Is the book title misleading?

Use this forum to discuss the January 2018 Book of the Month, "And Then I Met Margaret" by Rob White
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folkshot
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Re: Is the book title misleading?

Post by folkshot »

Agreed, I didn't think her story was the most pervasive out of the book. Figured she would be more prominent.
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Post by Shola0706 »

Although I have only read the reviews not the actual book, the title does seem to tend to romance or at the very least, say a lot about Magret.

When they say not to judge a book by its cover, does that include the title too?
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Post by Zelinda »

I too had problems with the title, mainly because it reflected the content of only one chapter and didn't really point to the dozens of inspirational people described in the chapters of the book.
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Post by EvaDar »

The agree the title does imply that Margaret will be a more significant figure than she ends up to be. However, my impression is that Rob White felt the lesson offered by Margaret was one of the most important for him. My impression was the lesson the Margaret story really imparted was one of empathy. I don't know if White even knew this, but it truly was an important life lesson. I think he chose a clever title, without even knowing just how important the Margaret story was to him.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

I totally agree with you. Initially I also thought that this is some sort of romance. Even after reading the reviews I thought this is a story ofa man who became different because of a woman. But I gaveit a try and currently reading it. With the introduction only I came to know who is Margaret and why it is named so. So, ina glance, the name is misleading. But still I think naming something in a odd way is sort of a way to attract people towards it. Even to blame it, you talk about it. Who knows how the author thought about it!! He is a businessman and might be having a completely different kind of thinking compared to us :roll: :eusa-think:
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Post by scratchcat318 »

I agree completely. Based on the title alone, I thought this book would be about a man who has a really bad life and how this person named Margaret completely changes it around. I can see why you would think it's reflective of a romance novel, as it is a very misleading title. It's a shame because it's a very catchy sort of title, but I think its very misleading towards what the plot of the book is about.
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Post by book_worm 101 »

Yes, very much so.

At first I thought, "Aww. It's an autobiography of him meeting his significant other." However, after reading the description, I was shocked to find out I was way off.

I am currently reading this book and I do like it a lot. The title does go with the story, but it's just not what you'd expect. He said it himself in the introduction, "...Margaret, the youngest and most influential of the unexpected gurus in my life... Since then, Margaret's positive impact has been ongoing. That's why I named this entire collection of stories after her."
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Post by Jgideon »

Every author has the freedom to choose the title of their book and that's something I have learned to appreciate. I have read and reviewed the book and I believe the author's choice for the title was quite personal and he had no intentions of misleading the reader. I got the feeling that he did not want his title to reflect that of any other self-help books out there.
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Post by Jgideon »

For someone who has not gone through the book, it can be. However, after reading the story anyone would understand why the author chose that kind of a topic.
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Post by Wesley Liu »

The book title seems completely misleading to me. "And Then I Met Margaret" really stands out to me as a romantic novel about someone finally meeting either the love of their life or the "hate" of their life. Of course, people have different interpretations of words, which could have lead the author to make a subtle decision about his title that would stand out to readers in a radical way.
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Post by Laura Ungureanu »

I was actually fascinated by the title. I also thought it was some sort of love story or a very important lesson and I was disappointed when she appeared. I waited for her since I started the book, thinking her story was going to be better than those before and it was misleading. It was important, but it was not mind-blowing, as I expected. I wouldn't have chosen this title.
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Yes, based on the title, I had the same preconceived notion that it was a romance book. I did not even think of picking it up until after I read a review. The reading experience was great as I mentioned in my own review, but I believe changing the title could have helped.
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Post by LV2R »

I think the title And Then I Met Margaret and the book cover picture combined made me think that the book was mystical and possibly a strange book. I didn't think of romance at all. I thought it was another "guru". However, the author really explains his road to spiritual awareness through all his searches and meetings of many experts and gurus of spirituality in the introduction. Then, he shares many of his growing up experiences with normal average people who taught him some important lessons in life. I liked how he then paid it forward many times and used what he had learned to help others. After reading the book, the title makes sense and is fine with me. I can't think of a better title. Perhaps the subtitle Stories of Personal Transformation could be more prominent so as readers could notice it.
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Post by holsam_87 »

Al Chakauya wrote: 01 Jan 2018, 13:25
Al Chakauya wrote: 01 Jan 2018, 13:17
kandscreeley wrote: 01 Jan 2018, 12:46 I don't think it's necessarily indicative of a romance novel. I didn't get that idea from the title at all. I don't think it's a bad title.
Fo me, the story with Margaret didn't sound to be the most important one to "take" the book title. Any other story would've nailed it to be the book title for me but Margeret! Really?
And Then I Met The Maasai Mother, would have been a better title for me because the story sounded grandeur to me.
Yes, the same goes for me. It was much more life-changing.
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Post by 10mile72 »

That was my exact reaction -- this is a romance. Maybe he was trying for a bigger audience? :?
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