Oddest Book Title Prize Announced

The Bookseller, the trade magazine for publishers, announced the winner of its Diagram of Diagrams prize for the oddest book title in the past 30 years. The winner is (drumroll, please) "Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers."

"Green Rural Postman" just pipped to the post, "People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to do About it" (sounds like a page turner). "How to Avoid Huge Ships" also was in the running for the top prize.

This story was broadcast on Radio 4 this morning, and just made me laugh out loud. The "winner" of the award, who Radio 4 tracked down, said the "Greek Rural Postmen" was meant to be a guide for philatelists as it was published by the Greek Hellenic Society of Great Britain. Hearing that makes the title seem less funny, especially since the author sounded like this very nice old man who probably worked very hard on the book.

If you're looking for a laugh, see the photos of the other finalists here