“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year-old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.” —John Rogers
@Paul Turner I read both of those books in high school, LOL
@Paul Turner Thanks for that.
@Paul Turner : Glad to find this as the top comment. 👍
@Paul Turner I’m also fond of the Dorothy Parker quip: “This [Atlas Shrugged] is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
My father was in Ayn Rand's inner circle until the great schism. One of the central tenets of Rand's philosophy is an extreme form of sapiosexuality, so to speak. She (married at the time) had an affair with one of her students, Nathaniel Branden (also married at the time) because in her opinion they were the only two people intellectually worthy of each other. Both spouses ostensibly signed off on it, but Nathaniel eventually got divorced and started dating someone whom Ayn didn't consider worthy of him. And expelled Nathaniel from her group, stating only that his personal actions no longer conformed to the ideals of Objectivism My dad and three of his closest friends were the only ones who were interested in hearing his side of the story. When he explained it, they voluntarily left her group and remained friends Nathaniel for a long time after. He only told me this story after I read ATLASSHRUGGED my senior year of high school.
@Steven M. such an interesting story! What was Nathaniel’s side?
@Steven M. A great story. Thank you. Another one for the "Where else but Wordplay" folder.
@Steven M. The creepiest thing about all her novels is the lack of children. After all—what value do they generate?
@Steven M. What a great backstory for today—thank you!
@Steven M. It was a brutal time for poor Mr. Branden, and I'll bet friends like your dad meant the world to him.
@Steven M. Nathaniel wrote a book about this that I read years ago - it's a fascinating read, lots of insight into her mind. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Day:_My_Years_with_Ayn_Rand" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Day:_My_Years_with_Ayn_Rand</a>
I love large books. There's no page like tome! (I couldn't keep this pun to my shelf.)
@Mike That's a novel view!
@Mike Maybe you could book Carnegie Hall for your comic stylings....
@Mike Mike's puns read low, but he makes it up in volume. /was bound to happen ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
"I like a thin book because it will steady a table, a leather volume because it will strop a razor, and a heavy book because it can be thrown at a cat." (Mark Twain) “If a book is well written, I always find it too short.” (Jane Austen) I'm with Jane Austen, which is why I stopped reading Atlas Shrugged by the end of the second page. As one critic put it, "Ayn Rand couldn't write her way out of a paper bag." David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest" (577,608 words) has been on the tarmac (the books on my shelf waiting to be read) for a dozen years or more. I've read a few chapters in it, and it hasn't grabbed me, but friends assure me it's worth it. I don't know about that. A couple months ago, someone recommended Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full" and I read that (370,000 words) with much enjoyment. But it didn't change my life, I just liked getting into the lives of a lot of the characters. "Middlemarch" (316,059 words) did somehow captivate and alter me, so long ago I'm not sure how, but for the better. As did "Moby Dick" (surprisingly short, just over 209K words). It's good to read the long ones again, years later, because you change and the books change with you, offering new sides, new dimensions. Somebody told me the shortest review of a book was for David Leavitt's novel "The Page-Turner" -- "It wasn't."
@john ezra Infinite Jest is, indeed, worth it.
@john ezra @Ed I also did not finish Infinite Jest though I gave it quite a try. I found it similar to Paul Auster's 4,3,2,1 and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. A young person with many gifts and unlimited potential stumbles down the path of dissipation and self dissolution. I read 4.3.2.1 first and finished it. When the other two began to reprise the downward slide I quit. Coincidentally, I finally faced the White Whale this year for the first time in my 80+ years. I didn't have to force myself to finish. I'm fascinated how organizations and the people in them cooperate (or not) to get the work done. I spent little time pondering allegorical or philosophical interpretations.l
@john ezra With you on Jane, Ayn and DFW. Rereading Jane Austen is always a delight; Ayn Rand and David Foster Wallace self important. It can be risky to reread old favorites, but Isaac B Singer continues to be a joy. When I got around to rereading Dostoevsky"s "The Idiot" recently I was disappointed for the first half, then succumbed to the magic, and wound up weeping again at the end. Once I got past "Stately, plumb Buck Mulligan . . . " for the fortieth or fiftieth time and plunged into Joyce's "Ulysses" it was beautiful, moving and funny again. I have never read "Moby Dick," but have a gorgeous copy at the ready. Soon, I think.
