Friday, February 20, 2009

Oustandingly strange competition for odd book prize
Alison Flood writing in the guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 February 2009


Take your pick: the shortlist for the Diagram prize for oddest book title of the year

A global perspective on soft cheese packaging, the summation of a lifetime's work on monkey-related philosophy, and the long-awaited book-length consideration of Large Sieves are among the books in contention for the Bookseller magazine's annual Diagram prize for oddest title, in a year that judges have declared outstandingly strange.
Announced this morning, the titles in contention include Curbside Consultation of the Colon, a handy guide for doctors, and the compulsively-readable sounding 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais.

Also in the running are the acclaimed Baboon Metaphysics, the product of years of close observation by its authors, the analytical The Large Sieve and its Applications, and Strip and Knit with Style. "No, not that kind of stripping. Strips of fabric! Get your mind out of the gutter and take your knitting to a whole new place," urges its publisher.

The final contender is Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring, from Woodhead Publishing, an imprint with a consistently strong Diagram showing which last year controversially lost out with the classic Cheese Problems Solved to the eventual winner If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs.
Read Alison Flood's full piece at The Guardian nline.

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