Zen & the Art of Crossword Puzzles

Save your money.

This book sets out to demonstrate how solving crosswords and Zen philosophy are intertwined. The author begins with a quote from a Zen master which reads, in part, "It is perfectly round and frictionless." Everybody knows crosswords are square and challenging but the author makes a valiant attempt to reconcile these discrepancies. Unfortunately, one is left with a feeling of 'so what?'. If how I solve crossword puzzles is a reflection of how I tackle life's bigger issues then I'm in bad shape. I have no clear plan. I jump all over the place. I cheat by looking up answers and, if I can't finish a puzzle, I abandon it and move on. Hardly any way to run one's life.

The author has spent a lot of time on the telephone in writing this book. There are many interviews with unknown puzzle solvers: Angela Thor (solves with an "officially designated" pen), Claudia Tripola (with a gin & tonic), Rosie Paquette (with a Paper Mate, medium point blue), Keith Long (always at the right-hand end of the sofa), C.G. Rishikesh (pen "exudes confidence"). Yawn... zzz

There are some insights from a few heavyweights, most notably Will Shortz (NYTimes editor), Nancy Salomon (creator, mentor) and Tyler Hinman (youngest American Crossword Puzzle Tournament winner) but all these tidbits can be found in various articles floating around the Web.

Part of the book's title is "the Art of Crossword Puzzles" of which the author seems to be totally ignorant. The puzzles, which the author created herself, are dreadful. (There is a link below if you'd like to sample one.) Not only do they contain appalling clues and entries, some have two-letter words which is an absolute no-no in American-style puzzles. One typical entry: SBW clued as "South by west". How about NOAH clued as: "Arc builder"? Yikes!

After wading through this book, all I could say was Om... as in OMG!