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The Best Crossword Books for Holiday Puzzling

If you’re in need of some extra crosswords this year, I’ve got three book recommendations for you.

Time to be thankful, and crossworders know how. French MERCI and German DANKE are frequent puzzle entries, while Japanese ARIGATO and Spanish GRACIAS are a little less frequent since they're seven letters long instead of slightly handier five. Chinese XIE XIE, with its cool-looking double X's, appeared in a New York Times puzzle earlier this month.

In that spirit of thankfulness, let me share three book recommendations for the coming holiday season, presented in order of difficulty:

Amazon

$10

75 Easy-To-Read Crosswords

By Chris King. Moderately challenging crosswords from a much-admired constructor.

Amazon

Amazon

$14

Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n' Roll Crosswords

By Brendan Emmett Quigley. Hilarious and fun, as you might guess from the title.

Amazon

Amazon

$8

Devilishly Hard Fireball Crosswords

Edited by Peter Gordon. The motto of Fireball crosswords is "How hard are these puzzles? If you have to ask, too hard for you." But they're great fun if you can stand the heat.

Amazon

Got a puzzle you're thankful for? Tweet it to #beastxword and I'll check it out.

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