Books
Matching Minds With Sondheim: The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Master (2024)
Matching Mind with Sondheim is a journey into the rich but largely uncharted realms of the great Broadway songwriter’s prodigious output of word puzzles, board games, parlor games, and treasure hunts, written by game designer and Sondheim-enthusiast Barry Joseph based on scores of original interviews with the friends and colleagues who played them.
I was excited this morning to receive the latest substack post from David Benkof, the Broadway Maven, with the title: “Something`s Coming: Four New Sondheim Books Approach”. I thought, “Any chance he might have mentioned my book?” Well, yes! In fact, he started with it, describing my book as “the Sondheim book I`m most excited for”. Yowza!
For Sondheim book-lovers, the next 15 months will bring "perpetual anticipation" (yeah, a Little Night Music reference) with at least four major works about The Master set to be released. Promisingly, each takes a different approach to understanding Sondheim`s life and work:
• A "puzzling" book. Next spring sees the publication of the Sondheim book I`m most excited for, as a puzzle-lover and occasional cruciverbalist (crossword constructor). That`s Matching Minds with Sondheim, a book devoted to Sondheim`s love of what author Barry Joseph calls "cryptic crosswords, murder mysteries, treasure hunts, parlor games, and more."
Joseph has done his homework, interviewing dozens of Sondheim`s celebrity friends who accepted his challenges and listening to more than 100 hours of interviews just released at Yale University. Matching Minds will also include some of the best Sondheim-constructed puzzles. So get out your pencils...
Benkof then lists three more books, including my buddy Dan Okrent’s 2025 release for the Jewish Lives series published by Yale University Press, then concludes with:
As these diverse books hit the shelves, they will allow readers to experience Sondheim’s genius from new and unexpected angles. Whether you’re a puzzle enthusiast, a fan of musical theater, or someone interested in the broader cultural impact of Sondheim`s work, there’s something in these releases for everyone. Together, they will help cement Sondheim`s status as a towering figure in the arts and ensure that his legacy continues to inspire future generations. But yeah, you`re going to need to make some room on your Sondheim shelf.
Thank you David!
Point 1: The Strong National Museum of Play, In Rochester, NY, was an invaluable source of research for my upcoming book, Matching Minds with Sondheim. The museum is the only collections-based museum anywhere devoted solely to the study of play.
Point 2: Andrew Parr (@lego_nerd_puzzles) won the lot at the Doyle’s auction last June of Sondheim’s collection of game and puzzle magazine, acquiring WAY more than he needed. Many items were given to friends and colleagues, some items were sold to recoup the cost, but there was still 60 pounds (!!!) of magazines that needed a home. (As a reminder, I picked up the lot for Andrew and have been assisting with some of the distribution.)
Typing the two points together: So I was delighted when Andrew arranged with the Strong to take ownership over these many issues from four different titles. Why am I delighted? Because of the 1,800 puzzle- and game-related items which sold at the recent auction into private hands, this is the first I have heard of lots going into a publicaly-accessible research collection. These are the photos of them all boxed up and on their journey.
Once they are accessioned, visit the Strong to check out the following titles and issues (all previously owned and collected by Sondheim):
1. Games & Puzzles (1972-1981, 1994-1995) - the premiere British publication.
2. Bridge World (1939): The oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge.
3. Crossword (Club) (1990-2017): A monthly pamphlet of cryptic crosswords.
4. Tough Puzzles (1983-1993)
#crypticcrossword #sondheim #magazines #games
Davis is an A.I.
Or, rather, Davis is the A.I. voice I selected through NaturalReader to provide me with the final tool I needed to prepare my manuscript for my publisher.
This summer I worked and re-worked my upcoming manuscript through the feedback of readers, through volunteer line-editors, and from my reading and re-reading the text, over and over and over.
Eventually, there are diminishing returns. Typos are missed when I project letters that were never there. Word that repeat cannot be heard. I realized last week I needed someone to read the book to me. I needed to try something else.
But who could I possible ask to prepare over ten hours of audio, and within 24 hours? I could never afford such an indulgence. And while I would never turn to an A.I. to produce an audio book of Matching Minds, it made sense to me to use one for a quick-and-dirty pass that I could listen to once, then discard, all for $20.
It took about an hour to produce all 16 MP3s. I then put them onto my phone and I have been listening to them all week - while washing the dishes, walking to a doctor’s appointment, laying on the couch.
And I have been stunned at how much I had been missing. A “crossword setter” had someone been in my text as “crossword settler.” The letter L had been hidden within a row of letter Ts; when read aloud, however, I could quickly identify something was wrong. Sometimes I used the same word across two sentences - missed it when reading but heard the rhyme as soon as I heard it. And whenever I found myself losing focus, I had to ask myself - Does this darling need to be let go? - and like that I easily identified thousands of characters to remove from the book, keeping only the parts I found most engaging.
It was such a treat to hear someone else - even if an A.I. - read the book to me. I found myself at times laughing; was it at my own words or the delivery? In the end, through Davis’s reading I was able to feel my book for the first time, ironically, come to life.
As I am hours away from sending in my manuscript, I wanted to share the above story with you and two snippets of the copy, as read by Davis.
#ai #StephenSondheim @naturalreaderapp
I am so excited to get to critique the first pass at the cover for Matching Minds. And I invite you to join me!
The artist has explored three different directions. I’d love to know what you think. I am less interested in a vote on your favorite than hearing details of what you like and don’t like about each approach.
In the comments below, please share your feedback listing both pros and cons; and don’t forget to include the cover number. For example, it can look like this:
Cover 1:
Pro- The rebus is fun
Con- The typeface is boring
Cover 2:
Pro- The Sondheim portrait is a good choice
Con- The crossword is too on-the-nose
Cover 3
Pro- Including both a young and old Sondheim is nice
Con- Choose a different “old” Sondheim
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
And it should go without saying but please do not reproduce these images out of context.