@john ezra A Man in Full had its moments (the banker getting his saddlebags), but it was mostly a dull shadow of The Bonfire of the Vanities (which was truly scathing and hilarious), and veered off into who knows where at the end. Making fun of the Atlanta bourgeoisie is nothing like skewering the Park Avenue nouveau riche. The mother explaining to the children how the father earned his money by rubbing off crumbs is priceless. Although it says something that I read them both decades ago and still remember them.
@john ezra TMI, but . . . Infinite Jest was my bathroom book for about two years. That's the only way I could get through it, but yes, it's definitely worth it. Pro tip: Read the footnotes as you go along.
@john ezra For those interested, the William Hootkins audiobook of Moby-Dick is outstanding. His performance will get you through those "pedagogical" middle chapters. (The whiteness of the whale, etc.)
A rebus on a Wednesday, now a non-tricky themed Thursday. Life is full of surprises. Although this was lacking a trick, I found it tougher than recent Thursday puzzles. The non-themed fill was not coming to me that fast, so my first pass was pretty wide open. Once I had enough to recognize the book titles (beginning with ATLAS SHRUGGED), things moved along more quickly. My only gripe is that there is no such thing as a BAD KITTY, just a kitty with a sense of humor you don't understand.
TL; DR “Lots of characters, with fun names. Some learn and grow from their struggles.” “Lots of characters, lots of struggles. But in French.” “Libertarian science fiction. Not sure, I couldn’t get through it.”
@Cat Lady Margaret They all, technically, have lots of characters.
I felt the easy fill were too easy and the esoteric was too esoteric. I’m not sure what kind of puzzle I just solved. It felt like a bunch of words. So, a Thursday it was.
BRAVA, Katie Hoody!! The long fills may have been gimmes (DAVI was enough, as was LESM—though I had a little trouble with AT--SSS---GG, maybe because I'm not a fan) but the other fills were not always easy. TOOLONGDIDNTREAD cracked me up. The best way I can think of to describe this puzzle is that it was like a holiday treat: rich and juicy. Oh, did I mention that I liked it a lot? Thank you, Katie Hoody. I can hardly wait for Puzzle #3!
Although there is a good showing of those who thought today's puzzle was easier than average, I am comforted that there is also a good representation of those in the other camp. My time was 30% longer than average. Took a while to gain a foothold, but getting my first theme answer got things rolling a bit faster. I like the theme, and had heard of, but not read, all of the books.
@Jim I guess we're "not very well-rounded" (Hi Steve L.!). It took me a bit longer than usual too.
@Jim But you stuck with the puzzle and finished it, so yay you!
@Jim I was just under my all-time Thursday average, which means this took me a bit longer than Thursdays typically have for the last year or so. I knew all the titles, but needed several crosses for each one. I have a poor memory for numbers, so “350,000+ words” means less to me than something like “737 pages” (the length of my current reading project).
I always settle in with a fresh cup of coffee on Thursdays after taking the dog out, tending to the cat and feeding the birds, pretty much always thinking about the challenging puzzle that awaits me, looking forward to a test…then today I finish in a Thursday PB, roughly a third of my average time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I’ve actually read all three novels the puzzle refers to….starting with Atlas Shrugged and David Copperfield in high school, Les Miserables a few years ago, during lockdown. I liked AS when I was 16 but hated DC. Years lateen grad school I re-read the Dickens and admired it enormously…the Rand, well, I’m not 16 any longer, nor am I Paul Ryan, so no longer have interest. I love long novels, which I often read at the rate often pages a day, right after the crossword. Currently, I’m reading Bleak House, largely to pull myself out of the contemporary madness. Kudos to the constructor.
