PositiveChicago Review of BooksA love letter to the crossword puzzle that is sprawling in its scope, deeply nerdy in sensibility, and passionate at its core ... Chapter 5...contains some of the most compelling content in the book. This is where Last really digs into the way crossword puzzles can (and have) reinforced cultural hegemony ... Overall, the book reads less like a cohesive narrative of the history of crossword puzzles and more like a collection of essays that include history and relevance to the culture alongside anecdotes both historical and personal. The structure suffers a bit for both meandering and repetition ... It should be at the top of every gift guide for word nerds and puzzle enthusiasts everywhere..
PositiveChicago Review of BooksTender ... Heartfelt ... At times, it feels more like a prayer than a biography. It is a moving tribute, an affirmation that Butler’s work found exactly the audience she intended ... Morris’s love and deep respect for Octavia E. Butler more than shine through even without overly reverent language ... It is odd, then, that Positive Obsession occasionally slips into a defensive tone, as though explaining away perceived shortcomings in Butler’s career ... Morris’s prose is devoid of any of the stuffiness of a scholar’s biography and sometimes feels like memoir or fiction. It’s an extremely smooth read, but the presentation of Butler’s interior thoughts occasionally muddies who is speaking, fusing Butler and Morris into one mind.
