Friday, April 04, 2008

I hear it in my head, real low

Taken from a discussion on GoodReads: change one letter in a book title, and--bam!--completely different concept. The last five are mine (she typed, proudly), and the seven before that are a friend’s contributions. Some are slightly edited for clarity/style. Add your own in the comments!*

Mein Krampf - A certain failed Austrian artist drones on about his bodily ailments.

The Right Stiff - Tom Wolfe explores the growing phenomenon of space burial.

Infinite Pest - A talented author loses all control of his manuscript and the footnotes go on forever.

Lady Windermere’s Fin - Inbreeding in Victorian England.

Lady Windermere’s Fat - Mr. Wilde draws attention to the dramatic increase in obesity in Victorian England.

Eyes on the Pride - A group of tourists on safari are separated from their jeep.

The Brothels Karamazov - Heidi Fleiss meets Dostoevski.

In the Miso Soap - Ryu Murakami’s horror about a failed Japanese entrepreneur who creates miso-flavored bath products.

The Toad - Cormac McCarthy’s searing apocalyptic novel about a man and his pet frog.

Chime and Punishment - Roskolnikov gets confused and ends up in a Victor Hugo novel ringing church bells.

James and the Giant Perch - Roald Dahl’s children’s version of Moby Dick.

Stranger in a Strange Band - Michael Smith finds happiness as the new drummer for the Rolling Stones.

The Gropes of Wrath - The Joad family history as told by Henry Miller.

All’s Hell That Ends Well – The pessimist’s guide to life.

How Green Was My Galley – A famous Naval cook’s recipes for the rough North Atlantic crossing.

Bender Is The Night -- Essays by alcoholics.

The Old Man and the Spa - An old fisherman, after a weary day, decides to treat himself to a day at the spa, where he gets Dead Sea salt rubbed on his back to recuperate.

Farewell to Army - Hemingway’s protagonist, instead of ditching his comrades, gets kicked out when they discover he is homosexual.

The Snogs of Kilimanjaro - Harry falls in love with a hyena as he lays dying on the mountain and dies sweetly in its embrace.

Tender is the Right - An old primer for compassionate conservatism.

Rove and Consequences - A thoroughly fact-checked non-fiction account of evil, power, and evil.

The Snobs of Kilimanjaro - Tanzania becomes a playground for the nouveaux riche.

Harry Potter and the Giblet of Fire - Trainee wizard laid low by appendicitis.

To Kill A Mockingbard - William Shakespeare finds himself the target of a madman.

The Thongs They Carried - Wandering fetishists search for their place in a cruel world.

Lord of the Rungs - An epic gymnastic trilogy.

Lard of the Rings - Fitness-challenged hobbit discovers the downside of elven cakes.

Gone With She Wind - Tragic tale of love lost due to flatulence.

Homeo and Juliet - Love and death in the ghetto

Grates of Wrath - Angry drainage workers’ lives during the depression

Homlet - An embryonic leader gets eggsactly what he deserves [oh man, kill me.]

The Buble - Really long historical novel about the rise and fall of a populist singer

The Adventures of Furious George: When Animals Attack

The Round and the Fury - Historical fiction based on Al Gore’s life after the White House, leading up to his aggressive anti-global-warming efforts.

Midnight in the Garden of Food and Evil - The life and times of a bulimic vampire.

The Princess Cride - Popular 1980s tale retold in a combination of modern and archaic English.

That Was Then, This Is Cow - How to cope with the onslaught of absurd children’s names

*If you’re one of the clever devils who came up with any of these titles, and you’d like for me to either remove yours or add your name to it/them, please let me know!

2 comments:

Jasper Mockingbard said...

Interesting. I found this because I was being self-indulgent and looking for my name.

Emma said...

Well, feel free to come on back anytime, Jasper. Your blog is pretty great as well.