Thinking Inside the Box 英文原版 在盒子里思考：填字游戏和谜语

基本信息

By (author) Adrienne Raphel

Format Hardback | 304 pages

Dimensions 160 x 236 x 28mm | 454g

Publication date 17 Mar 2020

Publisher Penguin Press

Language English

Illustrations note Illustrations, unspecified

ISBN10 0525522085

ISBN13 9780525522089

页面参数仅供参考，具体以实物为准

内容简介

一位才华横溢的年轻作家对纵横字谜及其迷人的历史进行了令人愉悦，博学和身临其境的探索。

纵横字谜一出现，就已经成为我们生活中必不可少的东西。实际上是1913年偶然发明的，当时《纽约世界》的一位报纸编辑为填补空的栏目空间而奔波，它几乎在一夜之间获得了巨大的商业成功。从那时起，这个不起眼的难题-由一片空白正方形组成的网格，求解器在其中为响应线索而写答案-一直是任何值得加盐的报纸的重要组成部分。

这个谜题的日常奉献者包括希望将时间花在玛莎·斯图尔特，比尔·克林顿和马友友等文化偶像上的所有地铁乘客。如今，即使媒体世界经历了危险的数字变革，它的普及程度也比以往任何时候都高。但是，为什么填字游戏的满足感如此甜蜜，以至于却成为早餐桌，床头柜和通勤的固定装置，甚至引发了竞争性填字游戏的出现呢？线索之外还有奥秘。

Adrienne Raphel将填字游戏世界的第一人称报道与丰富的文学历史相结合，从而深入探讨了这种经典消遣的秘密。

在一年一度的美国填字游戏中，她与世界各地的精英解说员并肩作战。在以填字游戏为主题的巡游中，她吸引了发烧友的头脑，这些发烧友的美好时光是在公海度过一个星期，除了填字游戏外别无他法。然后，她拜访了《纽约时报》填字游戏编辑兼美国国家公共广播电台（NPR）官方“ 拼图大师”威尔·肖茨（Will Shortz）的住所和办公室，她亲自走到后面，看看自己是如何制成美国黄金拼图的。

有趣的是，《在盒子里思考》是一封情书，不仅表达了填字游戏的持久力，还表达了语言本身的无限乐趣和娱乐性。本书将为死忠的十字指手和初学者解决。

A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history by a brilliant young writer.

Almost as soon as it appeared, the crossword puzzle had already become indispensable to our lives. Invented practically by accident in 1913, when a newspaper editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill empty column space, it became a roaring commercial success practically overnight. Ever since then, the humble puzzle--consisting of a grid of blank squares in which solvers write answers in response to clues--has been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt.

The puzzle's daily devotees include everyone from subway riders looking to pass the time to cultural icons such as Martha Stewart, Bill Clinton, and Yo-Yo Ma. Today, its popularity is greater than ever, even as the media world has undergone a perilous digital transformation. But why, exactly, are the crossword's satisfactions so sweet that it is a fixture of breakfast tables, nightstands, and commutes, and has even given rise to competitive crossword tournaments? There are mysteries beyond the clues.

Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of its rich literary history, Adrienne Raphel dives into the secrets of this classic pastime.

At the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, she rubs shoulders with elite solvers of the world; aboard a crossword- themed cruise, she picks the brains of the enthusiasts whose idea of a good time is a week on the high seas with nothing but crosswords to do; and, visiting the home and office of Will Shortz, New York Times crossword editor and NPR's official "Puzzlemaster," she goes behind the scenes to see for herself how America''s gold standard of puzzles is made.

As ingenious as it is fun, Thinking Inside the Box is a love letter not just to the abiding power of the crossword but to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language itself. This book will be a treat for die-hard cruciverbalists and first-time solvers alike.

作者简介

Adrienne Raphel has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Slate, and Poetry, among other publications. Her debut poetry collection, What Was It For, won the Rescue Press Black Box Poetry Prize. Born in southern New Jersey and raised in northern Vermont, she holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a PhD from Harvard.