Never Flirt with Puppy Killers: And Other Better Book Titles by Dan Wilbur

Publication: May 10th, 2016

by: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Genres: Humor, Picture Book, Parody

Format: Hardback

Source: Publisher

My Rating: 3.5 Stars 

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From his wildly popular Tumblr page, Dan Wilbur offers his delightfully cruel summary of the books you were forced to read in high school—with all that resentment and angst loaded into a punchy re-title. Incisive, vindictive, and brutally funny, each page features a recognizable cover with the title renamed: To Kill a Mockingbird becomes My Dad Is Cooler than Your Dad; A Walk to Remember is reborn as Teen Sex Is Ok if One of Them Has Cancer. Perfect for parties, gift for fanatic book lovers, and casual bathroom reading.

“Classics” (the books you’ve lied about reading). Actual Classics (Greek and Latin books people don’t even pretend to have read). Contemporary fiction (those books people talk about at parties that you’ve “definitely heard of” but never bothered to pick up). Children’s (books that say the most with the fewest number of words, i.e. “The Best Books”). Reference (Those books that were around before Google).

From children’s literature, The Very Hungry Caterpillar gets the retitle Eat Until You Feel Pretty. An American classic, The Great Gatsby is switched to Drink Responsibly. And from contemporary fiction, Gone Girl is retitled A Tale of Two Shitty People. There’s something here for every reader.

 

My Thoughts

*I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Quick and to the point: this is a funny little book. It’s little like a children’s picture book, and only takes a hot second to check out the retitles of some of the best books to ever be written. I laughed aloud as my favorite book- To Kill A Mockingbird- gets retitled My Dad is Cooler Than Your Dad. There are many that will make you LOL, and maybe drinking or eating isn’t the best idea while reading this book. 

Each genre has it’s own meaning; such as “Classics”: The Books You’ve Lied About Reading, “Young Adult”: Books Written for Children that Adults Still Read, and “Contemporary Fiction”: Those Books People Talk About at Parties that “You’ve Definitely Heard of” but Never Bothered to Pick Up. This book is for all ages to enjoy. Children’s books have funny retitles as well. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle gets retitled Eat Until You Feel Pretty.

Most of these are quite funny, while some I just scratched my head and moved on. And I think that’s because I have never read that book, so I didn’t get the joke. I think my favorite one would have to be one categorized under: “Young Adult”- A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks gets retitled Teen Sex Is OK If One Of Them Has Cancer.

And then there’s one that may start a debate. I’d rather not put it in this review, but I’m a lover of all things TRUTH when it comes to American History. 

Overall, I enjoyed this little gem of a book. If you need a laugh and want to take a jab or two at some of your favorite books (or non-favorite), then you may want to skim through these 108 pages. Recommended!