Final Stop
The best
places to ...
STAY CULTURALLY
AU COURANT
Jacob Burns Film Center • 364 Manville Road,
914-747-5555 • Opened
seven years ago in a
landmark theater, Shortz
raves that this nonprofit
cinema “is the greatest
thing that’s happened
since I moved here.”
MAKE LIKE YOU’RE
IN FRANCE
Jean-Jacques • 468
Bedford Ave., 914-747-
8191 • The cafe features
a tempting array of
napoleons and eclairs,
but Shortz opts “time
and time again for the
croque-monsieur.” Open
for brunch, too.
Why I Love ...
Pleasantville
New York Times puzzle master Will Shortz
finds no mystery in what makes his town great
After a full day of working at home, Will
Shortz, the puzzle whiz, trolls downtown
Pleasantville, N. Y., in search of dinner or a
movie. The nation’s premier word player,
Shortz moved to this Westchester County
town of 7,500 after joining the New York
Times as its crossword editor in 1993.
Best known as the nominal headquarters of Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville’s too-perfect name hasn’t escaped Shortz. “But
it’s a real place,” he says. “It’s a walking
village, and that appealed to me.”
Over the years, Shortz has compiled
dozens of puzzle books, hosted a popular
NPR show and starred in WordPlay, a film
that documented the goings-on at the
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament,
which attracts hundreds and will be held in
Brooklyn from Feb. 29—yes, leap day—
through March 2.
Puzzles called to Shortz early—he
created a major in “enigmatology” when
he entered Indiana University. He favors
the playfulness of pencil-gnawing crosswords, but adds, “I love all kinds of puzzle
making. I learn something new every day.”
One basic lesson: even proper names can
be anagrammed. Just look at the phrase
“whiz trolls” in the first sentence of this
story. —JOANN GRECO
SHARPEN YOUR
BRAIN (FOR THOSE
PUZZLES ...)
The Village Book
Store • 10 Washington
Ave. • 914-769-8322 •
Shortz is a regular here,
searching out books
for his ever-expanding
reference library. “I find
turning to books literally
faster than the Internet,
and I know that they’re
more accurate,” he says.
His last purchase: The
Billboard Book of Top
40 Hits, a must for pop
culture clues.
