Weird books vie for oddest title

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; Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes; and What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?.

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

The Diagram Prize was founded in 1978 and is run by trade magazine The Bookseller. The winner, decided by public vote, will be announced on March 26.

Previous champions include Bombproof Your Horse and Living With Crazy Buttocks.