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Looking for some puzzle book gift ideas for the puzzle person in your life? The ole’ Biz Quig has got you covered. I always got you covered. That’s why you keep coming back.
For my money, the book I enjoyed the most this year was Steven Landsburg’s “Can You Outsmart an Economist?.” And if you’re saying to yourself, “that doesn’t sound like a word puzzly book,” you’d be right and should probably jump down to the next paragraph. But for those that are intrigued, it was a really enjoyable melange of logic-style puzzles presented in the frame of various topics like game theory, probability, decision making, and that sort of thing. Really reminded me of Raymond Smullyan’s classics, which were a huge influence on me. Then again, I was way into logic puzzles long before I became an all-things-word puzzle guy. Anyway, big thumbs up there. It was the kind of book that after I struggled with some puzzles, I wanted to share these with Liz. You might consider pairing this one with Oliver Roeder’s “The Riddler,” collections of more logic puzzles from the Five Thirty Eight Site.
A couple years back I was thrilled to be a regular contributor to Will Shortz’s “WordPlay” magazine, and now there have been two anthologies reprinted. Some rather nice variety puzzles in there like Marching Bands, Rows Gardens, and that sort of thing. Lovely to see these get more action. And while you’re at it, supplement these puzzles with my own collection of Helter Skelter puzzles (“Octopus Crosswords“) and some trivia quizzes by Joon Pahk (“Triple Decker Trivia“). Joon’s own puzzles make a lovely gift.
Indie puzzles, can’t beat ’em as far as I’m concerned. And one indie puzzler who I don’t think gets enough shade around here is Andrew Ries. Show him some love and pick up “Maverick Crosswords” and then go to his site for even more puzzly goodness. There’s also the ever-reliable Peter Gordon with his weekly Fireball Crosswords, and if subscription isn’t the way to go, grab an anthology of those puzzles instead. And should we give the ladies some? I say yes. Pre-order a subscription to Laura Braunstein and Tracy Bennett’s The Inkubator today. And lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some cryptics, so please head over to Sydney Morning Herald writer Liam Runnall’s site and pre-order a subscription to his newsletter too. (I should mention that Liam provided the seed for today’s puzzle. Thanks, mate.)Lastly, it’s not a puzzle book per se, but it is a book by a guy who happens to make puzzles. Matt Ginsberg, the genius/evil man behind the crossword solving AI Dr. Fill, wrote a really lovely cyber thriller “Factor Man.” Read it today so you can say you were there first before it becomes the next Tom Cruise blockbuster.
Share the puzzle. New one on Thursday.
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