A Is for Atticus

Book excerpt: Pick up a celebrity magazine and you'll see that the art of naming babies has reached new heights of self-expression, with recent choices like Shiloh, Sailor, Apple, and notably, Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q. Hewson. Baby namers today want monikers that reflect something personal. Where better to draw inspiration than the books you cherish and the characters you love? A Is for Atticus mines the classics for the best names and brings them all into one volume. Unlike massive baby name books, which offer endless, dry lists with cursory dictionary definitions, each of the carefully selected names (including Beckett after the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett and Esme from J.D. Salinger's For Esme with Love and Squalor) is fully profiled in a fun, savvy, info-packed listing that includes a name's meaning, uniqueness, modern appeal, and cultural significance. Helpful sidebars guide you to the perfect name for your perfect baby.