# Why :A Novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [November 4, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751 "2020-11-04T14:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/1 "2020-11-04T14:41:35Z")
What is the purpose of some books having “A Novel” after the title? I was perusing a list of Amazon books and came across this quite a few times. Examples: The Address: A Novel The Orphan’s Tale: A Novel. ---
**Author:** ![CorpusNeptune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corpusneptune/32/17561_2.png) [@CorpusNeptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorpusNeptune)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/2 "2020-11-04T14:45:03Z")
Wow, I never knew that “A Novel” would be in the main title of books, haha. That is so odd. I’m definitely fine with it if it’s the subtitle for a novel, and not part of the main title. -Baleaf ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/3 "2020-11-04T14:48:31Z")
[https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=why+do+some+books+have+"A+Novel+in+the+title](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=why+do+some+books+have+%22A+Novel+in+the+title) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/4 "2020-11-04T14:55:24Z")
It’s annoying on my audiobook player, because those two words often make the title too long and it tries to do a little scrolling thing where it stutters across the (small) screen. Makes it really hard to read. I sometimes spend time in the evening (while my wife thinks I’m watching TV with her) editing the data on my audiobooks. _The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: a Hunger Games Novel_ is now _ **t ß o∫ +∫** _ ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/5 "2020-11-04T14:57:11Z")
Previous thread > [@A novel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-novel/838289): > > My impression is that recently a greater percentage of the fiction books I read have the words “a novel” on the dust jacket. (Presently Karl Marlantes’ Deep River. Excellent read, BTW.) Yes, I realize that some percentage of novels have always advertised their nature, but the trend seems to me to be increasing. Has anyone else noticed this trend (or am I just noticing it more now for some reason? Whether the practice is increasing or not, why would a fiction producer feel the need to advert… ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/6 "2020-11-11T19:21:23Z")
I was going to answer, “pretension”. It wouldn’t be there to ward off possible legal action, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/7 "2020-11-11T20:56:54Z")
I’ll say what I said before: It makes a librarian’s job a lot easier. It’s not always easy to tell, from a casual handling of a book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction (such as a memoir). Putting “a novel” on the cover immediately dispels all doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/8 "2020-11-12T15:29:52Z")
I noticed this myself a while back. Not always part of the title, but often in smaller print under the title or near the bottom of the cover. It’s one of those things that, once you notice it, you notice it A LOT. As @Chronos says, it makes it easily identifiable as fiction, although I assumed it was more for bookstore customers. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/9 "2020-11-12T15:50:31Z")
So you don’t mistake it for _:The Breakfast Cereal_ or _:The Broadway Cast Album_. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/10 "2020-11-13T03:32:05Z")
I’ve been noticing a lot of _"A Novel"s,_ and they remind me of warning labels. So many cautions are due to someone suing, or threatening to sue. And you end up with silly “Caution: This cigarette lighter may cause a flame hot enough to burn.” So I always picture an irate biddy storming into a Barnes and Noble. “I bought this book, and NONE of it is TRUE at ALL! I’m suing for breach of public trust!” And then I picture a publishing meeting: _“We need to add ‘A Novel’ to the end of this title.”_ “So people know it’s fiction?” _“Well, of course! Didn’t you see the viral video of that biddy storming into a Barnes and Noble?”_ "Okay, J.B., it now reads _ **Were-Jaguar Wizard Women of Ganymede: A Novel."** _ _“Fabulous!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/11 "2020-11-13T04:39:09Z")
It’s part of the literary mainstream’s never-tiring efforts to distinguish itself from books that sell. Few genre titles ever say “A Novel”. Few blockbuster bestseller writers ever get tagged with “A Novel”. Stephen King was a major name for 30 years before he rose high enough for his titles to claim “A Novel”. The vast majority of literary fiction is written by people 99% of book buyers have never heard of. They get small advances and smaller advertising. Having “A Novel” on their covers is a nice little pat on the head to confirm that they’ve made the big time. A Novel is meant first for the author, second for the publisher, and third for the 1% of buyers who read the stuff. Like being famous for being famous, it’s important for being important. The rest of us peasants can not give a damn. Or can, depending. No one else will notice. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/12 "2020-11-13T04:54:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So you don’t mistake it for _:The Breakfast Cereal_ or _:The Broadway Cast Album_. I made that mistake with Sally Rooney’s new book. Didn’t figure it out until my Amazon account questioned why I was buying my third copy. I enjoyed the work but I kept pooping adverbs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/13 "2020-11-13T05:00:52Z")
