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Stray carts scoops the prize

12.04.07

After more than 5,500 votes through theBookseller.com this year's Diagram Prize for the Oddest Title of 2006 is The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification.

This gem, written by Julian Montague and published by distinguished American house Harry N Abrams, garnered 1,866 votes. Second favourite was the Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan with 1,365 votes.

Stray Shopping Carts joins a noble pantheon of Diagram winners, perhaps closest in spirit to those rural guides How To Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art (1989) and Weeds in a Changing World (1999).

Horace Bent, diarist at The Bookseller, said: "In the fine tradition of the prize—going on title alone—I have not yet read my copy of Montague's tome. But my appetite has been whetted by one of its reviews on Amazon.com: 'One of the most complete and well thought-out works I have ever encountered. Montague's language coupled with his beautiful photography give the lowly carts individual personalities. Refreshing, for an art piece, it never takes itself too seriously. It will change the way you look at the urban environment, and most importantly it's endlessly fun.'"

The title was spotted by David Leonard of specialist publisher and retailer Dance Books. He wins a bottle of the more than fairly passable (wine)

Prizes Diagram Prize

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