Books and movies

Hey! Look! How to Conquer the New York Times Crossword Puzzle isn't available only in the U.S. People in the U.K. can order it from amazon.co.uk for £4.95, and South Africans can snap it up for just 113.95 rands at kalahari.net. The British pound's worth about $2, so that's a comparable price, but the South Africans must spend over $15, poor dears.

Hey! Look! I just got my box of advance copies this morning. Well, I guess they're not advance copies by now. But yay! It's my first peek at anything since the page proofs back in March.

Hey! Look! The crossword-constructor movie gets mentioned in the latest Entertainment Weekly. Bradley Cooper, perhaps best known for his work on Alias (which I didn't watch), is "set to play the lead in the comedy All About Steve. He and his co-worker, a TV reporter played by Thomas Haden Church [playing Steve], are stalked by a crossword-puzzle writer (Sandra Bullock). 'It's really about life,' says Church, 'and how people have eye-opening experiences.'"