Crossworld
One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession
Chapter One
My Puzzling Problem
I am hopelessly addicted to the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Like many addicts, it's taken me time to admit I have a problem. The
hints I was heading for trouble came, at first, only occasionally.
The moments of panic when I realized that for whatever reason I
might not be able to get my fix on a given day. The toll on
relationships. The strained friendships. The lost hours I could have
used to do something much more productive.
It gets worse, too. The high no longer lasts as long as it once did;
what initially could occupy me for a whole afternoon now takes me
twenty minutes or less to get through. I have become increasingly
alarmed that the supply of the thing I need is limited. The Times
publishes only one puzzle per day, and when that's done I find
myself rooting about for substitutes-the Wall Street Journal,
Philadelphia Inquirer, and New York Sun puzzles, to name just a
few-that are somehow less satisfying. Sure, there are a couple of
thousand puzzles in the Times ... read full excerpt from: Crossworld ebook
