A travelogue, titled 'Strangers Have the Best Candy,' has won the Diagram Prize for the oddest book title of the year.
The self-published work by Margaret Meps Schulte beat finalists including 'Advanced Pavement Research,' 'Nature's Nether Regions' and 'Where do Camels Belong?,' the BBC reported.
The Diagram Prize, an online vote run by the Bookseller magazine, does not award cash, though the person who nominates the winning entry receives a passable bottle of claret.
Schulte, whose book chronicles her experiences of talking to strangers while travelling in the US, nominated her own book and said that the title means that strangers can have gifts for us, if we take the time to talk with them. The "candy" might be a bit of information or a few kind words. It might be the start of a lifelong friendship.
Schulte added that her willingness to talk with anyone has brought her once-in-a-lifetime experiences, flashes of insight, unexpected gifts, delicious meals and gracious hospitality.
The Bookseller's Tom Tivnan said that he is relieved because with the public recently giving the Diagram crown to the likes of 'How to Poo on a Date,' 'Cooking with Poo' and 'If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs,' he despaired for a populace becoming obsessed with smut and filth.
Tivnan added that he welcomes the return to the clean, wholesome fun of the Diagram's roots.
