Thinking Inside the Box

December 23, 2019
Poet Raphel (What Was It For) delivers an intriguing and informative look at the crossword puzzle. She recalls a family tradition from her teenage years—Monday night “races” to solve that day’s New York Times crossword—which instilled in her a lasting appreciation for the game. Raphel digs deep into its history, from its 1913 origin to its 1924 explosion in popularity after a fledgling Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle compilation. Though there are occasional diversions, such as about crossword-as-metaphor in a Sex and the City episode, or a human vs. computer contest, all narrative roads lead back to the Times—which, ironically, was late to the game, not publishing one until February 1942. Casual crossworders may be surprised to learn that the paper’s puzzles are submitted by amateurs (they are paid $500 for the daily puzzle, $1,500 for the Sunday version) and vetted by a handful of staffers. Raphel also tries her hand at crafting one, with digressions on grid design and computer programs for ferreting out new word combinations, to illustrate the difficulty of creating original clues for a game that is over a century old. This enjoyable survey illuminates many lesser-known aspects of a wildly popular pastime. Agent: Melanie Jackson, Melanie Jackson Agency.

February 1, 2020

Investigating the crossword from all sides is poet Raphel's (What Was It For) stated goal, and she means it, giving depth to a two-dimensional puzzle. Covering the basic history, cultural context, and ongoing evolution of the crossword, the author explains the construction of a puzzle and what makes it work. While John Halpern's The History of the Crossword covers similar ground (albeit from a British perspective), Raphel takes a more holistic approach. This examination results in surprisingly lively material, studying the cultures of the puzzlers and the puzzle constructors alike. The book as a whole is fascinating, but Raphel is particularly good at shifting viewpoints. More offbeat chapters, such as "This Is Not a Crossword," looking at the intersection between surrealism and crosswords, fairly sing. (The ending material, about a crossword cruise, loses some steam, but this is a minor quibble.) VERDICT Raphel's approach is reminiscent of Mary Roach's work, and even cruciverbalists well versed in their hobby's history will discover something illuminating here. Nonpuzzling readers may discover a new hobby.--Audrey Snowden, Milford Town Lib., MA

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2020
Crossword puzzles appear everywhere: daily newspapers, magazines, bookstores, murder mysteries. They come with themes, puns, and quotations and range from simple daily fare to the famously demanding New York Times Sunday edition. Raphel goes back to 1913 and the origins of crosswords, charting their progress from hand-drawn squares to the computer-generated grids of today. Creating crosswords is a labor of love usually performed as a hobby or a second job since the hours required often are greater than the payment. She celebrates the pioneers who painstakingly created clues, and the editors, such as Will Short, New York Times puzzle editor and NPR's Puzzlemaster, who check and recheck thousands of submissions. In a world in which digital magazines and newspapers are exploding, solvers (called cruciverbalists ) still want their puzzles in paper form, keeping many publications alive. Raphel, freely admitting to her puzzle addictions, mingles with enthusiasts at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and crosses the seas on a crossword-themed ocean liner. Puzzle nerds (and there are a lot of us) will enjoy this celebration of all things crossword.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)