Catch-18: A rose by any other name…
By Kristen on Mar 7, 2008 in Life - a little bit better
My husband has brought many wonderful new things to my life, and I would love to share one of them – the CBS Sunday Morning Show. Each Sunday, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. (Central Standard Time), Charles Osgood strolls through the world of art, literature, technology, culture, and anything else of interest — and somehow even subjects I wouldn’t have expected to be interesting, become so.
Photo by tanakawho
Last Sunday, one segment in particular caught my attention: What’s In A Name? Here are the first few lines:
Have you read any of these?
“Something That Happened.” “The Last Man In Europe.” “Barbeque.”
You probably have. In fact, some may be on your bookshelves right now. But you know them as “Of Mice And Men,” “1984″ and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”
Interested in reading more? Check out the entire piece by clicking this link — and consider “tivoing” the show this week – you won’t be disappointed! And be sure to watch all the way to the end — regardless of the topics, every week each show ends with a few minutes of pastoral America — pure, unadulterated nature – from all around the country.
After watching this segment, I started to wonder if a book’s title really matters to me. My initial thought was that I usually read books recommended by friends or by other trusted sources — or whatever works are getting a lot of chit chat. Then I realized it had taken me so long to read Eggers and Chabon precisely because I didn’t like the sound of either title!
The title A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was off-putting, regardless of whether the hyperbole was tongue in cheek or not. (Incidentally, as much as I enjoyed the memoir, I still do not care for the title). In addition, Chabon’s title The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay seemed too… jubilant? giddy? I’m not sure, but I am so glad I was able to eventually get past whatever bugged me.
So, I guess I am grateful that Of Mice and Men wasn’t called Something That Happened…
Let’s see what YOU think!
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