Sorcerer stone v Philosopher Stone WAS: Hermione

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" <dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
>
> Magpie:
> <SNIP>
> I don't actually defend the title change as necessary or a particularly good
> idea. I just think an inordinate amount of fuss is made about it because the
> book is so popular. I don't get offended any time I notice a book or movie has a
> different title in the UK than it did in the US or vice versa.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I think that because it is so popular we know about it so well, but believe me if I know that a book was renamed for UK readers, I would be just as annoyed. I am a bit more relaxed on movies whether it is from UK to US or vice versa, not because I think that it is a good idea, but because I feel that it is about commercialisation right away more than creative expression. I however still dislike it.
> 
> I mean, seriously, unless it is the title of the book is so obscure that general public never heard about it (I know it is hard to determine objectively, but I still think one should try), really deal with it. Give audience some credit and assume they can figure it out. IMO of course.

Geoff:
Precisely. I found the suggestion that the title was changed because US 
readers would not make any sense of it was ludicrous, to put it mildly.

Let's consider the matter. When the first UK book came out in 1997, 
perhaps a young reader might look at the title and wonder about it. But 
the first edition out was the children's paperback edition. On the cover 
was Harry with a wand and the Hogwarts Express. An attractive and 
tempting picture. Now surely any potential young reader with good reading 
skills and possessing the concentration to settle down to this volume would 
go on and read the synopsis on the back cover. That's what I do with any 
book I'm considering, and not only with fiction.

As other writers have commented, the title is not always a dead giveaway 
to what the book is all about. As an example, one of my favorite books is
 fantasy aimed at younger readers: "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" by Alan 
Garner. I must admit that, having a liking for that type of story, I first read 
it in my twenties. I saw it in the bookshop and my first reaction on seeing 
the title was "Huh?". So I glanced at the "blurb" on the back and though 
"Ah, this is about the legend of the knights of Alderley Edge"; regardless 
of the title, I knew something about this and so went ahead and bought 
the book. And again, which title is the most understandable at first glance: 
"The Lord of the Rings" or "The Silmarillion"? Some titles can be positively 
obscure but if a discerning reader bothers to read the rest of the cover, it 
should not prove to be a hindrance.