The Puzzler
One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life
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Narrated by:
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A.J. Jacobs
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.
What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times best-selling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost.
In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers—The Puzzler will open listeners’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.
*Includes a downloadable PDF of puzzles, answers, illustrations, and more from the book
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 A.J. Jacobs (P)2022 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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With her trademark humor, enthusiasm, and no-nonsense guidance, Pam Grout, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of E-Squared, invites you on a yearlong "apprenticeship" to recognize and unleash your innate creativity. Making art does not necessarily mean painting a gallery-worthy still life or belting out a Grammy-winning song. It simply means finding a way to give your inner muse a voice in this world.
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A firestarter!
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By: Pam Grout
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The Riddle of the Labyrinth
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- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
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In the tradition of Simon Winchester and Dava Sobel, The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language, masterfully blending history, linguistics, and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative. When famed archaeologist Arthur Evans unearthed the ruins of a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on Crete 1,000 years before Greece's Classical Age, he discovered a cache of ancient tablets, Europe's earliest written records.
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Discovery and Translation of Linear B Script
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The Memoir Project
- A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text For Writing & Life
- By: Marion Roach Smith
- Narrated by: Marion Roach Smith
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether or not one has lived an exceptional or dramatic life, we inherently understand that writing memoir—whether it’s a book, blog, or just a letter to a child - is the single greatest portal to self-examination. Stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind “writer’s block” and learn how to write with intent. Marion Roach Smith’s disarmingly frank but wildly fun tactics offer you simple and effective guidelines that work. Your legacy beings now.
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amazing what you can learn from brevity
- By Schwartz-Burrill on 09-15-11
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The Glamour of Grammar
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- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
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Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Memory Craft
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- By: Lynne Kelly
- Narrated by: Nancy Linari
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Groundbreaking anthropologist and memory champion Lynne Kelly reveals how we can use ancient and traditional mnemonic methods to enhance and expand our memory.
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So grateful this is on Audible!
- By happy_reader on 02-19-22
By: Lynne Kelly
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A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
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Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
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By: Rob Goodman, and others
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The Geography of Genius
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In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity.
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Very, very disappointing
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Babel No More
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We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages...or seventy? In Babel No More, Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages; Emil Krebs, a pugnacious German diplomat, who spoke sixty-eight languages; and Lomb Kat, a Hungarian who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels.
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Heavy on anecdote, light on science
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E-Cubed
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With nine new experiments and more tips on how to keep the gates of the world's largesse and abundance wide open, this audiobook is chock-full of incontrovertible evidence that the universe is just waiting for us to catch up, just waiting for us to begin using the energy that has always been available for our enjoyment and well-being.
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Infinite Field of Potentiality
- By CHARLES on 11-22-15
By: Pam Grout
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Harry, a History
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With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon - from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.
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Relive the magic!
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Brief Candle in the Dark
- My Life in Science
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins
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In this hugely entertaining sequel to the New York Times best-selling memoir An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins delves deeply into his intellectual life spent kick-starting new conversations about science, culture, and religion and writing yet another of the most audacious and widely read books of the 20th century - The God Delusion.
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I'm a Dawkins Groupie but...
- By Anne on 10-18-15
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What Teachers Make
- In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World
- By: Taylor Mali
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
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Former middle school teacher and teachers' advocate Taylor Mali struck a chord with his passionate response to a man at a dinner party who asked him what kind of salary teachers make - a poetic rant that has been seen and forwarded millions of times on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Based on the poem that inspired a movement, What Teachers Make is Mali's sharp, funny, reflective, critical call to arms about the joys of teaching and why teachers are so vital to America today.
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Loved it!!
- By Anonymous User on 02-16-22
By: Taylor Mali
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What listeners say about The Puzzler
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Edward Owen
- 06-13-23
A comprehensive guide to the world of puzzles
AJ, Jacobs has done a great job of introducing us to the world of puzzles. As an escape room designer, I actually came up with several ideas while listening to the book. While I enjoy the personality that comes through in AJ's own voice, it's a little difficult when used to listening to professional voice actors. However, it never really detracted from, the information presented. Definitely worth a listen.
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- Donna Meagle
- 10-09-23
Maybe better as hard copy?
AJ is entertaining as usual. But because of the subject matter, it might be better as a hard copy so you can see the puzzles and try them out yourself.
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- Lisa D
- 10-11-22
AJ Jacobs did not disappoint!
This book was just what I had hoped and unexpected at the same time. A guilty intellectual pleasure for those of us who spend too many minutes each day puzzling.
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Overall
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- Despair at the State of the Republic
- 07-16-22
Welcome to the Nerd Parade
A. J. Jacobs is a talented, enterprising, and diligent researcher, and an engaging writer to boot. As a narrator, however, he has a voice made for video—preferably the silent-film era.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kenneth
- 02-19-23
Ehhhh….
Not terrible but not terribly interesting either. The author can be endearing, and is probably better suited for a physical book.
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