When it comes to creature breeding and training, Monster Rancher for Playstation (published by Tecmo, $49.99, for all ages) is among the quirkiest titles on any platform.

The quirky title of Ms Hacker's documentary refers to an incident Ms. Morley recounts in the film.

"The first thing is to clear your mind.to think of nothing," says Ed Jellard; a young man with the quirky title of senior inventor.

Send round a Christmas books list with quirky titles.

Although the company started out developing quirky titles such as Lester the Unlikely, development efforts are now primarily centered on sports titles such as Basketball and Baseball.

There's a secondary market in autographed books, usually quirky titles by writers who haven't hit the best-seller lists but have garnered a loyal following.

They have quirky, deadpan titles like "Undesigning the Bath," "Arranging Things" and even "How to Rake Leaves."

"The quirky titles from the dot-com boom have gone away," Mr. Cenedella said.

The Waywiser Press, set up by Philip Hoy in 2002, is an independent publishing company that has brought out a series of quirky titles, handsomely produced and delightfully cheap.

Gamers have been getting lucky lately when it comes to quirky downloadable titles.