Word Searches For Dummies [Paperback]

Denise Sutherland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2009

A travel-friendly puzzle-packed book that keeps the brain in shape

One of the best ways to exercise the mind is through word and logic games like word searches and Sudoku. Studies have shown that doing word searches frequently can help prevent diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia. Word Searches For Dummies is a great way to strengthen the mind and keep the brain active plus, it's just plain fun! This unique guide features several different types of word searches that take readers beyond simply circling the answer: secret shape word searches, story word searches, listless word searches, winding words, quiz word searches, and more. It provides a large number of puzzles at different levels that will both test and exercise the mind while keeping the reader entertained for hours.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Become a word search whiz — and boost your brain power to boot!

Are you wild about word searches? This fun, go-anywhere guide is packed with puzzles to stretch your skills and strengthen your mind. Inside you'll find eight different kinds of word searches — including one invented by the author! — as well as extensive tips and tricks to improve your puzzle-solving abilities. You'll have a great time mastering increasingly difficult searches while you reap the brain-boosting benefits.

• Working with word searches — get familiar with the eight word search varieties in the book and the strategies for solving each collection

• Start with straightforward puzzles — try simple and story word searches, find hidden words, and solve secret-shape puzzles

• Conquer more complex searches — gather your wits for scrambles, quiz questions, and secret-list and winding word searches

• Play like a pro with bonus puzzles — tackle anagrams and other word games that are guaranteed to make your brain hurt!

• Try not to peek — the answers to all puzzles feature full grids, so you can see where each word is placed

Open the book and find:

• 250 brand-new, handcrafted puzzles

• The brain-boosting benefits of doing word searches

• A chapter with hints for every puzzle

• Ten letter-pattern tips

• Extra or "Ultra" challenging puzzles

• Secrets to designing your own word searches

• Web addresses for online resources

• Fascinating word puzzle facts

About the Author

Denise Sutherland is a syndicated Australian puzzle author. Her crosswords, word searches, and other puzzles appear in a wide range of Australian and international publications, and she has written five themed puzzle books. Sutherland runs her own graphic design business, Sutherland Studios, where she concentrates on creating handcrafted puzzles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470453664
• ISBN-13: 978-0470453667
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Denise Sutherland was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1964. She has always been fascinated with puzzles, and started to teach herself how to write them as a child. Murder mysteries, non-fiction, and comedies are her favourite genres.

"Word Searches for Dummies" (Wiley 2009) was her first title with a major publisher. It has been written for the American and Canadian market. "Cracking Codes and Cryptograms for Dummies" (Wiley) was released in November 2009, also in the USA and Canada. Denise has been Technical Editor on three Dummies puzzle books, too.

Along with author Troy Simpson, she runs the popular English Language Skills web site, which offers free and friendly advice on improving your spelling, writing, reading speed and vocabulary.

Denise's puzzles are syndicated worldwide through Auspac Media. She is the inventor of the Secret Shape word search puzzle, where a hidden picture is revealed after the puzzle has been solved.

Denise has also written five themed puzzle books, including "The Fantastic Flying Doctors' Puzzle Book" and "The Canberra Puzzle Book", which covers the history and heritage of Australia's capital city.

Denise lives in Canberra, Australia with her astrophysicist husband "Dr Ralph", their two grown-up children, and Petal the chihuahua. She is an obsessed knitter, and has free knitting patterns that feature crosswords on her web site.

She has a degree in graphic design, and also studied biological sciences at the Australian National University. She has worked as a lab technician, graphic designer, illustrator, artist, and web designer. She is currently training as an indexer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New to word puzzles, June 18, 2009

By 

Ellen Bernstein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Word Searches For Dummies (Paperback)

I'm new to word puzzles, and because of this book I'm now a convert. In free moments I'm finding it a pleasure to work my way gradually through this book, yellow highlighter in hand. The Introduction got me going. I liked its clear instructions and found them both intriguing and reassuring. (I would probably not have picked the book up were it not for its title: "Word Searches for Dummies.") I'm enjoying putting my gray cells to work in a most agreeable and interesting way. The book is excellently and thoughtfully put together. Chapter 12 (Helpful Hints to Keep You Going) has given me many a nod and a chuckle, and it has made it possible for me not--not yet, anyway--to resort to Chapter 13 (The Answers You Seek). I think the book will appeal especially not only to oldsters but also, with its themed format, to youngsters.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Word searches for dummies - found, June 13, 2009

By 

Mr. Phiilip W. Berrie "Phillberrie" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Word Searches For Dummies (Paperback)

I was given this book by a friend and have become a fan of Word Searches because of it. I thought over Amazon customers might be interested in my thoughts on the book.

I am a writer and editor so words are my stock in trade so I especially liked the themed puzzles where I was was quite often introduced to new words within the context of a theme. Yes, I admit, I'm a pedant, but I have a dictionary and I'm not afraid to use it, so be warned ;-).

The book is structured as an introduction for a novice, as one would expect from the Dummies title range. It introduces the reader to progressively more interesting and difficult puzzle types with lots of Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles in each of the types. The earlier puzzles I found too easy for me, so I skipped ahead. The book was obviously written with this in mind as I found myself at no disadvantage in doing so. Towards the end the author goes into some more theoretical discussions on the making of and general hints on solving these types of puzzles. I especially liked the chapters on word frequency and how these can be used in word searches, anagrams and even for finding Scrabble words (another favourite past time of mine).

I did notice a few errors in the book though - hardly surprising for such a complex book - and it was nice to see that the author had an errata page on her website. She was also quite friendly to me when I contacted her with my contributions.

All in all, I found this book to be not only interesting, but highly entertaining, and I think it would appeal to Word Searchers of all levels of competency.

Enjoy.

Phill Berrie.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars don't get this for the kindle!, April 28, 2010

By 

Betsy A. DeBry (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Word Searches For Dummies(r) (Kindle Edition)

My daughter ordered this book in the kindle version, thinking she would be able to do the word puzzles on her kindle, however, the kindle version is just a copy of the hard copy version of this book. You can't actually do any of the word searches, as it won't let you select letters or words in the puzzles. So basically you have to look at the word list and then try to guess where the words are, which is fine. However, there is no way to mark the words once they are found so you never feel like you've done the puzzle! My daughter was very disappointed that she paid $10 for a book that doesn't work on her kindle. She was used to sudoku puzzles on her kindle which actually let you complete the puzzle. So, Kindle users, give this a pass!! I'm sure this is a great word search book, but don't buy it for the kindle! Hard copy only!