Why are some book titles so incredibly long? A caller complains about book-title inflation, usually consisting of a shorter title followed by a colon and a longer subtitle that seems to sound important and ends with the words “and What To Do About It.” Grant explains that such extra-long book titles have long been a form of search optimization by publishers and marketing departments. The more searchable keywords in the title, the more copies sold. This is part of a complete episode.
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What the Blazes? (episode #1562) 02/08/2021: What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are... [more]
Mudlarking (episode #1561) 01/25/2021: Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their... [more]
Snaggletooth (episode #1560) 01/11/2021: Many of us struggled with the Old English poem "Beowulf" in high school. But what if you could actually hear "Beowulf" in the English of... [more]
Like a Boiled Owl (episode #1559) 12/21/2020: What's it like to hike the Pacific Crest Trail all the way from Mexico to Canada? You'll end up with sore muscles and blisters, and... [more]
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