Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive SCRABBLE Players by Stefan FatsisMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Slow at times, Word Freak, is the story of one man's quest to climb the ranks in competitive Scrabble. Stefan Fatsis is a sports writer for The Wall Street Journal, who thought it would be interesting to do a story about a little-known sport. I for one had no idea that there was such a thing as competitive Scrabble. Apparently, there is and the players take it very seriously.
Fatsis gets completely sucked in by what most consider a simple game that families play in their living rooms for fun. In the competition world, however, winning is everything and the word lists are carefully vetted. I found this book interesting but challenging to read. It goes into excruciating detail about the history of the game and Fatsis' journey while well-written can be boring. I'm not a big sports fan in general, and I guess that extends to board games as well.
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I rather enjoyed this one. Can't believe it's been a decade since I read it...
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If you want to dive farther into the world of competitive Scrabble, the movie Word Wars (2004) follows a subset of players making their way to the nationals. It's pretty darn funny.