Words that catch the eye

I have written previously about the popularity of the words daughter and girl in the titles of novels, especially novels aimed at a female audience. Put either of those words in your title and you are almost guaranteed to catch some browser's eye in a bookstore.

But they are hardly the only words that appear again and again in titles. Paris is another, perhaps inspired by the popularity of Paula McClain's The Paris Wife. The French capital is practically synonymous with romance and intrigue, so setting a novel there, like putting a mystery in Victorian London, is always a good idea.

Now you can find The Lost Girls of Paris (how can that title fail?), The Paris Inheritance, The Paris Detective, Daughter of Paris (another twofer), The Paris Daughter (ditto), Lost Christmas in Paris, The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Restaurant in Paris, Peril in Paris, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (an old book back in print because of the recent movie), Jacqueline in Paris, Night Flight to Paris, The Perfumist of Paris, The Paris Bookseller, The Paris Library, The Paris Apartment, The Last Dress from Paris, Until Leaves Fall in Paris, The Paris Architect, The Little Paris Bookshop, The Paris Network, The Paris Secret, Daughters of Paris (still another twofer), The Paris Affair, The Paris Package, Perestroika in Paris, Lost and Found in Paris, Paris Is Always a Good Idea, P.S. from Paris, Forgiving Paris, Keep Paris, Christmas in Paris, The Madwomen of Paris and so many, many more.

Above I mentioned The Paris Bookseller, The Paris Library and The Little Paris Bookshop, and these titles contain other words currently popular in novel titles: bookseller, library and bookshop. Many readers are drawn to these words. (I know I am.) People seem to enjoy romances and adventures set in bookshops and libraries.

Here are some titles you might find: The Bookshop, The Bookshop of Secrets, The Boardwalk Bookshop, The Bookshop by the Bay, How to Find Love in a Bookshop, Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop, The Bookshop of Yesterdays, The Bookshop on the Corner, The Lost and Found Bookshop, The Bookshop on the Shore, The True Love Bookshop, The Last Bookshop in London, The English Bookshop, The Bookshop of Second Chances, The Banned Bookshop, The Christmas Bookshop, The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris, The Bookshop Murder, Murder in an Irish Bookshop, the Bookshop at Water's End, The Island Bookshop, The Mayfair Bookshop, The Beach Reads Bookshop, Bookshop by the Sea, The Printed Letter Bookshop, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, etc.

Or these: The Midnight Library, The Littlest Library, The Woman in the Library, The Seaside Library, The Library of the Unwritten, The Last Chance Library, The Forbidden Library, The Lending Library, The Last Library, Summer Hours at the Robbers Library, The Library of Lost and Found, The Library of Legends and so on.

Bookseller is less popular in titles, but still you can find Confessions of a Curious Bookseller, The Bookseller, The Bookseller of Dachau, The Bookseller's Secret, The Bookseller's Promise, The Bookseller and the Earl, The Bookseller of Inverness, The Bookseller's Secret and Death of a Bookseller, among others.

The ideal title for a novel might very well be something like The Paris Bookseller's Daughter or The Girl in the Paris Library.