It is, without doubt, juvenile and superficial to judge a book by something so insubstantial as a title. That's why I love to do it, and sometimes my poor judgment has led me to a worthwhile read.
The classic example is Steal This Book, Abbie Hoffman's 1971 guide to living like a cheap, thieving hippie. I'm surprised we still have copies left, but because its advice is a few decades out of date, I wouldn't really recommend stealing it. It is, however, worth a quick read to help you understand a completely alternative mindset.
On a personal level, I love references to mad, crazy, wild or otherwise deranged gods. I even played the video game Realm of the Mad God for much longer than I should've solely on the merits of the title. So when Barbara Ehrenreich came out with Living With A Wild God, I couldn't turn away. She explains how, as an annoyingly precocious teenager, she had what could only be called a spiritual experience. The twist is that she was raised as an atheist, and she's been trying to figure it out ever since.
And how do you turn down a title like The Mysterious Death of Dag Hammarskjold? I had no idea that the mysterious Hammarskjold was a highly regarded Secretary General of the United Nations, who died in 1961 in a suspect plane crash that is still being investigated after more than half a century. The book showed me a world I didn't even know existed.
Always judge books by their titles. Just be sure that when you're done, you try to judge them again.
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