@Joe Oh, man… those typos. Years later in grad school…at the rate of ten pages a day…
Having theater throwaway next to gala throwaway really tricked me! I just couldn't make my brain think of an apple! Fun puzzle!
@chris Thank you! I couldn't figure out why core was the correct answer, but went with it because of the cross. Pretty typical time for me - a little longer because I got stuck in the NE corner for a while.
@chris I wanted it to be CORk. You would have champagne at a gala, right? Before I quit drinking, I would never throw away corks, though. I'd throw them on the ground for my cat to play with. Last time I moved, I found about ten of them lurking under the couch. BAD KITTY!
How ancient is the Athens of 55-Across? Eta (H) wasn't added to the Athenian alphabet until 403 BC, when it and omega (Ω) were officially adopted. Before that, long /e/ was written with double epsilon (EE) and long /o/ with double omicron (OO).
@Fact Boy Wow you certainly have an apt handle. I thought I was a Grecophile but you have me beat.
@Fact Boy “I’ll never get to these new-fangled Ionian letters!” he said, some 2427 years ago. (“We’ll take it,” said his Etruscan BFF.)
We all have our proper nouns that are gimmes and those that aren’t. Minus the theme since they are in wordplay/constructors notes, here is a list in case you need any :) AB FAB, AQABA, BRAVA, DUBAI, VETTES, I TEN, ARIEL, ERIC, ELIAS, URKEL, IONIA, ABDUL, POP WARNER, MISS SCARLET, MESA, JALEN, IMRAN, GEENA, ROO
@Kim Right? Of those I knew IONIA, DUBAI and IMRAN. I also did not know the third book title. I usually have to look as much stuff as I did today on trivia-heavy Sundays (and only because there are many more clues then). The revealer was irreverently witty and I enjoyed it as such but the puzzle in general relied too much on proper names for me to tackle it without Google.
@Kim Thank you! I knew some, got some with crosses, but couldn't figure out Pop Warner until I saw your comment!
@Kim GEENA's always a gimme for me - but only after I've put in Bette and found that it's wrong again
Loved this puzzle!! Seemed almost too dense at first and then it really opened up! BRAVA!
Two moments I loved while solving: • Filling in ACOUSTIC and suddenly hearing the lush strums and runs of acoustic guitars in my head as if they were actually playing near me. • BAD KITTY warmed my heart, as it thrust scenes of my cat Wiley to mind, who, when hungry or ready to rest, gets adorably naughty, knocking things off tables, scratching furniture, or standing over the keyboard when I’m at the computer. These two things alone won me over, turned my thumbs up on this puzzle. Raising them higher was freshness in the answers, with five debuts, including the conversational I MESSED UP and QUIT STARING. In addition, there were six answers that have appeared in the Times puzzle only once, and four that have appeared but twice. Thus, filling this in was not a same-old, same-old experience. I also liked seeing ITEM and ITEN touching corners, and my brain liked the workout it got in the clue cracking. Thus, a most pleasing outing. That’s twice in your two Times puzzles, Katie, and makes me eager for more. Thank you!
So much misdirection, I love it! And the rebus showed up a day early. Both puzzles were very fun solves. Thank you Katie and Robert!
More like a Friday with a bit of a theme. Good stuff.
Too short, didn’t sweat. (and the many helpful crossing supports provided almost infinite joists)
@JohnWM Sneaky little DFW reference there! Plus one! .
@john ezra Well, the crossword went down a treat, littérature being my happy place. But what does Dallas-Fort Worth airport have to do with it? Signed: stymied foreigner (and obviously old-fogey and cringily not cool). Note the adroit use of a word I just made up.
@Rusty Wheelhouse Oh, now I get it. Didn’t get the joist of the previous comment. I also enjoy DFW. How not to like someone who venerated Roger Federer?
Good morning! Liked the theme. Kept thinking there was going to be a Thursday gimmick. Ha! I'm a PATSY! Quite enjoyed Gala throwaway next to theater throwaway. And it was refreshing to see JOISTS instead of (what seems to me) the ubiquitous "ibeams". I hope one or more of our resident experts will weigh in with stats on this. (Hey - I love you guys!) I'd better post before this is TOOLONGDIDNTREAD.
