Worm hunters, Nazi spoons vie for odd-book prize

AP via Houston Chronicle ^ | Feb. 22, 2010, 7:40AM | no byline

[a fool in paradise]

Worm hunters, lethal robots and Nazi spoons are in the running for Britain's quirkiest literary award, the Diagram Prize for year's oddest book title.

The six finalists are "Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter;" ''Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich," ''Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots," ''The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease" and "What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?"

The shortlist, announced Friday, was narrowed down from 90 entries, including "The Origin of Feces" and "Bacon: A Love Story"...

[a fool in paradise]

No soup for you PING

[a fool in paradise]

http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs//112817-the-diagram-prize-09-the-shortlist.html

THE BOOKSELLER TOWERS, London. — 2009. A year when lists were slashed, advances were cut, employees were given the boot, book sales suffered a slight malaise (see: “celebrity” memoirs), and yet, and yet . . . oddity endured.

I received a record number of submissions for the 2009 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year, almost treble the number I received for 2008. And I have Twitter largely to thank, for 50 submissions were Tweeted in my general direction. Sadly, however, almost half the submissions were ineligible as they were published well before 2009. They raised a smile nonetheless—Sketches of a Few Jellyfish, On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers, and Seeing and Sensing Gnomes: Hey Looky Heah’h, to name but three.

However, even after the initial cull, the list was still considerable in size, meaning my panel of esteemed literary minds and I were forced into ruthlessness, brutally cutting any submission we felt carried a “deliberately odd” title. As such, submissions including Bacon: A Love Story, The Origin of Faeces and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, fell at this second hurdle. But even after this second cull, choosing a shortlist still proved formidable, with equal measures of both controversial and emotional.

However, finally, and without further ado, I give you the final six:

- The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
by Ellen Scherl and Marla Dubinsky (Slack Inc)

- Collectible Spoons of the 3rd Reich
by James A Yannes (Trafford)

- Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes
by Daina Taimina(A K Peters)

- Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots
by Ronald C Arkin (CRC Press)

- What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua?
by Tara Jansen-Meyer (Mirror)

- Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter
by David Crompton (Glenstrae Press)

---

(details at the above link)

Also list of previous winners in the wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookseller/Diagram_Prize_for_Oddest_Title_of_the_Year

[equalitybeforethelaw]

Clearly, I need to pick up the pace of my reading endeavors. Collectible NAZI spoons and Inflammatory Bowel Syndrones seem somehow cosmically connected. Not sure about crocheting and worm hunting, even on hyperbolic planes.

[a fool in paradise]

"All About Crocheting Wormholes And Repairing the Fabric Of The Universe"

[equalitybeforethelaw]

“All About Crocheting Wormholes And Repairing the Fabric Of The Universe”

You need to address the NAZI spoons in this title. How about “The many uses of NAZI spoons in hyperbolic crocheted wormholes”, or “How to dig yourself out of a hyperbolic crochteted wormhole? Have to admit its a bit too linear for our purposes.

[a fool in paradise]

Darles Charwin’s Origin of The Feces...

[a fool in paradise]

2005 winner:

People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It

[equalitybeforethelaw]

People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It

Perfect and true. The Zombie metaphor is spot on. How many times have you been accosted by a zombie at a party only to realize that you and only you are responsible for the conversation? Me being me, the conversation last about 3 minutes before I need to use the bathroom or get a fresh drink. They are amognst us folks, beware, they will suck your brains out.

[a fool in paradise]

I remember Banzai...

...Mr. Shake Hands Man who maintained a handshake with a people for as long as possible. He was later replaced when he became too well known with Mr. Shake Hands Man 2 (played by Japanese-American actor Tadao Tomomatsu), who did the same thing however his role was mainly with celebrities.

There was also Lady One Question played by non-professional Shizuka Hata, who posed as a celebrity reporter, asked a single interview question and then stared silently at the interviewee. In both of these segments, viewers were invited to bet on how long it took the celebrity to put a stop to the ruse.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

In both of these segments, viewers were invited to bet on how long it took the celebrity to put a stop to the ruse.

I have not seen these pieces, but would thoroughly enjoy watching them. How does the Dos XX ad go, he has never been embarassed except once...he wanted to know how it felt. “I don’t drink beer often. But when I do, I drink Dos XXs. Stay thirsty my friends”.

[a fool in paradise]

It’s a Japanese game show that was then brought over to Fox via England. It was short lived in the States.

A British DVD was issued and there are probably clips on youtube.