def METHOD_NAME(filename):
    """ Reads the title from a markdown notebook """
    with open(filename, 'r') as f:
        # get first row that starts with "# "
        for line in f.readlines():
            # trim leading/trailing whitespaces
            line = line.lstrip().rstrip()
            # check if line is the title
            if line[0:2] == '# ':
                # return title
                return line[2:]