Every Friday, Cienna Madrid offers solutions to life’s most vexing literary problems. Do you need a book recommendation to send your worst cousin on her birthday? Is it okay to read erotica on public transit? Cienna can help. Send your questions to advice@seattlereviewofbooks.com.

Dear Cienna,

Sometimes, my eye just catches on a fantastic title. My favorite title of all time is Legacy of Ashes, which is the title of a book that's a history of the CIA. I haven't even read the book, but that title really says it all, doesn't it? I worry that the rest of the book won't be able to live up to the title.

What do you think makes a good title? Do you have favorite titles?

Denise, Maple Leaf

Dear Denise,

Why haven't you read Legacy of Ashes? Go read it now and report back on whether the book lives up to its title. Many classic books have very straightforward titles that get to the person, place or thesis of the whole thing – think Crime and Punishment, Wuthering Heights, Moby Dick – but I feel as if there is a trend among contemporary authors to worry as much about the cleverness of their title as they do about the quality of the work itself, and a great title to a mediocre book is as disappointing as a someone named Sir Shanksalot trying to sell you face cream from a kiosk in the mall.

A great book title alludes to the grist and bones of the work. Here are a few of my favorites: Confederacy of Dunces and Heart of Darkness, both of which are pretty self explanatory, while Fahrenheit 451 (the temperature at which books burn) and To Kill a Mockingbird (a reference to innocence lost) are more poetically subtle.

I don't write books but I will do almost anything with words for drinks or tips – it's what separates us from the beasts. Here are a few titles I'm currently shopping around:

• Bigly Word Building: The Making of the Trump Library
• Putting the Us Back in Pussy: An Unauthorized History of the Girl Scouts
• Mustache Rides: The Heartwarming Story of a Girl Whose Dad Wouldn't Buy Her a Horse

Kisses,

Cienna