How to Avoid Huge Ships

The book won the 1992 Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year^[2] and was used to title the first compilation of prize winners, How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books (2008).^[3] The book finished third in The Bookseller's 2008 competition for the oddest book title of all time (behind Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers and People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It).^[4]

Beginning in 2000, the book attracted humorous reader reviews on its Amazon.com entry. The book, its prize-winning status, and sometimes its accompanying constellation of odd reviews, was commented on by publications ranging from Cracked^[5] to the New York Times.^[6] The New York Daily News called it "the best book ever"^[7] while Publishers Weekly conversely called it "the worst book ever".^[8]

In the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, there is a book titled "How to Avoid Colossal Vessels", which is regarded as an easter egg reference to this book.^{[citation needed]}

In 2021, the book was featured in several internet memes related to that year's blockage of the Suez Canal.^[9]