The Best Crossword Puzzle Books, According to Will Shortz and Other Crossword Obsessives

If there was ever a time to get into crosswords, this is it. And not just because we’re all stuck at home: As Will Shortz, the New York Times crossword editor and one of the best-known names in the game, told us, “We’re living in the golden age of crosswords — they’ve never been as interesting or as well made as they are now, partly because they’re not as bookish as they used to be, the themes are more interesting, and they connect more to real life.” And while you can do a daily crossword if you have a print newspaper subscription (or puzzles online, including New York’s by Matt Gaffney, which go up every Sunday night), there’s something satisfying about moving page by page through a puzzle book.