The shortlist for the 2018 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced.
The six shortlisted titles are:
Are Gay Men More Accurate in Detecting Deceits? by Hoe-Chi Angel Au
Call of Nature: The Secret Life of Dung by Richard Jones
Equine Dry Needling by Cornelia Klarholz and Andrea Schachinger
Jesus on Gardening by David Muskett
Joy of Waterboiling by Achse Verlag
Why Sell Tacos in Africa? by Paul Oberschneider
The winner of the award, now in its 40th year, will be chosen by public vote and will not receive a prize. One member of the public who votes for the eventual winner will receive a ‘passable bottle of claret’.
Last year’s winner was The Commuter Pig Keeper: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pigs when Time is your Most Precious Commodity by Michaela Giles,
Controversy has arisen since the creation of the awards; there have been two occasions when no award was given because no titles were judged to be odd enough. The 2009–2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais, proved controversial because rather than being written by its listed author, Philip M Parker, it was instead written by a machine of Parker’s invention.
Previous years also included some worthy winners.
- Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice
- The Madam as Entrepreneur: Career Management in House Prostitution
- Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Power: How to Increase the Other 90% of Your Mind to Increase the Size of Your Breasts
- American Bottom Archaeology
- Highlights in the History of Concrete
- Reusing Old Graves: A Report on Popular British Attitudes
- Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers
- People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It
- The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification
- Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way
- Cooking with Poo
