In the last year or so, I've become something of a connoisseur of bad, bizarre, and often hilarious book titles. From last year's Big, Spankable Asses (trying to imagine carrying that book to the check-out counter of my local Borders) to one called Thong on Fire (ouch!), I've cracked up over the names of several "hot" reads -- and concluded that anything that memorable might very well be good for sales.
But recently, I discovered that erotica doesn't have the market cornered for bizarro titles. British magazine The Bookseller awards an annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year. This year's winner (for 2007)? If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs by Big Boom, a former pimp and hustler. Previous winners that caught my eye include The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (are the horses lesbians or the readers?), The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (why didn't I think of this), Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice, 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, and the ever-popular Highlights in the History of Concrete.
Frankly, just reading these titles makes me deliriously happy, in a book-nerd sort of way. To read even more, click here. And feel free to post your favorite odd title!
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