sovay: (Morell: quizzical)
sovay ([personal profile] sovay) wrote2010-02-06 03:12 am

It's not my fault I see a lot of things I shouldn't see

See, I think there's no competition here:

From Bacon: A Love Story to An Intellectual History of Cannibalism, Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich and The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin, the Bookseller magazine has announced the longest ever longlist for its annual Diagram prize for the oddest book title of the year.

"Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich" wins hands-down.1

The prize, set up in 1978 during a particularly dull day at the Frankfurt book fair, has been won in the past by titles including American Bottom Archaeology and Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers. Last year's award was controversially taken by The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais, which was written by a computer.

1. I happen to know exactly which folktale The Great Dog Bottom Swap is based on, so it's not odd; it's a Coyote story. Ditto for Venus Does Adonis While Apollo Shags a Tree, although it gets points for prosody. You might be able to convince me of an honorable mention for What Kind of Bean Is This Chihuahua? I got nothing there.

[identity profile] 4nt1g0n3.livejournal.com 2010-02-06 08:45 am (UTC)(link)
I really enjoyed reading these, and reading them to Anson (he likes "Collectable Spoons of the Third Reich" too) as he tried to hold a civilized phone conversation with his brother. It degraded pretty quickly after there. Personally, I'm torn between "I Stopped Sucking My Thumb…Why Can't You Stop Drinking?" (I could get a copy for mom's husband) and "Schoolgirl Milky Crisis", which just sounds perverse.

Thanks for sharing!