I loved the theme, so didn’t mind the lack of trickery. I’ve read all the books, but years ago and don’t remember much at all about them. My poor memory is definitely a factor in needing help with most of the puzzles, but I still enjoy them. It was a “Fun solving experience” , Katie
@suejean Agreed. Funniest crossword theme I can remember!
@suejean My poor memory: For the longest, I thought it was supposed to be ATLAS dRUGGED, and I couldn't figure out why it didn't fit.
Thursday's Literary Delightful Romp [Chooses the buttery Chardonnay] AOKS OAKY
I just took the shortest survey ever. I went to the Games page and this pop-up asked me something like "Do you occasionally play the NYT games?" So I clicked on the "Take our survey" link. To the first question "How often do you play the NYT games," I responded "Everyday." "Thanks for taking our survey." Lesson learned: If you're a regular, they don't want to hear from you, at least not in this survey.
Eric Hougland, Definitely a Monday-level survey, on a Thursday. Did you have to squeeze “Everyday” into a single box? :)
@Eric Hougland Huh. Because what possible value would there be in getting information from your most loyal and involved customers... Odd. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Eric Hougland Oh hi! I recognize your name from the FB group :)
So the editors threw us an easy Thursday on Wednesday, and now we have a very pleasant Wednesday for Thursday. Thank you, Katie. And I read Deb's column; it was not too long. Question on the mini: Is there wordplay or an idiom I'm missing that calls for the 1A clue to specify [Man] rather than using [Person]?
@Barry Ancona - "He's a man of few words". Never heard the phrase using "woman" or "person", probably because men are stereotypically more likely to be the strong, silent type.
@Barry Ancona A commonplace, yes. Perhaps an idiom.
Well, we were wondering where today's Puzzle would go after Rebus Wednesday, weren't we? Five minutes slower than my Thursday average, with nothing filled in on my first pass until 21A. Still, persistence paid off. After I got the revealer I was pretty sure Dickens had to be in there somewhere, and my own personal--what's the opposite of a favorite?--Bleak House, wouldn't fit, so I was on my way. Favorite clue of the day? Has to be [Joey of children's lit]. Got it right away, but I loved the ambiguity and the veiled capital. Thanks!
@Jack McCullough Have you ever seen the 2005 BBC miniseries of Bleak House? Really terrific with a cast led by Charles Dance and Gillian Anderson. Don't know how hard it is to find these days.
Fair puzzle but the theme seemed kind of weak, to be honest. Very basic and nearly arbitrary in the selection of titles. I get it, she picked longer ones. Fine, okay. "Students run for it" was sort of clever; the rest not so much. In the end, middling I suppose. Sorry. :(
@B My thoughts, too. Very weak theme, but for me at least the fill was harder than usual. Disappointing overall.
Nice one, smooth flow and interesting change of pace for a Thursday. Enjoyed how the only context provided per clue for the books was year written and number of words; this added just enough mystique, teasing that there would be some profound connection between these books, and making the final reveal a fun surprise. Well done!
@CB One of my favorites, especially for a Thursday. Several out-loud chuckles when I 'got' the jokes.
Wowie zowie, as we crossworders (never) say! First, show of hands for reading DAVID COPPERFIELD (9th grade) plus an additional Dickens tome (our own 'choice'--two of us read _The Old Curiosity Shop_...in which Little Nell is subjected to every evil printable in those times, after which Dickens kills her off. A real UPper.) But I digress. Soldiers read LES MISERABLES during the Civil War, not having suffered enough; I admit I've never even tried to read it.... and nothing Ayn Rand wrote is worth reading, so I'm off the hook there. This puzzle took nearly as long as one of those READs, not least because I Do Not Like (the modern) Disney cartoon movies, have no clue about NBA anything, and (aside from Seinfeld) didn't watch 90's sitcoms. Woof! Pakistani PMs? POP WARNER? C'MON!! A KITTY would never spill milk. Katie Hoody was just looking for someone to blame. We got lots of stares, having a child with mobility issues, bracing, etc. I tried that line at 11D once, and the gawking couple said, "What?" Oh well.
