Comments on: Things I’m Trying Not to Do: Wurdle

By: menevets

menevets — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:50:15 +0000

I score around 14k on 5×5 in 3 minutes with a good board, so 10k in 2 minutes is definitely doable. 20k feasible too, but with fast fingers and lots of long words. If you get a dodgy board, there might not even be 5k points available.

You play it enough, you start to notice common patterns, trends in the way words are formed. I’m don’t play Scrabble or word games that much, although I do do the NYT crossword.

By: omahalawyer

omahalawyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:20:03 +0000

I am really looking forward to Blood’s a Rover, too. Unfortunately, I do not have a handle such as Kemper’s that fits in well with Ellroy speak. From what I can tell from the preview on Amazon, Ellroy did not make the entire book an exercise in complete alliteration, for which I am pleased. I reread American Tabloid this summer, but cannot stomach the Cold 6000 again. Liked the plot, didn’t enjoy the aforementioned accomplished alliteration (or was it complete and counterproductive consonance?)

Lev — I also recently finished The Magicians. I continued to think after completing the book, which is good. Think you nailed the egocentrism of the protagonist’s age, both calendar age and maturity as well as generational age. Still trying to completely visualize The Beast’s face and hands, as well as the complex conjuring hand gymnastics of the magicians. Well done. If you are ever book-touring through Omaha, you will have a friend here.

By: Kemper

Kemper — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:50:37 +0000

Yeah, Ellroy definately makes you work for it. I’ve been re-reading American Tabloid and Cold Six Thousand to get my mind right for the new one, and I think it’s creeping in to my day-to-day. I’ve been going around muttering to myself like this for days:
.
“Kemper’s hungry. Kemper needs a sandwich. Kemper scopes the fridge. Dig it. Ham and cheese. Fresh loaf of wheat bread. Kemper grabs a knife. Dig those craaaaazzzzy mustard splashes.”

By: Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:04:13 +0000

[deep sigh] I couldn’t finish it. It’s amazing. It’s just an amazing thing that I can’t really read. Dense, complex, cynical, exhausting. LA CONFIDENTIAL meets TREE OF SMOKE. I’ll be interested to see what you make of it.

By: dennitzio

dennitzio — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:18:16 +0000

Lev, is, to paraphrase, the Master of his Demesne.

By: thebro88

thebro88 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:34:46 +0000

The “Qu” key seems oppressive to me. What if you want to score on QANAT using your QWERTY keyboard?

By: hoben

hoben — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:39:09 +0000

Oh, I thought you found the word ‘emos’.

D’oh!

By: anon76

anon76 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:29:20 +0000

Strikethrough test.

Well, at least it works in preview, which may no longer be my friend.

By: anon76

anon76 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:26:55 +0000

Oh shoot, that headline was like t-ball and Kemper beat me too it. And so here I sit with too little brain power to dig for a deeper retort. Actually, at this point I'm fairly sure Lev has caved and watched the show without informing us. First of all, nerds are known more for their nerdly curiousity than for their forebearance, and Lev in particular is known for his fanboyish ways and attraction to mega babes. His watching of the show is as inexorable as the gravitic pull of a black hole on a passing base station. We merely serve as the angels agents of his capitulation.

By: Kemper

Kemper — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Never has one done so little too frustrate so many….

Way off topic, but I was just reading your blurb about Bood’s A Rover in the fall preview deal. I’m a huge James Ellroy fan. Do you think it’s going to live up to my high expectations?