Earlier this year, “The Puzzler” hit bookstands nationwide. Written by four-time “New York Times” bestselling author A.J. Jacobs (and including original puzzles by Greg Pliska), the book was an instant hit with crossword lovers, chess players, code crackers, jigsaw doers, maze wanderers—you name it. But in addition to merely exploring all the different puzzle types that exist, Jacobs strove to get at something deeper. And, in many ways, he was successful.
His belief is that puzzles can help us get at the meaning of life, if even just a bit. There must be some reason that puzzles have endured for so long, and challenged and entertained us across the centuries.
I sat down (albeit virtually) with the author, and dared to pick his wild and woolly brain.
TK: For those who haven’t read your book yet, can you tell us a little about it?
AJJ: Sure. It’s about my lifelong love of puzzles, which have been an obsession of mine since I was a kid. I was a subscriber to GAMES, of course. I loved doing word puzzles, and I would make these pencil mazes—I would draw them and they’d take up the whole living room.
I was actually working on another book before this one, and I was miserable. I did that for three months, and my agent said, “Well, why don’t you do a book on something you love?” He knew I was a puzzle fanatic, so he suggested I write a book on my love of puzzles. I thought, “Wow—if I two-and-a-half years.” The editor agreed, thankfully, and that’s how it was born.
