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Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
by Stefan Fatsis

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8954.Word_Freak_Heartbreak_Triumph_Genius_and_Obsession_in_the_World_of_Competitive_Scrabble_Players?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1165847193m/8954.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8954.Word_Freak_Heartbreak_Triumph_Genius_and_Obsession_in_the_World_of_Competitive_Scrabble_Players?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5818.Stefan_Fatsis">Stefan Fatsis</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12119718?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 2 of 5 stars<br/>Fatsis, a columnist for various NY magazines, took a year off to investigate the world of competitive Scrabble. As someone who makes a living with words, and who grew up playing Scrabble, Fatsis does more than investigate this world; he immerses himself in it.  The book functions half as nonfiction documentary, and half as memoir, as Fatsis details both the professional circuit and his rise through its ranks.  Fatsis does a good job of balancing details of Scrabble’s history (both the history of the game and the history of competitive tournaments), in-depth character portraits of the game’s quirkiest top players, and the rapid progression of his own skills.  For those interested in getting better at Scrabble, Fatsis also details the lessons he learned and describes the various techniques used by the world’s best players. Ultimately, I had a few issues with the book that prevented it from being anything more than mediocre.  First, as hard as Fatsis tries to make the tournaments come to life and convey their excitement, it isn’t enough.  Scrabble tournaments simply aren’t exciting unless you are talented enough to grasp (and interested in grasping) the difficulty of the plays upon which the games are won or loss. Describing how playing a five-letter word instead of a seven-letter word cost someone a game doesn’t jump off the page no matter how good the prose.  Second, what Fatsis recognizes about competitive Scrabble also becomes the undoing of this book: Scrabble tournaments are won and lost due to a player’s ability to spit out completely obscure words. Not only does this immediately distance 99% of all readers from this insular world, but it also makes the tournament summaries even less accessible. Fatsis describing someone playing WATERZOOI to win doesn’t resonate with anyone.  Lastly, despite the book’s attempts to compare Scrabble to all other competitive pursuits and thus make the subject matter more relatable to readers, the obsessive behaviors displayed by the quirky characters upon whom Fatsis focuses his attention only serves to further emphasize how completely unlike other competitive pursuits Scrabble really is.  An interesting read in the same way The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is interesting – you want to read about crazy people.  Otherwise, this book is in the take-it-or-leave-it category.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/763514?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Tung's review
rating:
bookshelves: memoirs, non-fiction

Fatsis, a columnist for various NY magazines, took a year off to investigate the world of competitive Scrabble. As someone who makes a living with words, and who grew up playing Scrabble, Fatsis does more than investigate this world; he immerses himself in it. The book functions half as nonfiction documentary, and half as memoir, as Fatsis details both the professional circuit and his rise through its ranks. Fatsis does a good job of balancing details of Scrabble’s history (both the history of the game and the history of competitive tournaments), in-depth character portraits of the game’s quirkiest top players, and the rapid progression of his own skills. For those interested in getting better at Scrabble, Fatsis also details the lessons he learned and describes the various techniques used by the world’s best players. Ultimately, I had a few issues with the book that prevented it from being anything more than mediocre. First, as hard as Fatsis tries to make the tournaments co...more Fatsis, a columnist for various NY magazines, took a year off to investigate the world of competitive Scrabble. As someone who makes a living with words, and who grew up playing Scrabble, Fatsis does more than investigate this world; he immerses himself in it. The book functions half as nonfiction documentary, and half as memoir, as Fatsis details both the professional circuit and his rise through its ranks. Fatsis does a good job of balancing details of Scrabble’s history (both the history of the game and the history of competitive tournaments), in-depth character portraits of the game’s quirkiest top players, and the rapid progression of his own skills. For those interested in getting better at Scrabble, Fatsis also details the lessons he learned and describes the various techniques used by the world’s best players. Ultimately, I had a few issues with the book that prevented it from being anything more than mediocre. First, as hard as Fatsis tries to make the tournaments come to life and convey their excitement, it isn’t enough. Scrabble tournaments simply aren’t exciting unless you are talented enough to grasp (and interested in grasping) the difficulty of the plays upon which the games are won or loss. Describing how playing a five-letter word instead of a seven-letter word cost someone a game doesn’t jump off the page no matter how good the prose. Second, what Fatsis recognizes about competitive Scrabble also becomes the undoing of this book: Scrabble tournaments are won and lost due to a player’s ability to spit out completely obscure words. Not only does this immediately distance 99% of all readers from this insular world, but it also makes the tournament summaries even less accessible. Fatsis describing someone playing WATERZOOI to win doesn’t resonate with anyone. Lastly, despite the book’s attempts to compare Scrabble to all other competitive pursuits and thus make the subject matter more relatable to readers, the obsessive behaviors displayed by the quirky characters upon whom Fatsis focuses his attention only serves to further emphasize how completely unlike other competitive pursuits Scrabble really is. An interesting read in the same way The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is interesting – you want to read about crazy people. Otherwise, this book is in the take-it-or-leave-it category....less

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message 1: by Voguevixen

04/21/2008 06:17PM

I agree, the book seemed rather dry to me and seemed to almost suck the fun out of both Scrabble AND reading at some parts. (I wonder how much of that comes from his being a sports writer?) I personally would've liked to hear more about the inventor/invention/history of the game which kind of got glossed over, as well as some things that only briefly got touched on, such as how it attracted a lot of players who were mentally ill with OCD/Scizhophernia-type disorders.