As well-researched as a scholarly work, yet with the immediacy and accessibility of a layman, Puzzling People is a first-person account of the cheats, the charlatans, the liars, the neglectful parents, abusive teachers, two-faced politicians and their Psychopathic Control Grid, tyrannical bosses and colleagues from hell we have all encountered, including the lying lovers who use us then lose us in an instant. Puzzling People takes an in-depth look at how the minds of psychopaths work and why, and focusses on what you can do to survive and thrive and ultimately escape forever. Delivered in a voice that makes it clear that the author lives what he writes, Puzzling People is an invaluable field guide to spotting and avoiding entities so completely lacking in empathy or compassion they may as well be counted as a different species entirely to human beings.
'Beautifully researched account, full of humour and personal insight' David Crystal, author of Making Sense: The Glamorous Story of English Grammar 'A witty, wise, and wonderfully weird journey that will change the way you think . . . This book is a delight' Bianca Bosker, author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste 'Delightfully engrossing, charmingly and enthusiastically well-written history of the crossword puzzle' Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style 'Full of treasures, surprises and fun . . . richly bringing to life the quirky, obsessive, fascinating characters in the crossword world' Mary Pilon, author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game 'A gold mine of revelations. If there is a pantheon of cruciverbalist scholars, Adrienne Raphel has established herself squarely within it' Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen Equal parts ingenious and fun, Thinking Inside the Box is a love letter to the infinite joys and playful possibilities of language, a treat for die-hard cruciverbalists and first-time crossword solvers alike. The crossword is a feature of the modern world, inspiring daily devotion and obsession from millions. It was invented in 1913, almost by accident, when an editor at the New York World was casting around for something to fill some empty column space for that year's Christmas edition. Almost overnight, crosswords became a phenomenal commercial success, and have been an essential ingredient of any newspaper worth its salt since then. Indeed, paradoxically, the popularity of crosswords has never been greater, even as the world of media and newspapers, the crossword's natural habitat, has undergone a dramatic digital transformation. But why, exactly, are the satisfactions of a crossword so sweet that over the decades they have become a fixture of breakfast tables, bedside tables and commutes, and even given rise to competitive crossword tournaments? Blending first-person reporting from the world of crosswords with a delightful telling of the crossword's 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 from all over the world, doing her level best to hold her own; 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 to do but crosswords; and, visiting the home and office of Will Shortz, New York Times crossword puzzle editor and US National Public Radio's official Puzzlemaster, she goes behind the scenes to see for herself how the world's gold standard of puzzles is made.
As a logical concept, identity refers to one and the same thing. So why, Vincent Descombes asks, do we routinely use “identity” to describe the feelings associated with membership in a number of different communities, as when we speak of our ethnic identity and religious identity? And how can we ascribe the same “identity” to more than one individual in a group? In Puzzling Identities, one of the leading figures in French philosophy seeks to bridge the abyss between the logical meaning of identity and the psychological sense of “being oneself.” Bringing together an analytic conception of identity derived from Gottlob Frege with a psychosocial understanding stemming from Erik Erikson, Descombes contrasts a rigorously philosophical notion of identity with ideas of collective identity that have become crucial in contemporary cultural and political discourse. He returns to an argument of ancient Greek philosophy about the impossibility of change for a material individual. Distinguishing between reflexive and expressive views of “being oneself,” he shows the connections between subjective identity and one’s life and achievements. We form profound attachments to the particular communities by which we define ourselves. At the same time, becoming oneself as a modern individual requires a process of disembedding oneself from one’s social milieu. This is how undergoing a crisis of identity while coming of age has become for us a normal stage in human life. Puzzling Identities demonstrates why a person has more than one answer to the essential question “Who am I?”
Murder Most Puzzling is a gorgeous and witty book that invites readers to play detective and solve a series of absorbing, murder-mystery-themed puzzles. Readers are cast as the faithful sidekick to amateur sleuth Medea Thorne in order to solve 20 puzzling cases. Meet a cast of colorful characters—from ghost hunter extraordinaire Augustin Artaud, to Leonard Fanshawe, a competitor in the Annual Perfect Pickled Foods Festival. • A witty riff on the classic whodunit that brings out everyone's inner detective • Each mystery is sumptuously illustrated. • The mysteries require different deductive tactics, making them a good brain exercise A body in the topiary garden, a death at a clairvoyants' convention, and the mysterious accident of the boating lake—prepare for a whirlwind adventure, laced with humor and a dash of the macabre. This book will delight fans of Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edward Gorey. • This is a collection of darkly humorous puzzles. • Features illustrations in a gorgeous gothic style by Stephanie von Reiswitz • Perfect for Edward Gorey fans, mystery buffs, puzzle addicts, and fans of true crime podcasts and TV shows • You'll love this book if you love books like The Gashlycrumb by Edward Gorey, File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket, and The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket.
Psychopaths are not human. Psychopaths will leave effusive and flattering comments on your social network page after you friend them. They will text you numerous times a day and call you on the phone just to hear your voice before they sleep. They continually quiz you about your sexual fantasies then enthusiastically promise to fulfil them all on the day you physically meet. Steadily and by degrees they build a comprehensive profile of you in order to create a blueprint for constructing a mirror-perfect soulmate persona and then, they claim you. They claim your heart, your energy, creativity, happiness, peace, sanity, strength and in some cases, all or most of your worldly goods. Then they begin to destroy you. Eternally hungry, forever empty, they never stop seeking the one thing that makes you human and the one thing they will always lack: your soul.
There are millions of puzzle-heads who are tired of standard crosswords and long for a different kind of challenge. This title includes interlocking sets of puzzles-within-puzzles, ranging from crossword variations to picture puzzles to logic workouts.
Here is a collection of unusual problems and puzzles which are designed to help students develop their capacity to think through difficult mathematical problems in an enjoyable and challenging way. The problems are grouped into 29 sections, each developing a single theme, with each section followed by a commentary suggesting ideas and approaches that students can try. Advanced math is not required, and most sections are accessible to younger students. The emphasis is on intuitive and investigative approaches which can stimulate individual creativity and provide a focus for group discussion and learning.
Thomas and Esmerelda visit Castle MacPelican, where they go on a treasure hunt and solve a series of other puzzles. Each illustration contains several picture puzzles.
This unique Fisher-Price book helps kids find out what’s inside a world of adventure with the turn of large die-cut pages throughout. Colorful large board book reveals what is inside five different exciting places. Dozens of labels teach over 250 words. The Fisher-Price gang become pirates, perform in a circus, ride dinosaurs, live in a castle, and experience the Old West. Kids turn the page in every spread to reveal what’s inside the location being featured – all of the stuff on a pirate ship, everything under the big top at the circus, all of the fun things to be found in the times of the dinosaurs, the cool things inside of a castle and all of the places from the Old West. • Kids turn the die-cut page to see what’s inside each place • Locations include the pirate ship, circus, prehistoric cave, old western town and a castle. • Over 250 object labels and busy scenes make this book an interactive vocabulary-builder. • Educational value of the FP Lift-the-Flap successful format: - Busy, colorful pages offer many new things to discover every time the books are opened. - Bold labels enforce vocabulary-building and early word/object recognition. - Every book is packed with early learning concepts (counting, colors, matching, action words, shapes, etc) - Engaging, interactive formats encourage discovery and imagination.
