Greek postmen beat zombies to win oddest book title

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LONDON (Reuters) - "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers" benefited from a late surge in public support to win the title on Friday of oddest book title of the past 30 years, The Bookseller magazine said.

The book -- a comprehensive record of Greek postal routes by Derek Willan -- grabbed 13 percent of the 1,000 international public votes cast to chose the oddest title from the winners of the annual competition that began in 1978.

It beat "People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead" and "How To Avoid Huge Ships" into second and third places with 11 and 10 percent respectively.

"The posties pulled off a real shock here. The pre-tournament favourite was the prize’s first ever recipient - "Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice," said Horace Bent, custodian of the annual Diagram Prize.

"Right from the off, it was Gary Leon Hill’s "People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead" that set the pace. It topped the polls for over three weeks," he added.

Another early favourite "How To Bombproof Your Horse" also failed to feature in the final count.

The prize was dreamed up initially at the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair as a way of avoiding boredom. It has since become an annual star. This year’s winner was "If You Want Closure in Your .....continued below

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(Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; Editing by Matthew Jones)