The New York Times Mini Crosswords, Volume 1

If you enjoy doing crossword puzzles but can never seem to find the time to complete any of them, check out the New York Times Mini Crosswords book, which has 150 fun-sized crosswords (in 5×5-square grids) that you can do in a just a minute or two each. From the book’s introduction, written by Will Shortz:

Each Mini is created by Joel Fagliano, the paper’s digital crosswords editor, who started selling regular crosswords to the Times when he was seventeen. To date he’s had more than 50 weekday and Sunday crosswords published in the paper, becoming in the process one of the most popular and accomplished puzzlemakers.

Joel packs his Minis with lively vocabulary, modern references, and the sort of playfulness and intelligence you’ll find in its big brother elsewhere in the paper. The Minis are easy/medium in difficulty. The cultural references skew young. But don’t let the small size and big squares fool you. These puzzles are decidedly for adults.

Here are some examples of puzzles you’ll find in the book:

Click here to view full size.

Click here to view full size.

These are great for solving while traveling, with a loved one, or just when you get a few spare minutes and need an idle activity to pass the time. Get Volume 1 of these puzzles for $8 on Amazon. When you’re done with that book, pick up Volume 2 and Volume 3.