The work by Peter Grosson, which documents the sand trade from its inception in 1912 to the present day, is nominated for the Diagram Prize, which rewards bizarre and sometimes intentionally strange titles published during the year.
It is considered alongside "Cooking with Poo", a Thai cooking book by Saiyuud Diwong. "Poo" is Thai for "crab" and is also the chef's nickname.
The self-explanatory "Estonian Sock Patterns All Around the World" by Aino Praakli is also shortlisted as is "The Great Singapore Penis Panic and the Future of American Mass Hysteria" by Scott D Mendelson.
"A Taxonomy of Office Chairs" and "The Mushroom in Christian Art" are also among the favourites.
Previous winners of this prestigious literary award include "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers", "How to Avoid Huge Ships" and "Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way".
The winner will be chosen via a public vote at thebookseller.com and its sister consumer website welovethisbook.com and will be announced at the end of next month.
The Diagram Prize for oddest book title of the year, conceived as a way to avoid boredom at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, was first awarded in 1978 to "Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice".
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