Help title a book

E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List, Fly on the Wall, Dramarama) Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks, Milkrun, Frogs & French Kisses) and Lauren Myracle (TTYL, TTFN, L8R G8R, Rhymes with Witches) are writing a book together about three girls taking a road trip through the sticky heat of Florida in pursuit of love and adventure.

They’re stuck on what title to use. I so sympathise. Picking the right title is a nightmare!

So right now Harper Teen is holding a quiz. All you have to do is read the three top titles and vote on your choice.

It takes seconds. I just voted. Won’t tell you for which—don’t want to sway the results. But, um, I sure do like the idea of lessons in badness . . .

The results will be announced 1 August.

39 comments

  1. Gwenda on #

    I betchya we voted the same. Bad girls to the end!

  2. Justine on #

    It was a total no brainer. The other titles were lame. (No offense E., Sarah or Lauren or whoever came up with them.)

  3. Dawn on #

    I beat ya to it! Maybe. I saw the bulletin post on Myspace and voted even before you could sway me. But we must have some telepathic connection (or we’re just good at picking titles…:)) because I voted for the same one you did. I agree, the others were…not so great.

  4. jenny davidson on #

    yes, it must be a setup, that one is so much superior to the others!

  5. Nichole on #

    wow, i’m glad i don’t have the “choosing a title” responsiblity. i really admire clever titles, but can never seem to be clever myself.

    if ya like lessons in being bad, here are some fun books:

    1)The Cheater’s Handbook : The Naughty Student’s Bible by Bob Corbett

    2)The Bad Girl’s Guide to the Open Road by Cameron Tuttle and Susannah Bettag

    3)The Bad Girl’s Guide to the Party Life by Cameron Tuttle and Susannah Bettag

    I, of course, am an angel and would never dream of being bad. Oh, the lies we tell ourselves. 😉

    If only I’d found out about the first book before I’d finished school. Um, I probably would have gotten kicked out for scholastic dishonesty and then i’d have to deal with my pissed off (and very disappointed) mother.

  6. Diana on #

    I disagree with all y’all. I thought a DIFFERENT title was way better than all the others.

  7. Justine on #

    Diana: There’s always one lunatic in the park . . .

  8. Steve Nagy on #

    Those all looked like marketing choices. Augh. Bleah. Went for Drive Like A Girl.

  9. marrije on #

    I think I’ll have to pass on any book that’s called, um, the third option.

    So is orangedragonfly’s baby here yet? (been away due to lots of stressy work)

  10. Rebecca on #

    drive like a girl. ha. 😀

  11. Dess on #

    when will you and/or scott be posting your appearances for october (the Extras tour)?

  12. Justine on #

    Dess: I’ll put the details up as soon as we get them. At the moment all I know is we’ll be appearing together in San Francisco on the 9th of October.

  13. Gabrielle on #

    Ha! I voted before you posted this, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only ne who voted for what I did, from the people who commented here. I’m an Outsider (There’s supposed to be a capital O on outsider. Stupid caps.)

  14. Elodie on #

    Personally, I agree with Diana that the Bad Girls one wasn’t the best 🙂
    (and the last one so did not fit the storyline)

  15. Dess on #

    was the magic or madness trilogy ever called the magic of reason? i found a book somewhere online (i forget where) that was called the magic of reason by justine larbalestier

  16. Dess on #

    or is one of the international titles?

  17. jennifer, aka literaticat on #

    crimeny, is this going to turn into zombies v unicorns again?

    *obviously* drive like a girl is the best. the other ones are ridiculous

    there are 95 bajillion books called “bad girls club” or something like it, and “hello sunshine” is cutsie-wootsie like a baby unicorn in a pinafore! bah!

  18. Justine on #

    Dess: The Magic of Reason is the name of the science fiction book club’s 3-in-1 edition of the trilogy.

    Jennifer: You’re smoking crack. Drive Like A Girl is a horrible title. Most people will think it’s a book about what shitty drivers girls are. I know it’s meant ironic, but even with the most genius cover in the world it don’t read that way.

    I do agree that it and How to be Bad are the only titles you’d even consider. Hello Sunshine is unspeakably bad, sounds like a hooker saying hi to a client.

  19. Dess on #

    lol to that justine. i agree.

