Publications International Ltd.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I liked the narrow focus of time—just those two decades—but I felt the questions were very obscure. I feel like some of the more memorable elements of that time period were neglected in favor of other details that were maybe not as interesting. And a LOT of these questions were about sports and celebrities. It got to be a little tedious after a while. It might have done better to include a broader range of subjects, even within the framework of show more those two decades. Still, this was great fun.

3.5 stars, rounding up because what it DID do, it did well. show less

The Jeopardy connection is pretty tenuous, but this is a fun diversion from monotony nonetheless.

The book contains crossword puzzles and word searches, which are generally like your typical word puzzles with one exception -- each puzzle also has five Jeopardy-style clues that you need to answer in order to complete the puzzle. The five clues will all be based on one high-level category, such as state capitals or science.

For word searches, this just means extra words to find. The other words show more in the list to find will also be related to the high-level category.

For crosswords, there will be several numbered slots without a traditional crossword clue, so you will need to both figure out the Jeopardy clues and then determine where they fit in the puzzle. The other clues are just typical crossword clues, not related to the high-level category.

All around, a fun amuse-bouche to keep your mind active but not overly taxed. show less

I love to bake and so I love this book. It includes new recipes that I've never seen before as well as standard that have been around for years (think of those recipes that are printed in ads or on the back of chocolate chip packages). Unfortunately not every recipe has an illustrated photo. I especially enjoyed the adorable cookies for kids section. And the book justified the 5$ I spent on it (on sale at Borders) the very first time I made the lemon bars.

This is an engaging book of puzzles based in some fashion or another on Edgar Allan Poe. There is one crossword based on assorted things about Poe, and there are MANY cryptograms and word searches.

The cryptograms are typically quotes by Poe regarding his writing process and other thoughts. A few are quotes by other authors about Poe. I dinged the book the half star because the first cryptogram is nearly impossible to crack as the encryption doesn't follow a set pattern. The rest are fairly show more easy to decode but take a while to do so, especially with longer passages as opposed to a one- or two-sentence quote. If you looking to keep yourself occupied for a long time, this is definitely a good thing.

The word searches present one of Poe's poems or short stories on one side of the page spread with certain words or phrases in all caps. Those words are then what you need to look for in the word search on the other side. Some works are longer than others so they take up several to many pages.

All in all, this is an entertaining book to keep your mind busy for a while -- whether that's a puzzle a day as you unwind each night or the whole book for a long, relaxing vacation or sick days stuck at home. show less