@Mean Old Lady well...I have caught a kitty knocking an unattended cereal bowl off the table, and proceeding to lap the milk off the floor. However, I would say IMESSEDUP.
@Mean Old Lady P.S. You want long books? Robert Caro has some volumes for you!!
@Mean Old Lady What... the Disney version of Quasimodo, in Technicolor, dancing around and singing with three gargoyles (two of which are named "Victor" and "Hugo"), the runniing gags... none of that seemed faithful to the original to you?
I thoroughly enjoyed every single word of Dickens and Hugo but Rand, not assigned but recommended by a Libertarian uncle, was insufferable.
@Dan Insufferable because of the writing, or the philosophy?
There has been two periods in my life when a big book was especially satisfying. The first was when I was a teenager, with languid summer days and a rocking chair on the porch. I discovered Dickens and the big Russian novels. The second period is now, at age 85, with the audio paired to my hearing aids.
@Sue I had a languid the other day. It's great with some melted butter.
Fumbled around for much TOO LONG then stumbled to the finish in well over an hour. Dickens, Hugo and Rand were all on my teenager reading list when I was naive enough to think Ms. Rand had something meaningful to say. Marvelous puzzle!
@Once a Marine I read ATLAS SHRUGGED when I was 15, most of it in study hall (when I should have been studying). She had something useful to say, but she could have said it in 500 words. Instead she made it literally a thousand times too long. At age 15, like a lot of people at that age, I was ripe for the one simple idea that would revolutionize everything if only everyone would realize it, so I latched right on to Ayn Rand... but even for a would-be adolescent zealot, that cinder-block of a book beat the point to death, dug up the corpse, then did it again, several times. If I remember correctly, she had one section in the middle that was just a transcript of her "manifesto," and it alone was about the length of an average novel.
@Once a Marine I think I read all of the Rand books-- when I was young, and had that inflated opinion of self derived from being a success in a very small pool. College, work , law school and more work gave me a broader perspective. I think of the books now as reflecting both adolescent longing for being that especially talented and a dose of magical thinking, that is, that one's previously unrecognized genius will finally be recognized.
An interesting approach, quite tough for me; names and organisations I’m unaware of, but the book titles stood out eventually. I’ve read the first two several times, but not the third. Not my cup of tea. 42D a gimme, as much from his time as captain of the Pakistan cricket team as his political career. Today’s pic is very apt. We have snow in Somerset for the first time in years; the animals don’t know what to make of it, never having come across it before. The cows look quite pathetic as they can’t get to their grass; we’ve treated them to some sweet summer hay. I’ve got 5 layers on as I’m still shivering from the sudden drop in temperature post holiday. At least it’s getting me in the Christmas spirit.
@Helen Wright Oh, cricket! I was wondering why IMRAN popped into my head so easily.
Quite the jumpscare with Atlas Shrugged, one of those isn't like the others type, not sure Victor would appreciate being so close to Ayn
@Cam IIRC, Rand was a fan of Hugo, however.
Thrice, once, once! Not too long; did read! "The Dickens" you say! War and Peace! Ulysses! Shogun! In the Peace Corps, waiting for a ride was just the way things went; public transportation didn't go until the cab was full. Among the volunteers. a thick, dog-eared tome was shared gold. Thanks to NYT and to this puzzle's creator for reminding me of the reading, and of the exotic waiting.
Some of the comments here are tldr.
TL;DR I was hoping for War and Peace or Anna Karenina for subsequent answers. Personally, I would have made this Wednesday's and yesterday's rebus for today. However, as witty as yesterday's puzzle was, I was somewhat dissatisfied with lack of point symmetry with the placement of rebus squares, even without non-rebus themed answer. Both enjoyable puzzles - I was smiling as I worked on them - but I feel that there is a slight laxness and lack of rigor the past couple of days than I expect from NYT Crossword.
