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Title: Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players by Stefan Fatsis ISBN: 0-14-200226-7 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.61 (74 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Turned me off to Scrabble
Comment: The acquaintance who recommended this book told me it would renew my interest in and excitement about playing Scrabble. Wrong! The message I took away from this read is renewed belief that human beings can pervert just about anything.
Another reviewer mentioned her offense at the author's denegration of "blue hairs," as he likes to call female senior citizens. He also seems to disdain "fat middle aged women," whom he refers to several times and whom he is humiliated to lose to. Later in the book, he deigns to devote a couple of pages to female Scrabble players and explains that, although they outnumber male players in tournaments, they are not competitive at the highest levels -- mostly because they have lives apart from Scrabble (like jobs, family, friends) -- unlike the obsessive male Scrabble players who dominate the book, several of whom seem to be genuinely mentally ill.
If I had any ideas of joining a Scrabble club or doing anything more than playing occasionally with my sister, this book squelched those desires. And perhaps it's just as well. As a fat middle-aged women about 10 years short of a blue-hair, I am probably better off sticking with quilting and needlepoint where I can be with my own kind.
I have rated this book 3 stars because Fatsis does have a way of drawing me into the book. Just when I'm ready to set it aside, either because the technical detail is boring or because I'm offended by his treatment of women, he manages to recapture my attention. It's not a page turner, but I feel compelled to finish reading it.
Rating: 5
Summary: An amazing look at the world of professional Scrabble
Comment: It's amazing to think that something like Scrabble could lead to an all-consuming obsession. I'd always been an avid amateur player and enjoyed the game, but I'd certainly never spent hours combing the dictionary for new words. Yet in Fatsis' book, we get an opportunity to take a brief glimpse into the worlds of those who do, and to witness Fatsis' own growing compulsion to reach the somewhat dubious goal of Scrabble perfection.
That said, I'll admit that I had a copy of the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary (or the OSPD, as it's referred to among the hard-core players), some word lists, and a stack of flash cards by the time I was done reading the book. The intensity of the prose and the obvious enthusiasm of the people involved drew me into their world whether I had intended to go or not. After all, how could I not admire the foreign players that routinely play words that I'd never consider getting on the board, even though they have no clue what they mean? How could I not respect the acumen of those that pick typos out of the Oxford English Dictionary, or even notice that the older Scrabble boxes show tiles with the wrong point values, or anagram a paragraph of text at a time? From the first page to the last, the book offers a view of a unique subculture, in which it is impossible to escape the allure of the words. When I reached the appendix, in which Fastis lists all of the words in the book that were not Tournament-legal, I could tell how his report on this topic had drawn him in. When I went to verify some of the book's stranger words in my copy of the OSPD, I realized how successfully he had drawn me in as well.
An excellent read, but make sure you have some free time to deal with the inevitable obsession.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great book for Scrabble lover - Great book for anyone
Comment: I'm 25, and I can count the number of books I've read since High School on one hand. And this is one of them. Given to me by my sister-in-law (who knows I play scrabble online) I was hesitant. When I started reading I found I could not put the book down. Even when i was done with it I bookmarked certain sections (tricks the author or players use) to read them at a later time. The book can get a tad bit technical at some points, but the story behind it is definately clear.
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Title: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (Third Edition) by Merriam-Webster ISBN: 0877799156 Publisher: Merriam-Webster Mass Market Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Everything Scrabble by Joe Edley ISBN: 0671042181 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: SCRABBLE WORD BUILDING BOOK : SCRABBLE WORD BUILDING BOOK by Saleem Ahmed ISBN: 0671734563 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Official Scrabble 2004 Calendar by John D., Jr. Williams, Joe Edley ISBN: 0761129464 Publisher: Workman Publishing Company Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The OFFICIAL SCRABBLE PUZZLE BOOK by Joe Edley ISBN: 0671569007 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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