- Hardcover: 96 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (25 Sep 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1845133218
- ISBN-13: 978-1845133214
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13.7 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 292,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the Diagram Prize, the momentous annual contest to determine the oddest book title of the year. Established in 1978 by book packagers the Diagram Group, the prize is a joyous celebration of the barmy side of publishing. Baffling titles such as Bombproof Your Horse, How to Avoid Huge Ships and People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead have all been recipients of this glittering prize. Who could forget classic winners such as Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers or The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories? Who could fail to be inspired by titles such as Highlights in the History of Concrete and Weeds in a Changing World? British publishers and booksellers compete fiercely to get their suggested titles on to the short list, before the final winner is voted for by readers of the Bookseller. And the fame of the Diagram Prize has stretched beyond the book trade, with blanket coverage from national newspapers and the BBC. While rival literary awards have sold out, the Diagram Prize has refused all offers of corporate sponsorship for 30 years. The Costa and Man Booker may receive the lion’s share of media attention, but the Diagram is privately considered the one that really matters. There was even a ‘Diagram of Diagrams’ in 1993, the well-deserved winner being Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice. Do-It-Yourself Brain Surgery has all the makings of a quirky humour bestseller.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
The book brings together bizarre and funny book titles from the English language in one slim volume. The volume is copiously illustrated with full colour front pages from the titles mentioned.
Many of the entries are highly entertaining but, as the earlier review points out, there are not that many of them. Getting the book second-hand at a much reduced price makes it a fun purchases that gives a good few laughs for the cost; buying it at full price is likely to leave you wondering if it was really worth the money.
For an alternative book along similar lines take a look at Bizarre Books - no colour illustrations and only a few black and white ones, but many more pages, each crammed with numerous amusing titles.
Many of the entries are highly entertaining but, as the earlier review points out, there are not that many of them. Getting the book second-hand at a much reduced price makes it a fun purchases that gives a good few laughs for the cost; buying it at full price is likely to leave you wondering if it was really worth the money.
For an alternative book along similar lines take a look at Bizarre Books - no colour illustrations and only a few black and white ones, but many more pages, each crammed with numerous amusing titles.
21 of 28 people found the following review helpful
I read in the news about the recent Bookseller magazine's Oddest Book Title prize and its entries and found them hilarious, but failed to get the list of past nominations and winners on their website, in spite of it being the 30 years anniversary of the prize (getting pages for recent nominations only and sometimes being redirected to nothing actually relevant). But there was a reference to this book, so I thought: "OK, if you want to see the prize historical entries you have to pay for it." I didn't mind, so I got it.
It's a tiny little book. There are JUST 50 ENTRIES, with no proper rhyme or reason why they were selected. Some are actually not that funny and some of the funniest ARE MISSING. There is no information on when a particular entry was nominated, whether it won or was a runner-up. The entry's description is just a few words (often just TWO WORDS) in a single sentence, even though on the website I saw nominations accompanied by proper summaries, which are usually found on the back of any book.
This total lack of information on the entries is compensated by a long and tedious foreword by the Deputy Editor of the Bookseller with some questionable statements ("What makes a book title truly odd? ... Scientists have toiled for years researching that question."), which again fails to mention why only a fraction of the titles was selected.
The book is printed in China. Clearly, whether the paper comes from sustainably sourced wood or through destruction of forests in Russia or Indonesia is not an issue for the Bookseller.
On the only positive side: colour book cover reproductions are nice, but can't compensate for the lack of information (just the title, author, publisher and single sentence "summary" on the opposite page with huge blank spaces as there is so little of it).
I had a few laughs, but generally: thumbs down.
It's a tiny little book. There are JUST 50 ENTRIES, with no proper rhyme or reason why they were selected. Some are actually not that funny and some of the funniest ARE MISSING. There is no information on when a particular entry was nominated, whether it won or was a runner-up. The entry's description is just a few words (often just TWO WORDS) in a single sentence, even though on the website I saw nominations accompanied by proper summaries, which are usually found on the back of any book.
This total lack of information on the entries is compensated by a long and tedious foreword by the Deputy Editor of the Bookseller with some questionable statements ("What makes a book title truly odd? ... Scientists have toiled for years researching that question."), which again fails to mention why only a fraction of the titles was selected.
The book is printed in China. Clearly, whether the paper comes from sustainably sourced wood or through destruction of forests in Russia or Indonesia is not an issue for the Bookseller.
On the only positive side: colour book cover reproductions are nice, but can't compensate for the lack of information (just the title, author, publisher and single sentence "summary" on the opposite page with huge blank spaces as there is so little of it).
I had a few laughs, but generally: thumbs down.
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I've followed the diagram prize for a number of years now, and always find the shortlisted titles hilarious and thought-provoking. Somewhere, out there, there must be some philatelists so immersed in their hobby that they don't even realise that "Greek rural postmen and their cancellation numbers" sounds funny to everybody else.
This book gives only a selection of the many titles shortlisted over 30 years. It's good to see some 50 of them in full colour without having to search for them or even buy them. Sadly my personal favourite "Procrastination and task avoidance, a practical guide" (shortlisted some time in the late 90s) isn't among the covers shown.
The ultimate, comprehensive collection of Diagram shortlists remains to be published - maybe the Diagramists are keeping this for the 50th anniversary.
This book gives only a selection of the many titles shortlisted over 30 years. It's good to see some 50 of them in full colour without having to search for them or even buy them. Sadly my personal favourite "Procrastination and task avoidance, a practical guide" (shortlisted some time in the late 90s) isn't among the covers shown.
The ultimate, comprehensive collection of Diagram shortlists remains to be published - maybe the Diagramists are keeping this for the 50th anniversary.
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