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Poll: Fictional Books and Newspapers in Movies

A poll by dgranger.
Many famous, and not so famous, movies feature a fictional book or newspaper that never existed in the real world as part of its plot. Which is your favorite title of a fictional book or newspaper?

If you got any fictional reading recommendations from the movies, submit them to the editor here.

Oh, to tell the difference between newspapers and book titles, books get the quotation marks - newspapers don’t.

See results without voting »

Make Your Choice

  1. Vote!

    Lady on a Train (1945)

    ““The Case of the Headless Bride” by Wayne Morgan”. While there are 2 bonafide ghost stories called “The Headless Bride”, this fictional book is not either one of them. According to the movie, it is a detective novel with 5 deaths in it.
  2. Vote!

    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

    Prof. Henry Jones Sr.’s “Grail Diary”
  3. Vote!

    Bell Book and Candle (1958)

    “Magic in Mexico” by Sidney Redlitch
  4. Vote!

    Bell Book and Candle (1958)

    “Magic in Manhattan” or “Witchcraft Around Us” by Sidney Redlitch. (He was writing the book but didn’t decide which title to use yet.)
  5. Vote!

    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

    “Magical Me” by Gilderoy Lockhart
  6. Vote!

    Beetlejuice (1988)

    “The Handbook for the Recently Deceased” I understand it is a very boring read.
  7. Vote!

    The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

    “The Santa Handbook” I heard that as official keeper of the handbook, Curtis is forced to take the book with him when he goes to the bathroom. He can’t leave the book just laying around anywhere.
  8. Vote!

    Superman (1978)

    The Daily Planet Currently owned by Bruce Wayne. Former owners are Perry White and Lex Luthir. I think Perry White is still the editor.
  9. Vote!

    Spider-Man (2002)

    The Daily Bugle Owner and editor J. Jonah Jameson
  10. Vote!

    The Princess Bride (1987)

    ”“The Princess Bride” by S. Morgenstern” is a fictional book within William Goldman’s own novel and screenplay, “The Princess Bride”.
  11. Vote!

    Meet John Doe (1941)

    The New Bulletin
  12. Vote!

    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

    ”There and Back Again” by Bilbo Baggins
  13. Vote!

    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

    The Daily Prophet - Rita Skeeter was writing for the newspaper in Goblet of Fire
  14. Vote!

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

    The Quibbler - Owner and editor: Xenophilius Lovegood
  15. Vote!

    Labyrinth (1986)

    ”The Labyrinth” is the fictional play Sarah is reading from in the movie.
  16. Vote!

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

    Boy’s Stuff - Jefferson Smith Editor
  17. Vote!

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

    The Jackson City Star owned by the evil Jim Taylor
  18. Vote!

    Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

    ”Hot Fire” by Margaret Donner who stole it from her ex-husband, Larry Donner.
  19. Vote!

    Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

    ”Throw Momma From the Train” by Larry Donner
  20. Vote!

    Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

    ”Momma and Owen and Owen's Friend Larry” by Owen Lift
  21. Vote!

    The Evil Dead (1981)

    The “Necronomicon” or “Kitab al-Azif” by Alhazred is a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore created by author H. P. Lovecraft. He had let other writers use his creation which that is the reason why it appears in movies that are not based on his stories. Like this one. Some people believe it is real.
  22. Vote!

    Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

    ”The Shepherd’s Journal” by Aziz
  23. Vote!

    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

    ”The Pirate’s Code” Barbosa said it was more like a set of guidelines than a code, and you’d have to be a pirate for it to apply. Note: while many pirates ships did have a pirate’s code to which the crew must agree to abide by, not all the pirate ships had the same code. It was never published in book form, with maps included, as the movie shows it.
  24. Vote!

    Misery (1990)

    ”Misery’s Return” by Paul Sheldon He suffered a lot while writing it. (Suggested by TheOldJalapenoman, but the comment was by me.)
  25. Vote!

    Misery (1990)

    ”Misery’s Love” by Paul Sheldon or the rest of Paul Sheldon’s Misery Chastian series: “Misery's Quest”, “Misery's Search”, “Misery's Challenge”, “Misery's Trial”, “Misery's Triumph”, “Misery's Dilemma”, “Misery’s Paradise”, “Misery’s Lover”, “Misery’s Journey”, and “Misery Unchained”. (They are mentioned in the movie and Stephen King’s later novels. It looks like Paul Sheldon continued the series after the movie “Misery” ends.) (suggested by TheOldJalapenoman, but I wrote the note - so don’t blame him for what I added.)
  26. Vote!

    Romancing the Stone (1984)

    Any novels in Joan Wilder’s fictional bibliography: "The Savage Secret"; "Love's Wicked Kiss"; "The Ravagers"; "Passion's Lovely Lie" and "Treasures of Lust". I couldn’t use “Romancing the Stone”, and “Jewel of the Nile” because they really do exist as books in a type of movie novelization because Catherine Lanigan wrote them using the pseudonym “Joan Wilder”. (Suggested by TheOldJalapenoman, but I added the note.)
  27. Vote!

    I Married a Witch (1942)

    Roxford Tribune (That is spelled correctly.)
  28. Vote!

    Batman (1989)

    Gotham Globe (picked from one of the list Urbanmovies suggested because there is a scene in the film that takes place in newspaper’s pressroom.)
  29. Vote!

    Roman Holiday (1953)

    American News Service
  30. Vote!

    How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

    “How to Train Your Dragon” by Professor Yobbish In the novel the movie was based on, it was stolen from the library of a neighboring Viking tribe and it contain one very short sentence, (if I remember it correctly, it was, “Yell very loudly.”). Suggested by Urbanmovies but the comment was my own.
  31. Vote!

    Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

    ”Bridget Jones’s Diary” by Bridget Jones (Suggested by Urbanemovies) If the book is in the title, it is a natural.pick.
  32. Vote!

    The French Dispatch (2021)

    The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun (Suggested by Urbanemovies.)
  33. Vote!

    Young Frankenstein (1974)

    ”How I Did It” by Victor Frankenstein Yup, it is a how to build your own monster book handbook. Just hope you can control your monster better than he could controlled his. (Suggested by Urbanemovies, but the comment was mine)
  34. Vote!

    L.A. Confidential (1997)

    Hush Hush It is based on the real life celebrity gossip magazine “Confidential” which just happens to be a part of the movie’s title. (Suggested by Urbanemovies.)
  35. Vote!

    The Book Thief (2013)

    ”The Grave Digger's Handbook: A Twelve-Step Guide to Grave-Digging Success”, published by the Bayern Cemetary Association (suggested by Urbanemovies)

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