Math Book Makes the Final Six for Year's Oddest Book Title

March 5, 2010

Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina is one of six finalists for Britain's Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year.

Other finalists include Afterthoughts of a Wormhunter; Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich; Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots; The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease; and What Kind of Bean is This Chihuahua?

Established during the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair, the Diagram Prize is organized every year by The Bookseller, a British trade magazine for the publishing industry. The winner of this humorous and at times controversial award is chosen by public vote on The Bookseller's website.

Horace Bent, diarist for The Bookseller, humorously describes Taimina's book in a recent post; "The bestselling book on this odd-title shortlist, having notched up a colossal 34 sales in the U.K. and a tremendous 588 copies in the U.S. The gripping yarn will keep you hooked to the final chapter: 'Who is Interested in Hyperbolic Geometry Now and How Can It be Used?'"

The winner will be announced March 26. Vote now and vote often!

Source: The Bookseller (February 18, 2010)