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History Belongs to the Adults
Mar. 14th, 2016 01:39 pm[Storytellers Unplugged, January 29, 2008; originally titled, "If this ferments long enough, it may become a story"; awesome reader=awesome]
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Fatsis, Stefan. Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players. New York: Penguin, 2002.
Stewart, George R. Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party. 1936. 2nd ed. 1960. Lincoln, NB: Bison-University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
Word Freak is an enjoyable book. Not too deep, and I could do with a little less of Fatsis's "goggling at the sideshow freaks" attitude. Perhaps this is because I recognize a number of similarities between the subculture of competitive SCRABBLE and the subculture of science fiction pro-/fandom, and, yeah, the jokes get old. On the other hand, I do very much like the way he charts his own descent (or ascent, depending on how you want to look at it) from relatively ordinary journalist to SCRABBLE geek. He's not a geek at the start of the book (which makes it a little disconcerting to read, if you are a geek), but he is one by the end.
( if you're squeamish, just walk on by )
Stewart, George R. Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party. 1936. 2nd ed. 1960. Lincoln, NB: Bison-University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
Word Freak is an enjoyable book. Not too deep, and I could do with a little less of Fatsis's "goggling at the sideshow freaks" attitude. Perhaps this is because I recognize a number of similarities between the subculture of competitive SCRABBLE and the subculture of science fiction pro-/fandom, and, yeah, the jokes get old. On the other hand, I do very much like the way he charts his own descent (or ascent, depending on how you want to look at it) from relatively ordinary journalist to SCRABBLE geek. He's not a geek at the start of the book (which makes it a little disconcerting to read, if you are a geek), but he is one by the end.
( if you're squeamish, just walk on by )