Joking aside, I did learn something as a result of this thread. Those extra words in smaller print after the title are called the reading line. I encounter them all the time in works of history (for example, I’m currently reading Ian Toll’s _Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945_ and Andrew Nagorski’s _1941: The Year Germany Lost the War_) but I never knew what they were called. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/14 "2020-11-13T05:42:18Z")
“Reading Line”… thanks! They were my pet peeve for a long time, when it seemed like every book was getting really long titles. Back in the day, you’d get a biography titled “Millard Fillmore”. Suddenly, it had to be expanded to “A Definitive Turn of Phrase: the Presidential Aspirations and Disappointments of Millard Powers Fillmore, 1847-1853”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/15 "2020-11-13T14:05:58Z")
Forget that. What I want to to know is why **Lad: a Dog**? > **[Lad, A Dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lad,_A_Dog)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Lad: A Dog is a 1919 American novel written by Albert Payson Terhune and published by E. P. Dutton. Composed of twelve short stories first published in magazines, the novel is based on the life of Terhune's real-life Rough Collie, Lad. Born in 1902, the real-life Lad was an unregistered collie of unknown lineage originally owned by Terhune's father. Lad's death in 1918 was mourned by many of the story's fans, particularly children. > Through the st... Were they too lazy to write out something like _Lad, the Story of a Dog_ ? Did they want the title to be short so it would stand out in advertising, like those bands that deliberately kept their names short? And when they turned it into a movie in 1960, why wasn’t it titled _Lad: A Movie_ ? The sequel book did without the colon and the “reading line” and was just _Further Adventures of Lad_ > **[Further Adventures of Lad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_Adventures_of_Lad)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Further Adventures of Lad, also known as Dog Stories Every Child Should Know, is a 1922 American novel written by Albert Payson Terhune and published by George H. Doran. A follow-up to Lad: A Dog, it contains an additional eleven short stories featuring a fictional version of Terhune's real-life rough collie Lad, including the stories of Lad's initial arrival at the "Place", the death of his mate, and the day of his own death. Most of the stories ... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/16 "2020-11-13T18:05:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Forget that. What I want to to know is why **Lad: a Dog**? Right, why not a duck? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/17 "2020-11-13T18:11:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Right, why not a duck? Why-a no chicken? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/18 "2020-11-13T18:22:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Forget that. What I want to to know is why **Lad: a Dog**? Reading the Wikipedia entry, I was shocked to learn that the movie _Lad, a Dog_ was considered a box office flop. Growing up in Chicago, I remember that movie playing constantly on WGN’s _Family Classics_. I much preferred _Lassie Come Home_. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/19 "2020-11-13T19:21:06Z")
If you enjoyed _Why: A Novel_, consider picking up _Wherefore: A Narrative_ and _Whence: A Romance._ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751/20 "2020-11-13T20:51:30Z")
> [@digs](#): > > “Reading Line”… thanks! They were my pet peeve for a long time, when it seemed like every book was getting really long titles. > > Back in the day, you’d get a biography titled “Millard Fillmore”. > > Suddenly, it had to be expanded to “A Definitive Turn of Phrase: the Presidential Aspirations and Disappointments of Millard Powers Fillmore, 1847-1853”. Actually long titles were the original. Some early English novels: _The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years, All Alone in an Un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished but Himself. With an Account how he was at last as Strangely Deliver’d by Pyrates. Written by Himself._ by Daniel Defoe (1719) _Gulliver’s Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships_ by Jonathan Swift (1726) _Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady_ by Samuel Richardson (1748) _The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling_ by Henry Fielding (1749) _The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman_ by Laurence Sterne (1759) _The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story_ by Horace Walpole (1764) _The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself_ by Oliver Goldsmith (1766) _Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World_ by Fanny Burney (1778) _The Mysteries of Udolpho: A Romance Interspersed With Some Pieces of Poetry_ by Ann Radcliffe (1794) _The Monk: A Romance_ by Matthew Gregory Lewis (1796) _Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus_ by Mary Shelly (1818) _Oliver Twist: or, The Parish Boy’s Progress_ by Charles Dickens (1838) _Jane Eyre: An Autobiography_ by Charlotte Bronte (1847) _Moby-Dick: or, The Whale_ by Herman Melville (1851) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-a-novel/924751.md?page=2)