@Heidi War and Peace is probably the classic example of a long novel when I was growing up (countless Peanuts cartoons refer to it), but in high school German class I learned that the equivalent was Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. I wonder what the equivalents are in other countries.
@Heidi I enjoyed both too, but today's took me 2.5 x as long as yesterday's, so in terms of progression of difficulty, I feel they ran on the correct days. (Actually, I think Tuesday and Wednesday could've been switched this week, but I'm sure a rebus Tuesday is a bridge too far.)
Nah this one was terrible. The challenging ones were too obscure and the easy ones were too easy and some don’t actually even make sense.
@Megs Be careful with saying something doesn't make sense, it probably means you didn't get the reference! I thought everything today made sense, although some came to me more easily than others. For example, I needed all the letters on "Gala throwaway" (hidden capital letter there) before I understood the clue. INOT was also brute force, and then, oh yeah, hockey.
@Nora Okay, even though I got my gold star, I still don’t get CORE for Gala throwaway.
@Obsessed Retiree the core is left after eating a Gala apple
@Megs Whenver something doesn't make sense to you, instead of bemoaning that it doesn't make sense, try to figure out what you're missing. It's almost always the latter.
Ouch. After yesterday’s breeze this one took the wind out of me. I was so wrong in so many places. Great puzzle we were just not on the same wavelength. Dickens had the excuse of being paid to stretch it out. Rand had no such excuse for her soporific repetitive drivel.
@Snorting Elk I learned the word "soporific" from Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies" mannnnnny years ago. Love to see it used.
Atlas Shrugged. TL;DR So did I.
@ad absurdum Felt like I had to clarify that I'm commenting on the book not the puzzle.
POPWARNER was one of the hardest entries in a long time. Totally out of left field for this non-american. I had POPWARmER because I couldn't come up with the crossing clue about hockey, which I am familiar with, but nothing about it hinted at sports or an abbreviation.
@Moops It was out of left field for this American. Never heard of Pop Warner until today.
@Moops didn’t have a clue…but maybe that’s because I only swam competitively and didn’t play any other sports???
Good one. Hardly any proper names, good clues.
Let's not forget The (page) Count of Monte Cristo. I finally read the entire book (in translation) during the pandemic and thoroughly enjoyed it.
@Edith Cavell - Oh, thanks. I was trying to figure out what to take for my week-long stay on Martha's Vineyard, with my husband being my only company. I have that on my shelf and can take it without worrying about running out of things to read. I should have saved Elsa Morante's Lies and Sorcery (almost 800 pages), but I'll probably finish it this weekend.
I guess I am the right audience for this puzzle because I, in fact, have not read any of the books listed! I got the names (and revealer) very quickly, though, making this a bit of a backwards Thursday for me. I found many of the “regular” clues much more difficult. Maybe BADKITTY was just looking out for her own health?
@Heidi Yeah, I definitely felt sympathy for the cat being scolded for being messy with milk. Scratching up the couch, on the other hand…
Found this one fun. Love the misdirects. Themers made it just open up, and - though breezy - ‘twas a fun romp! As an ADD-brained gal, I realized I was then quickly skimming over a column explaining TLDR. It’s a thing.
Best puzz in recent memory! More, more!
Was expecting to see WARANDPEACE somewhere in the puzzle.
@Remy War and Peace was the first one I thought of too
@Remy she explains why it isn’t in it in the creator notes.
Gala throwaway!! I laughed out loud when I finally figured that one out.
It took me way too long to get the long books for the long acrosses, but eventually LESMISERABLES came to me and the other lengthy tomes and the revealer seemed obvious. I loved the clue “Joey of kid lit,” perhaps because I spotted the misdirection quickly and entered ROO without hesitation. On the other hand, I equally confidently entered plum instead of PUCE, and later wondered, as URKEL might “did I do that?”
Easy for a Friday, tough for a Wednesday, not any kind of Thursday