Here are some real book titles that will make you laugh
The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year is one of the lighter parts of the Frankfurt Book Fair. It was founded by Trevor Bounford and Bruce Robertson of the publishing solutions firm Diagram Group in 1978 and every year it awards a book with the funniest title submitted. If you'd like a good laugh and a glimpse at what all gets published, here's the 2020 shortlist:
A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path by Gregory Forth
Though this sounds like a novel involving a dog, it's actually a book of animal metaphors in Eastern Indonesian society. The phrase is used by the Nage people of Flores and Timor to refer to someone who begins something but gets easily distracted from it.
Photo: McGill-Queen's University Press
Introducing the Medieval Ass by Kathryn L Smithies
This book aims to rescue the reputation donkeys have for being foolish and how it's practically an insult to call someone a donkey.
The University of Melbourne historian aims to “reclaim the ass” from its trope of foolishness and being synonymous with human idiocy. The book “pays an apt tribute to a dumb beast of burden that is also a symbol of true humility,” according to Paul Wackers at the University of Utrecht.
Photo: University of Wales Press
Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music by K F B Fletcher and Osman Umurhan
This book highlights the connection and the similarities between the ancient Greek and Roman world and genre of heavy metal music. The first book of it's kind, it's an interesting read for those into classical studies, metal music or both.
Photo: Bloomsbury Academic
How to Make Love to a Despot by Stephen D Krasner
While it sounds like a guide to first ladies of some current countries and those in bad marriages, the book is actually a serious look into the foreign policy of the United States and how it should deal with 21st-century despots and dictators.
Photo: Liveright
Lawnmowers: An Illustrated History by Brian Radam
The author runs Southport’s British Lawnmower Museum, and goes through the history and science of the essential tool.
Photo: Amberley Publishing
The Slaughter of Farmed Animals: Practical Ways to Enhance Animal Welfare by Temple Grandin, Michael Cockram
This terrifying title hides an ecological book that's filled with a summary of our planet's climate situation and practical advice on what to do about it.
Photo: CABI Publishing