Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who

Description: Thinking Inside the Box by Adrienne Raphel A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history from a brilliant young writer. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Beautifully researched account, full of humour and personal insightDavid Crystal, author of Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar A witty, wise, and wonderfully weird journey that will change the way you think . . . This book is a delightBianca Bosker, author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste Delightfully engrossing, charmingly and enthusiastically well-written history of the crossword puzzle Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyers English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style Full of treasures, surprises and fun . . . richly bringing to life the quirky, obsessive, fascinating characters in the crossword world Mary Pilon, author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the Worlds Favorite Board Game A gold mine of revelations. If there is a pantheon of cruciverbalist scholars, Adrienne Raphel has established herself squarely within itMary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma QueenEqual parts ingenious and fun, Thinking Inside the Box is a love letter to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language, a treat for die-hard cruciverbalists and first-time crossword solvers alike. The crossword is a feature of the modern world, inspiring daily devotion and obsession from millions. It was invented in 1913, almost by accident, when an editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill some empty column space for that years Christmas edition. Almost overnight, crosswords became a phenomenal commercial success, and have been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt since then. Indeed, paradoxically, the popularity of crosswords has never been greater, even as the world of media and newspapers, the crosswords natural habitat, has undergone a dramatic digital transformation. But why, exactly, are the satisfactions of a crossword so sweet that over the decades they have become a fixture of breakfast tables, bedside tables and commutes, and even given rise to competitive crossword tournaments? Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of the crosswords rich literary history, Adrienne Raphel dives into the secrets of this classic pastime. At the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, she rubs shoulders with elite solvers from all over the world, doing her level best to hold her own; aboard a crossword-themed cruise she picks the brains of the enthusiasts whose idea of a good time is a week on the high seas with nothing to do but Flap A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history from a brilliant young writer Equal parts ingenious and fun, Thinking Inside the Box is a love letter to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language, a treat for die-hard cruciverbalists and first-time crossword solvers alike. The crossword is a feature of the modern world, inspiring daily devotion and obsession from millions. It was invented in 1913, almost by accident, when an editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill some empty column space for that years Christmas edition. Almost overnight, crosswords became a phenomenal commercial success, and have been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt since then. Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of the crosswords rich literary history, Adrienne Raphel dives into the secrets of this classic pastime - at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament; aboard a crossword-themed cruise; and in the home of New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. Diverting, informative and discursive Editors Choice, New York Times Book Review This enjoyable survey illuminates many lesser-known aspects of a wildly popular pastime Publishers Weekly Author Biography ADRIENNE RAPHEL has written for the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New Republic, Slate and Poetry, among other publications. Her debut poetry collection, What Was It For, won the Rescue Press Black Box Poetry Prize. Born in southern New Jersey and raised in northern Vermont, she holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop and a PhD from Harvard. Review Who would ever have thought the innocent crossword would hide such an intriguing story! After reading Adrienne Raphels beautifully researched account, full of humor and personal insight, Ive come to see these puzzles in a new light, and I certainly now treat their creators with fresh respect. -- Professor David Crystal, author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English LanguageThinking Inside the Box is a witty, wise, and wonderfully weird journey that will change the way you think. Raphel is an insatiably curious and infectiously passionate guide who plunges headfirst into the rich world of puzzles and the people who love them to reveal the fascinating acrobatics of language and the inner life of words. This book is a delight. -- Bianca Bosker, bestselling author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for TasteIf you remember precisely where you were when you first encountered the words ETUI and ONER, I suspect youll be enchanted by Adrienne Raphels Thinking Inside the Box. This delightfully engrossing, charmingly and enthusiastically well-written history of the crossword puzzle tells you everything you need to know, and any number of things you couldnt have imagined, about the invention and eventual world domination of the thing that daily scratches a particular human itch: "the yearning to solve a riddle, the desire to fill in a blank space, the obsession with perfection". -- Benjamin Dreyer, bestselling author of Dreyers English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and StyleThinking Inside the Box, like the puzzles it elegantly features, is full of treasures, surprises and fun. Adrienne takes readers from Will Shortzs empire hub in Pleasantville, NY, to the pages of Vladimir Nabokovs crossword butterfly puzzle doodles, to the blistering hotel ballrooms of crossword competitions, richly bringing to life the quirky, obsessive, fascinating characters in the crossword world. Youll never think about filling in the squares the same way again. -- Mary Pilon, bestselling author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the Worlds Favorite Board Game and The Kevin Show: An Olympic Athletes Battle with Mental IllnessFor crossword puzzlers of every ilk, from solvers of the Monday-edition no-brainer to pencil-chewing addicts of the cryptic, Thinking Inside the Box is a gold mine of revelations. If there is a pantheon of cruciverbalist scholars, Adrienne Raphel has established herself squarely within it. -- Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen Long Description Beautifully researched account, full of humour and personal insight David Crystal, author of Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar A witty, wise, and wonderfully weird journey that will change the way you think . . . This book is a delight Bianca Bosker, author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste Delightfully engrossing, charmingly and enthusiastically well-written history of the crossword puzzle Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyers English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style Full of treasures, surprises and fun . . . richly bringing to life the quirky, obsessive, fascinating characters in the crossword world Mary Pilon, author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the Worlds Favorite Board Game A gold mine of revelations. If there is a pantheon of cruciverbalist scholars, Adrienne Raphel has established herself squarely within it Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen Equal parts ingenious and fun, Thinking Inside the Box is a love letter to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language, a treat for die-hard cruciverbalists and first-time crossword solvers alike.The crossword is a feature of the modern world, inspiring daily devotion and obsession from millions. It was invented in 1913, almost by accident, when an editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill some empty column space for that years Christmas edition. Almost overnight, crosswords became a phenomenal commercial success, and have been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt since then. Indeed, paradoxically, the popularity of crosswords has never been greater, even as the world of media and newspapers, the crosswords natural habitat, has undergone a dramatic digital transformation. But why, exactly, are the satisfactions of a crossword so sweet that over the decades they have become a fixture of breakfast tables, bedside tables and commutes, and even given rise to competitive crossword tournaments?Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of the crosswords rich literary history, Adrienne Raphel dives into the secrets of this classic pastime. At the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, she rubs shoulders with elite solvers from all over the world, doing her level best to hold her own; aboard a crossword-themed cruise she picks the brains of the enthusiasts whose idea of a good time is a week on the high seas with nothing to do but Review Quote Who would ever have thought the innocent crossword would hide such an intriguing story! After reading Adrienne Raphels beautifully researched account, full of humor and personal insight, Ive come to see these puzzles in a new light, and I certainly now treat their creators with fresh respect. Promotional "Headline" A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history from a brilliant young writer. Details ISBN1472144627 Author Adrienne Raphel Format Paperback Short Title Thinking Inside the Box Pages 304 Language English Year 2021 ISBN-10 1472144627 ISBN-13 9781472144621 Imprint Robinson Subtitle Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Cant Live Without Them DEWEY 793.7320922 UK Release Date 2021-03-04 Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom Publisher Little, Brown Book Group Publication Date 2021-03-04 Audience General NZ Release Date 2021-05-24 AU Release Date 2021-05-24 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:131332924;

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