Book Title Origins

In our continuing series of posts about where titles of books and other works originated, we add these four book titles.

The novel about colonialism in Africa, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, takes its title from a W.B. Yeats’s poem, “The Second Coming,” to name his story about colonialism, pride, and loss:

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...”

Flannery O’Connor's short story collection, Everything That Rises Must Converge borrows from the book Omega Point by the French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

“Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge.”

Evelyn Waugh turned to T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” for his book A Handful of Dust.

“I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”

John Steinbeck often turned to the Bible for titles. His Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath  sounds like it might be Biblical. After several other working titles, his wife suggested a phrase from the song “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” by Julia Ward Howe.

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.”

Radiohead

Radiohead took its name from the Talking Heads' song called "Radio Head." They had previously been known as "On a Friday" which was a reference to the day of the week that they had their rehearsals. 

This English rock band formed in 1985 in Oxfordshire. In 1991, they landed a recording contract with EMI but were requested to change their name to Radiohead/ When asked, lead singer Thom Yorke said the name “sums up all these things about receiving stuff… It’s about =way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you’re put in.”

Advertisement placed in the Oxford music magazine Curfew 
by Ronan Munro - bbc.com/, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Radiohead became highly influential and is known for their musical innovation and evolving sound, which has spanned from alternative rock to more experimental and electronic styles. 

The band's lineup has remained consistent since its formation: Thom Yorke: Lead vocals, guitar, piano Jonny Greenwood: Lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments Ed O'Brien: Guitar, backing vocals Colin Greenwood: Bass guitar Philip Selway: Drums, percussion 

Radiohead's major albums demonstrate their artistic progression.

Pablo Honey (1993): Their debut album, which includes the worldwide hit "Creep." While the band later grew to resent the single's ubiquity, it launched their career and gave them a platform for future work.

The Bends (1995): This album marked a significant leap forward, showcasing a more polished and emotionally resonant sound. It featured singles like "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" and earned them critical acclaim, laying the groundwork for their next phase. 

OK Computer (1997): Widely considered a masterpiece, this album solidified their status as a major force in music. With themes of technology, alienation, and modern life, its complex production and ambitious songs like "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police" made it a landmark of the 1990s and a massive critical and commercial success. 

Kid A mnesia (2000): A radical departure from their guitar-driven sound, this album shocked fans and critics by heavily incorporating electronic music, jazz, and krautrock. Despite its initial divisiveness, it is now celebrated for its boldness and is often credited with influencing a new generation of experimental artists. 

In Rainbows (2007): Notable for its revolutionary "pay-what-you-want" release model, this album marked a return to a more accessible, yet still experimental, sound. It was both a commercial and critical triumph, praised for its warmth, intricate arrangements, and standout tracks like "Nude" and "Jigsaw Falling into Place."

www.radiohead.com/

30 Seconds To Mars

30 SECONDS TO MARS was started in 1998 by actor Jared Leto and his brother Shannon. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player. After working with guitarists kevin Drake and Solon Bixler, Tomo Miličević eventually came in to be the fourth member.

 
A reader, Mike Driscoll, alerted us to info on Wikipedia about the band's name origin. Former member Matt Wachter has said that the band's name "actually comes from a thesis that the band found online that was written by a former Harvard professor. And one of the subsections of the thesis was titled 'thirty seconds to Mars', and he goes on to talk about the exponential growth of technology that relates to humans and saying that we are quite literally thirty seconds to Mars. What it means to us is, we thought it best described our music, in short."

Then again, Jared Leto said in an interview that "the name 30 Seconds To Mars has little to do with space, the universe or anything like that. It is a name that works on several different levels. Most importantly, it is a good representation of our sound. It's a phrase that is lyrical, suggestive, cinematic, and filled with immediacy. It has some sense of otherness to it. The concept of space is so overwhelming and all-encompassing, I doubt there is a song written that doesn't fall within it."

Frontman Jared Leto and drummer Shannon Leto performing in Padua, Italy, in July 2013

To further clear (or muddy) the origin waters, Shannon Leto, supporting the Wachter explanation said that the name "represents a lot of things. This professor had a thesis. It was talking about where technology was going; the evolution of man and how that plays a role. A sub-category was 30 Seconds to Mars. It was like the exponential growth of humans. We are literally 30 seconds away from Mars. Everything is right here and right now; everything is just so crazy and fast."

As of this posting, the band has many albums available.

Medical terms That Go Wider

I wrote something for another blog about how the word "viral" which originally was related only to viruses, but now describes content that spreads rapidly online. But there are a good number of words that started as medical terminology but have now gone wider than their original medical usage. Most of them are a very close metaphorical usage to the original usage. 

Trauma Originally: Physical injury or psychological damage. Now: Used broadly to describe emotional distress, e.g., “That breakup was traumatic.”

Fever Originally: Elevated body temperature due to illness. Now: Used metaphorically, like “Bieber fever” or “football fever.”

Inflammation Originally: Swelling and redness due to infection or injury. Now: Used in wellness circles to describe chronic health issues or even emotional states.

Contagious Originally: Easily spread disease. Now: Used for ideas, moods, or behaviors. "Her laughter is contagious.”

Diagnosis Originally: Identification of a disease. Now: Used for identifying problems in general. “The diagnosis is poor time management.”

Symptoms Originally: Signs of illness. Now: Used to describe signs of any issue. “The symptoms of burnout are clear.”

Addiction Originally: Compulsive drug use. Now: Used for anything habit-forming. “I’m addicted to this show.”

Obsessed / OCD Originally: Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now: Often used casually to describe intense interest or perfectionism.

Depressed / Depression Originally: Clinical mental health condition. Now: Used to describe temporary sadness or disappointment.

Bowling for Soup, Sh*t, Dollars and Columbine

The band Bowling for Soup's name originates from a Steve Martin comedy routine, specifically a skit called "Bowling for Shit" from his 1978 album, "Wild and Crazy Guy." 

The band, formed in 1994, initially considered using Martin's title but ultimately opted for Bowling for Soup as a more family-friendly alternative. The "Bowling for Soup" name stuck, despite being initially intended as a joke, because the band couldn't agree on anything better.

Bowling for Soup formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion), and Rob Felicetti (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar). The band is best known for its singles "Girl All the Bad Guys Want", "1985", "Almost", "Punk Rock 101", and "High School Never Ends". The band is also known for performing the theme song for the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb, which is a bit surprising as most of their albums carry warning labels for language.  Reddick is the only original member as of 2025

Steve Martin was playing off an actual TV game show called Bowling for Dollars in which people could bowl to win cash and prizes. The show was popular in the 1960s and peaked in the 1970s. It was unique in that it differed from most TV game shows of the time, which were taped in either New York or Hollywood and broadcast nationally. Unlike these shows, Bowling for Dollars was produced by local TV stations and featured contestants from the immediate area. The show was actually a franchise, created by Bert Claster of Claster Television, also the creator of Romper Room. Episodes of Bowling for Dollars were taped either in a local bowling alley or on a pair of bowling lanes constructed right inside the TV studio. The show reached its heyday in the 1970s. 

Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The documentary film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of gun violence. 

The film's title refers to the story that the two students responsible for the Columbine High School massacre attended a school bowling class at 6:00 AM on the day they committed the attacks at school. Later investigations showed that this was based on mistaken recollections, and it was concluded that they were absent from school on the day the attack took place.

A critical and commercial success, the film brought Moore international attention as a rising filmmaker and won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature, a special 55th Anniversary Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and the César Award for Best Foreign Film. The film is widely considered one of the greatest documentary films of all time.