Quiz: How Many Famous Book Titles Can You Complete?

There are so many great books out there, and some of them have titles that are straight to the point. However, there are others that seem to be going for the longest title in history, and they’re not always the easiest to remember. How well do you remember these eight titles?

Did you manage to get all eight right? They weren’t easy titles, and some of them may have made you wonder why they needed to be so long. However, they are entertaining books, and if you haven’t read them yet, make this your excuse to see what you’re missing out on! Don’t forget to share this with your friends to see how well they remember the titles.

Book Titles You Might Think Are Shorter Than They Are

Many of the titles we know famous books by are actually shortened. It makes sense—most people don’t want to say a dozen words when describing something to friends or when sharing on social media. That has resulted in a lot of longer book titles being forgotten about.

Just look at Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. That’s not the full title. The full title is Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. It's a fitting title, as the book itself isn’t quite a standard read, and it heavily features the prophecies that Agnes’ family has come up with over the years—which make sense when you think outside the box.

Another one is The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which definitely is a nice and simple version of the book's actual title. The full title is The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, which certainly tells you a lot more of what you’ll get in the novel, but is a bit of a mouthful.

There are others that can’t quite be reduced in any way. Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is one of them, and was turned into a Netflix movie of the same name. It’s hard to even know where and how to shorten this title, which doesn’t really give too much away of what the story is about. The best thing, though, is that the title certainly makes you stop and question what the book is about, so you’re more likely to check it out!

Other long titles help to distinguish between books in the series. Look at Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. You can’t just shorten that to Harry Potter, unless you’re talking about the entire book series. After all, each book starts with the titular character’s name and then elaborates on the novel's main focus.

Titles are important, and it's easier to remember some more than others. If you love to test your book knowledge, make sure you bookmark the Mental Floss quiz page and check back regularly.