Every year, Bookseller magazine announces the winner of its Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. This year, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Diagram Prize, the magazine is also holding public vote for the "Diagram of Diagrams"--the oddest book title ever.
Here are the illustrious winners, as well as the titles currently on the short list for this year's award and some that narrowly missed out on a place in history.
Notes:
1) No awards were given in 1987 and 1991.
2) None of these are madeupical.
UPDATE: This list is now open to all odd book titles, regardless of whether they were nominated for the abovementioned award. There are just too many bizarre book titles out there to let them go without capturing on Wordie. :-) Also see sionnach's excellent "Bizarre Books" list.
This doesn't belong on your list, but I didn't know where else to put it, and I think it's a great title: When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden (Bill Maher).
Not sure this qualifies -- it's actually a pretty good read: At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay.
Added! I opened the list to all odd book titles, not just the ones from the contest. :-)
This doesn't belong on your list, but I didn't know where else to put it, and I think it's a great title: When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden (Bill Maher).
Yes, some are relatively popular books. Scary, isn't it?
Huh. I thought that these would all be pretty esoteric, but I've seen six or seven of them on the shelves at the Barnes & Noble where I work.
Wow. I may need an entirely new list for that one, since (as far as we know) it isn't in the running for the Bookseller prize.
I found this in Newsweek but I think it belongs on this list, not mine:
"In a new book, "I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me," military buff Trevor Paglen...." (The rest doesn't matter.) Newsweek, March 10, 2008
And somehow they're funnier when they're real, aren't they?
Hilarious list & link! I guess it's not that hard to get a book published after all.
Agreed. One of my favorites is Cheese Problems Solved.
The short ones are the best. Versailles: the View from Sweden, How to Avoid Huge Ships, and Bombproof your Horse. Genius.