From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords

Being a crossword puzzle solver (most of the time, though not always - the New York Times Saturday crossword puts me in a tizzy) I'm always on the lookout for crossword puzzle books and web sites. I read about this little gem in the New York Times and had to check it out. I'm glad I did. From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher is a delightful read into the minds of crossword puzzlers in general and into his mind in particular. People who don't work on crosswords think puzzlers are wasting their time on such escapist distractions. But Olsen is not one of them - he's been solving crosswords, particularly cryptic crosswords, for decades. Olsen, who was the host of the now defunk The Next Big Thing on NPR, says people who say that just don't get it. Crosswords aren't distractions to kill time; they are vital to our well-being. They are anti-anxiety agents as well as loyal friends (it shows up in the newspaper everyday no matter what). And if one works crosswords one is obsessed with them. "You won't need an fMRI to know that crosswords are dangerously addictive." No kidding!

Not all of the essays are specific about crosswords, though all the essays have crosswords and puzzles involved. He talks about his divorce and he is still distressed about The Next Big Thing being axed by NPR. He talks to homeless people, crossword addicts, and Will Shortz, the crossword editor for the New York Times. He discusses the differences between American puzzles and British puzzles (which are more along the line of cryptic crosswords), cryptic crosswords versus your basic crossword puzzle, the movie Wordplay, etc. He also observes how a friend creates a crossword, which is fascinating in and of itself (at least to a crossword solver).

The book reads very quickly - I read it in an afternoon. If you are a crossword puzzle fanatic (and you know who you are) or just a person who likes to read essays, I recommend this book.