  20. nichole on #

    “you’re smoking crack” Oh holy jesus…Justine, I think we must be kindred spirits. 🙂

  21. jennifer, aka literaticat on #

    justine: of course i’m smoking crack, but i learned it from watching you.

    though i see what you mean about drive like a girl, i still think that how to be bad is too generic and like-everything-elsish.

    hello sunshine sounds like it takes place in a mental health facility.

  22. Justine on #

    Jennifer: Yeah, but my crack is only metaphorical . . .

    Over on Lauren’s myspace lots of folks are reporting their votes and they mostly seem to like Hello Sunshine (shudder) and Drive Like a Girl. Le sigh.

  23. jennifer, aka literaticat on #

    now i am starting to hate drive like a girl, too.

    i like that i have the most passionate opinion in the world, but it is also the most mercurial.

    damn you larbalestier!

  24. Justine on #

    Jennifer: Hah! Next I will have you loving Elvis!

  25. jennifer, aka literaticat on #

    (oh, i mean now i hate all of them, by the way — i’m not coming around on the other)

  26. jennifer, aka literaticat on #

    i do love elvis!!

  27. Justine on #

    You do? All else is forgiven!

  28. cecil on #

    Justine, Jennifer – you guys are hysterical and I adore you both.

    (I agree with Justine) (only the how to be bad one is tolerable)

    Hello Sunshine made me hurl chunks when I saw it.

  29. lauren on #

    We *did* consider titling it WE LOVE ELVIS, but alas, it didn’t stick.

    Sounds like there’s going to be some hurling done no matter which title is picked, so I’m here to say: You better hurl chunks of SUNSHINE, ‘kay? And love us–and the book!–no matter what!!!!!!!!

    Cutesy-wootsie Lauren, writing from within Sunny Acres Rehab after smoking way too much crack and giving way too many…yeah. The other. 🙂

  30. Justine on #

    Cecil: And I now forgive you for the whole uni**rn thing!

    Lauren: We Love Elvis woulda been the best title ever!

    Ya know this whole convo is a beautiful illustration of all the angsting that goes on about titles. It’s so often like this. But in the end it so often doesn’t matter what the book’s title is. I love tonnes of books that I think have perfectly dreadful titles.

    That crack is bad stuff, eh?

  31. jordyn on #

    I made a very, very unpopular choice.
    Oh well. Still LOVE the one I voted for.

  32. Rebecca on #

    mmm, crack. ers.

  33. katie on #

    well, i think there are too many books with titles centered around ‘bad’. sorry…i just do. so i voted for the driving one. hello, sunshine is very very lame. unless the people in the book are all elvis-obsessed, i’m just not sure how well the title we love elvis would fit…

  34. Dess on #

    justine- have you ever seen the disney movie lilo and stitch? not only is it a cute movie (the only one my dad hasn’t fallen asleep in and also my fave)but also it has elivs! they listen to elvis, dance to elvis, and have posters of elvis. very cute.

  35. Britanne on #

    I hope its not going to be called “How to Be Bad”…That sounds like a novel about bitchy heiresses. Ew.

    “Drive Like A Girl” just sounds sexist somehow. I don’t know.

    I like “Hello Sunshine”…it sounds happy, like a summer read.

  36. Diana on #

    Y’all are nuts. I like Hello sunshine. I”m from Florida, it’s a lovely title.

  37. BRENNA on #

    You’re insane. All of you.
    I voted for Hello Sunshine.

    How to Be Bad? I’ll tell you how to be bad. DON’T READ A BOOK ABOUT IT. Idiots.

    Drive Like a Girl? Please. There are those who can drive and those who can’t. Boy vs. Girl business is old.

    The first two were cheesy as heck. Hello Sunshine is only crappy if you have crap for a brain. Crap.

    😀

  38. simmone on #

    oh. i liked hello, sunshine. It reminded me of simon and garfunkel singing ‘hello, lamppost, whatcha knowin?…’ (they’ll never use it now) – I said NO to ‘how to be bad’ … that’s like code for ‘you are boring’ and drive like a girl is sexist…maybe they can just call it ‘girls in cars’ or ‘girls in cars on roads at night’ or ‘go, girls, go!’ Okay I have to retire now.

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