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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Wed Jun 2, 2021, 01:42 PM Jun 2021

7 books that share the same title

If you’re someone who frequently searches for books online, you may have found yourself pondering the question: can two different books, by different authors, have the same title? The answer, as the books below show, is yes. At least in the United States, book titles are not copyrighted and, aside from internet searches, there’s no surefire way to figure out if your book will have the same title as someone else’s.

Sometimes books share a title because one is a backlist release when the other comes out, but other times they may publish within weeks of each other. It seems most common to have titles double up when authors have chosen shorter names for their books, and some of the choices here do share titles, but vary in subtitles.

Further complicating the issue is that internet-enabled book buyers may end up purchasing the wrong book, often because a buzzy new release caused them not to dive into the plot summary for the actual copy they were purchasing. The seven examples below are just a sampling of matching title books, but they provide some fun trivia, and a few laughs, as to how authors have responded to this unique situation.
life after life by jill mccorkle and life after life by kate atkinson

‘Joyland’ by emily schultz and ‘Joyland’ by stephen king

‘A Person of Interest’ by susan choi and ‘Person of Interest’ by theresa schwegel

‘The Cloud Atlas’ by liam callanan and ‘Cloud Atlas’ by david mitchel

‘Fire and Fury’ by randall hansen and ‘Fire and Fury’ by michael wolff

‘Elsewhere’ by gabrielle zevin and ‘Rlsewhere: A Memoir’ by richard russo

‘Wonder’ by rachel vail and ‘Wonder’ by r.j. palacio

https://bookriot.com/books-with-the-same-title

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7 books that share the same title (Original Post) left-of-center2012 Jun 2021 OP
What about "Trump's Shortcomings" by Mitt Romney and "Trump's Shortcomings" Atticus Jun 2021 #1
Lost Girls PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2021 #2
Since I am constantly looking up books hermetic Jun 2021 #3
"I think Rollins' lawyers ought to be talking to this guy, if they aren't already." left-of-center2012 Jun 2021 #4
"Paris is Always a Good Idea" bif Jun 2021 #5

Atticus

(15,124 posts)
1. What about "Trump's Shortcomings" by Mitt Romney and "Trump's Shortcomings"
Wed Jun 2, 2021, 02:21 PM
Jun 2021

by Stormy Daniels?

Just sayin'-----

PoindexterOglethorpe

(26,849 posts)
2. Lost Girls
Wed Jun 2, 2021, 04:04 PM
Jun 2021

is another title that is shared by at least three books. Maybe more.

The novel of that name written by Andrew Pyper is excellent.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
3. Since I am constantly looking up books
Fri Jun 4, 2021, 08:56 AM
Jun 2021

for the weekly reading posts here, I have discovered MANY books with the same titles.

Then I had a rather unpleasant experience with one: Unrestricted Access, by James Rollins. This is a collection of his short stories that was published in the past year. I really wanted to buy it so I went online to Thrift Books to see if I could find a used copy. I thought I had and ordered it along with a couple of others I'd been wanting to read.

When it came I was like “WTF?” It IS Unrestricted Access but it’s by someone named James Robbins and it was self-published. I haven't read it yet since I'm still a bit peeved by what I believe to be a con job by this Robbins dude. I think Rollins' lawyers ought to be talking to this guy, if they aren't already.

Buyers Beware!

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
4. "I think Rollins' lawyers ought to be talking to this guy, if they aren't already."
Fri Jun 4, 2021, 10:23 AM
Jun 2021

In the linked article it said books are not copywritten,
thus allowing for books to have the same (or similar) names.

bif

(24,267 posts)
5. "Paris is Always a Good Idea"
Sun Jun 6, 2021, 11:57 AM
Jun 2021

There are at least two books with this title. Which I think is surprising, since it's a bit of an unusual title.

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