Never judge a book by its cover

A recipe book called 'Cooking with Poo' is up for the title of the year's oddest book title.Saiyuud Diwong's cook book is not as strange as it seems as 'poo' means 'crab' in Thailand - and is also the chef's nickname.Other nonimations include 'Estonian Sock Patterns All Around the World' and ' The Great Singapore Penis Panic'.

Mr Andoh's Pennine Diary Memoirs of a Japanese Chicken Sexer in 1935 Hebden Bridge by Stephen Curry and Takayoshi Andoh is also in the running for the odd accolade.A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, The Mushroom in Christian Art and A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel: Volume Two are also among the favourites.Horace Bent, The Bookseller's diarist and the custodian of the prize, said this year's titles were so strong that a shortlist of seven was named, rather than the traditional six."Never has the debate raged so fiercely as to which books should be put forward for the shortlist," he said.