Cheesy book gets oddest title prize

A heavyweight study of the future of soft cheese has won oddest book title.

London, March 27: A heavyweight study of the future of soft cheese has won Britain`s annual competition to find the year`s oddest book title.

"The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais," by Philip M Parker won the Diagram Prize, awarded Friday by trade magazine The Bookseller. The runner-up was primate study "Baboon Metaphysics," by Dorothy L Cheney and Robert M Seyfarth. Horace Bent, who runs the award, said Parker`s volume was a surprise winner given the competition from racier-sounding finalists like "Curbside Consultation of the Colon" — a medical manual — and hobby handbook "Strip and Knit With Style." Bent said "Fromage Frais" was a worthy winner that had "turned the supermarket chiller into the petri dish of literary innovation." Fromage frais — literally "fresh cheese" — is a dairy product that originated in France and has a similar consistency to sour cream. The book is a 188-page study of the global retail market for the product. Parker`s book is published by Icon Group and sells for a hefty $795 (euro589.) The Diagram Prize was founded in 1978, and the winner is decided by public vote. This year`s other finalists were "The Large Sieve and its Applications" and "Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring." Previous winners include "Bombproof Your Horse," "Living With Crazy Buttocks" and "People Who Don`t Know They`re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It." Bureau Report