Value-added subtitles

Good subtitles are like short-cut indexing, a keyword alternative to Library of Congress Subject Headings. I know that some of us are getting tired of seeing colons in every title these days, but think about it. Having both title and subtitle real estate to play with, authors can be catchy and enigmatic, as well as fully descriptive.

Here are a couple of good examples from our new book shelf. The first one is called Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America (306.484249 K658w) by Bakari Kitwana. The main title tells us the basic subject, but the subtitle gives us a real feel for the book's focus. Kitwana makes the argument that "the cross-cultural appeal of hip-hop is breaking down more racial barriers in America than any other social development since the Civil Rights Movement."

Then there's Howard Bryant's Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball (796.35764 B841j). The descriptive subtitle provides context for the clever-but-mysterious main title. Of course, the photo on the cover doesn't hurt either: