Another Good Read: Word Freak

[John Cole]

Catching up a bit on my reading over the break, and I just finished Stefan Fatsis's Word Freak. It's his look at the competitive world of Scrabble players, and, in addition, his own descent into Scrabble addiction. The book is filled with offbeat characters from the Scrabble world, and Fatsis deftly weaves together the players, the competitions, his own pursuit of expertise, and the history of the game.

I do have one burning question, though. Fatsis concentrates on the unconventional types who play the game, and, although he does concede that normal people play the game, he avoids them becuase their stories don't make for great reading. We only get glimpses at the so-called "normal" players. One player, though, gets less coverage than the real eccentrics, but a bit more than the normal players. His name is Jim Geary, a former poster here, and RGP regular. Somehow I get the feeling that Jim deserves his own chapter. Can anyone (John Feeney?) confirm this?

Anyway, it's a fun read.

John