agony.<br /><br />That said, I never realized the shoe fetish running through Noel Streatfeild's titles. That is quite something all written out at once!Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-5907321443988329692014-03-06T19:58:10.678+00:002014-03-06T19:58:10.678+00:00Speaking of The Painted Garden/Movie Shoes, to my ...Speaking of The Painted Garden/Movie Shoes, to my mind worse than the retitling is the cutting out of something like a quarter of the text. When I acquired an English copy recently I was delighted to find so many entire scenes about the family that I'd never read before - like finding "new" material, scenes that shed light on the characters and showed interesting incidents. But I was also horrified that they cut the book so drastically. It couldn't have been for space reasons, it's not a long book, and the cuts made no sense in terms of "simplifying" for an American audience either. Very strange!Diana Birchallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18291540900938654707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-13322111885157126592014-03-06T16:28:18.541+00:002014-03-06T16:28:18.541+00:00Oh, here's another. US publisher (coincidence...Oh, here's another. US publisher (coincidence?) retitled Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice to The Legacy. Granted, a legacy plays a major role in the tale, but it's so, well, ordinary. Generic. A Town Like Alice? Hey, you've got to want to at least investigate a title like that.Susan Dhttp://www.dalyght.ca/cuba2014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-904923712994573282014-03-06T16:17:53.005+00:002014-03-06T16:17:53.005+00:00Speaking of dumbing down, one of the most appallin...Speaking of dumbing down, one of the most appalling retitling crimes in recent years is changing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, because the US publishers seem to have assumed<br /><br />a) sorcerers are cool, philosophers are dorky<br />b) the ancient history of alchemy should be completely rewritten<br />c) American readers need all the help they can get<br /><br />sigh....Susan Dhttp://www.dalyght.ca/cuba2014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-88254802443776092352014-03-06T15:19:36.791+00:002014-03-06T15:19:36.791+00:00In Swedish the Stieg Larsson's "The Girl ...In Swedish the Stieg Larsson's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is called "Men Who Hate Women". I think detective novels are particularly prone to this. Publishers are looking to make money on them, more so probably than with literary fiction, so they're probably going for the least common denominator. It does always seem that US publishers dumb things down.Peggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17111736625664327019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-40157626785348671582014-03-06T14:22:05.693+00:002014-03-06T14:22:05.693+00:00I *believe* The Runaways was actually originally p...I *believe* The Runaways was actually originally published under the Linnets and Valerians title - the Linnets are the runaway children of the title but I haven't yet found out what the Valerians refers to (I'm currently reading this!!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-3871681985930018002014-03-06T13:27:30.378+00:002014-03-06T13:27:30.378+00:00When did Zozo the Monkey become Curious George? A...When did Zozo the Monkey become Curious George? A change of species (to chimp) as well as of title.AMossnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-89198425982513713712014-03-06T09:02:53.962+00:002014-03-06T09:02:53.962+00:00I can't believe the mad shoe theming of Streat...I can't believe the mad shoe theming of Streatfeild. I mean, honestly, is her name on a book not good enough reason to pick it up and devour it?LyzzyBeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398604923871095647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-12339345916394217252014-03-06T06:25:48.164+00:002014-03-06T06:25:48.164+00:00The Runaways by Elizabeth Goudge is entitled Linne...The Runaways by Elizabeth Goudge is entitled Linnets and Valerians in the US. I have no idea why.<br /><br />Simon, did Rachel deliver that bio to you which I sent her home with last summer? If not, you guys will have to have a meet up.EllenBinNYCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-91746339337347192692014-03-06T00:02:42.685+00:002014-03-06T00:02:42.685+00:00I think the one that bothers me the most was the c...I think the one that bothers me the most was the change of Poppy Adams' The Behavior of Moths to The Sister for the US. I mean, could there be a bigger swing from an interesting (and pertinent) title to one that says absolutely nothing about the story and is drab as all get out?Kristen M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02335598194501733541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-52981308193148815782014-03-05T23:55:28.865+00:002014-03-05T23:55:28.865+00:00Lots of Agatha Christie titles have been changed (...Lots of Agatha Christie titles have been changed (What Mrs McGillycuddy Saw, Murder is Easy, A Murder for Christmas, 13 at Dinner, Poirot Loses a Client... lots more) but the worst two are Parker Pyne: Detective (originally Parker Pyne Investigates) and Murder with Mirrors (originally They Do It With Mirrors). The first is bad because Parker Pyne says on about page two that he's not a detective; the second because there are no mirrors in the book.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882515814070408013noreply@blogger.com