My Addiction

I am suffering from an addiction that wastes tens of dollars and dozens of minutes. This affliction can be blamed directly on my native language, which is of course English: a horribly unphonetic language which is a real pain to learn but is perfect for word game puzzles. Yes, I am a word game puzzle addict. Of course, I also am addicted to the logic puzzles and Sudoku, which are not dependent upon linguistic quirks, but English is a perfect language for cryptoquotes because of its bizarre spelling. When I spent a summer in Spain, the only puzzle in the newspaper was a crossword puzzle so simple even I could solve it. Spanish would not make good cryptoquotes: how many words could this be? XWBWPW - but English has lovely words like QRRTTLLXZB which can only be "bookkeeping."

This is a replacement addiction for reading, which I used to do until all hours of the night, especially murder mysteries. It's odd... my brother was the one they said had a "reading problem," dyslexia, yet if reading were alcohol, I'd be the one with the problem. A readaholic, if you will. I can't say "bookaholic" because magazines, pamphlets, religious tracts, cereal boxes, or anything with words can capture my attention. It's like I can't not read! So I gave up reading fiction on work nights... and started buying Penny Press Variety Game magazines at the store. It's gotten so bad that every time I go to a store, I come back with a new magazine. That's $2-5 dollars a pop, not to mention all the space it takes up in my house! And the lack of sleep... I should create a support group. Anyone else out there with an addiction to word game puzzles? (Penny Press, if you are reading this, I would be happy to work out a deal with you where I create puzzles in exchange for free magazines - I have a totally great idea for the British-style cryptic crosswords!)

Famous Hat