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Looking for a few books for the puzzle person in your family? Look no more.
For me, the most entertaining book of 2015 was Patrick Merrell's utterly wonderful "ZEP in the Curse of the Evil Dr. Sumac Who Lives Next Door." This self-published book was a major rewrite of a comic book Patrick had originally drawn for his daughter, and it's brimming with the wit and erudition of all of Patrick's work. Each panel is crammed full of inside jokes, and wait, what's this? Is there's a ten-part hidden metapuzzle running through the whole story? Yes, yes there is. It's truly a remarkable book as it entertained the heck out Tabitha (she at times adopts the personas of a few characters in the book), and that meta kept beating my brain. Buy two.
Sticking with the kids, there's David Astle's adorable "Wordburger." The little ones won't even realize that they're learning how to tackle crosswords while they work through this book. Set 'em up for a lifelong love of puzzles.
If you're a fan of BEQ, then chances are you like your puzzles hard and out of the ordinary, try these. Peter Gordon's latest anthology of "Hellaciously Hard Fireball Crosswords," or if you've already done those, why don't you sign up for next year's batch. And of course, you know that I'm a big fan of both independent puzzling and cryptics, so snag Roger Wolff's "Cryptic All-Stars, Volume 2." Including a cryptic by yours truly. Get psyched.
Earlier this year we lost two titans in puzzles: Henry Hook and Merl Reagle, so why not remember their work with a book? Henry really shined in the variety grid department, so pick up a copy of "Bizarre Crossword Variants?" Trip Payne made some Siamese Twins and Frank Longo made some Vowelless puzzles in that book too. And of course, Merl's Sunday anthologies make wonderful gifts.
REMINDER: The BEQ year end drive is in effect. The puzzles are free, if you can chip in $10 to keep the site running along, you'll get three bonus puzzles by yours truly as a thanks. Read the appeal here.
Share the puzzle. New one on Thursday.
Brendan Emmett Quigley creates custom-made puzzles for all occasions: birthdays and bar mitzvahs, anniversaries and retirements. You name it. Need a puzzle for your website or your publication? He can do that, too.
Brendan's custom work clients have included The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, BeerAdvocate, Boston Magazine, De Beers, The Decemberists, ESPN, The Improper Bostonian, Lollapuzzoola, McSweeney's, Phish, Reflexive, The Smithsonian Magazine, St. Martin's Press, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and Andrew Weil.
Call (617) 2-999-BEQ or click 
