Reading notes: 'Cruciverbalism'
Link.
This reminds me of a book I'd have checked out of the library in 1993. It has a certain feel I associate with books conceived and written by smart but not-primarily-writer types in that era.
Miscellaneous notes:
- The single most interesting line in the book is a (not emphasized) point about how clues are designed to seem hard but be easy. This is one of those things you start seeing all the time (especially in crosswords and other online puzzles, but elsewhere too).
- The anti-Eugene Maleska rant was fun. It's so big and prominent that one wonders if it was a main impetus for the book.
- The list of crosswordese is useful but not as useful as Wikipedia. (Tables of reference material that are good but not as good as Wikipedia is a feature of the book-I'd-have-checked-out-of-the-library-in-1993 genre.)
This was a short, fun read. Come for the story of a life in puzzles, stay for the Maleska rant.