UPDATE: I sent a two page critique to my editors based on the fantastic feedback below, recommending the board game cover direction (and asking for a different older Sondheim photo, ways to signal other types of games and puzzles, and a tweak for Sondheim`s name to pop). Thank you all!
#BookCovers
Last chance, folks!
As I wrote last month, Pat D’Amico is a social services marketing professional. He is also a Sondheim fan, a mensch, and an accidental owner of many a lot from the recent Doyle Sondheim Estate auction.
Long story short, he acquired from the June Doyle auction 5 lots including 2 antique games and 200 game/puzzle book. Kinda by mistake.
Since then he has gifted or donated many of the books (full disclosure: I was a recipient of many of those, which are now included in my book). Most are at a very affordable rent, intended not for resale but for fans. I highly recommend checking out the link in my bio’s linktree if only just to read the dozens of moving letters from those who acquired items about how much it has meant to them.
Pat only has a few items left. Go to this site, look for the item you want, tell Pat what it would mean for you to own it, and let him know who sent you (me)! Pat will then give you a deep discount (make sure you say I sent you, to get the discount). (Fyi, I receive no financial renumeration for this - I am just helping Pat out).
I am happy to help spread the word about Pat’s efforts because of his sincerity in getting game and puzzle items from Sondheim’s collection into the hands of fans who will truly appreciate having them. Look in my bio for the link.
#puzzles #games #crypticcrossword #stephensondheim #sondheim
I was so excited to hear from Laura E. Hall, whose work I had admired since her 2018, book on Katamari Damacy with Boss Fight Books (about the creation of the 2004 video game Katamari Damacy, featuring interviews with creator Keita Takahashi).
Hall has a new project - the Center for Immersive Arts - and for a new piece we did a deep dive into Sondheim’s treasure hunts, exploring how and why I needed to recreate them in order to understand their inner mechanics.
In any case, if you want a sneak peak at some of the book’s content, and would enjoy learning how the sausage gets made, please head over to my bio to find the link in my Linktree.
@lauhall #Sondheim #StephenSondheim #puzzlehunt #treasurehunt
Oh yes! This is little old me with Will Shortz yesterday, working on his contributions to my book AND gifting him many game related items from the Sondheim estate auction on behalf of others (such as @lego_nerd_puzzles and @patdamico958).
What a day!
#Sondheim #WillShortz #Appreciation
From his teenage years sending puzzles to the New York Times and board games to Milton Bradley until his final years designing treasure hunts and visiting escape rooms, Sondheim spent a long life pursuing his fascination with puzzle invention and game design.
For the first time, Matching Minds will introduce readers to what Sondheim described as his “puzzler’s mind” – through his cryptic crosswords, murder mysteries, treasure hunts, parlor games, and more – to better understand the man, his work, and (if they accept the challenge) themselves.
The book draws from over eighty years of Sondheim’s activities, collecting his extremely rare and never-publicly-seen puzzles and game designs, scores of original interviews with the celebrity friends who played them, deep dives into Sondheim-related archives from around the country (such as over 100 hours of interviews at Yale University that only became available this year), and analysis from both puzzle designers and theater professionals from around the world.
Matching Minds will do more than describe Sondheim’s work – it will allow readers to match minds with the master by attempting to solve some of Sondheim’s best puzzles and provide the materials and instructions for bringing his games into their own homes.
It will be a must for all theater fans, a delight to puzzle and game lovers, and a fascination for general interest readers. After Matching Minds, Sondheim and his musical creations will never be thought of the same way again.
Learn more about the upcoming, its Instagram account, and more here.
Making Dinosaurs Dance: A Toolkit for Digital Design in Museums (2023)
“A wonderful guide to the kind of agile, experimental, responsive operational strategies needed in the museum of the future.” — Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Alliance of Museums
Making Dinosaurs Dance takes the reader behind the scenes to learn how the American Museum of Natural History innovates visitor digital engagement, highlighting design techniques used both there and at museums around the world. Based on my six years at the landmark institution that inspired the Night at the Museum franchise, the book introduces The Six Tools of Digital Design – user research, rapid prototyping, public piloting, iterative design, youth collaboration, and teaming up – then applies them through case studies across a range of topics.
Read more here.
Friday is Tomorrow, or The Dayenu Year (2022)
Chronicles from the NYC Covid-19 Oral History, Narrative and Memory Archive
“Stories like Joseph’s suggest we are a lot better than we think we are.” —Micki McElya, author of The Politics of Mourning
“Compulsively readable” —James Loney, columnist
Friday is Tomorrow, or The Dayenu Year is a true story of learning to grieve and thrive during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Within the first month of the lock-down, the author loses his father to the disease and then, soon after, his job. Through the support of his family, friends, and community, Friday is Tomorrow tells the uplifting story of how one man learns to maintain traditions in a time of uncertainty while reaching for his dreams.
At times moving, at times humorous, the ups and downs of this New Yorker were originally penned (quite literally, with a physical pen) for Columbia University’s NYC Covid-19 Oral History, Narrative and Memory Archive. Edited together for the first time, Friday is Tomorrow is more than just an opportunity to read one person’s struggle with the world wrought by the recent pandemic.
It is an invitation to take the time and space you need to consider and better understand your own story.
Learn how to get your own copy, download a free sample, and more at FridayisTomorrow.com.
Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink (2018)
“Of the thousands of books written about seltzer water, this is by far my favorite–especially the part that’s about me.” –Mel Brooks
Based on more than fourteen years of original research and interviews, the extraordinary story of this ordinary drink can finally be told.
Learn where to get your own copy, watch videos of presentations, follow the book tour and more at Seltzertopia.com.
