The New York Times Best of the Week Series: Sunday Crosswords: 50 Extra Large Puzzles (The New York Times Crossword Puzzles)

Definitely a good choice for serious crossword lovers. There aren't many crosswords out there that are challenging enough for me to not get bored. I really like that it is spiral-bound so you don't have to nearly break the book's spine trying to keep it open. The text is not large-print so those who are far-sighted might find it difficult to read the clues.

The writing is tiny - a 2 font, I swear - by the puzzles are hard enough, the paper is a nice quality to write on and the spiral makes it easy to work your way through the whole thing without reading clues in the crease. Perfect for international flights, cruises and insomnia nights (I used it in all 3 situations). There's nothing worse than an easy puzzle - it's just filling in the blanks,or making a list. There's no POINT. This one makes you think a bit but it's not so hard that you give up. I don't look at the answers because it feels like cheating. I'd rather not complete it than finish it by getting an answer from the back. Good stuff.

I bought this for my dad as a gift and he enjoys the extra difficult puzzles. The spiral binding and cardstock cover makes the book portable and easy to use. If you or someone you know enjoys challenging crossword puzzles, this book is for you.

After I got past two puzzles with weird characteristics (more on that in a minute), I am enjoying the challenge of the normal puzzles. They are hard but doable, with clever themes. The answering process definitely makes one think outside the box. The two puzzles I referred to are at the front of the book and without any warning or description in the title, they utilize "tricks" in the answers to which I was clueless and therefore very frustrated. I'm not sure why there wasn't a tip included for those puzzles - for instance, how would I know that some of the answers required the first three letters of a month of the year in one box - so they were not enjoyable. In terms of physical characteristics, the paper is decent and I like the spiral binding so that the book can easily be folded. The print could be a little larger. Overall, I'm forced to think hard and I'm learning things - and isn't that the purpose of a crossword?

The puzzles are really BIG. Husband really likes it. This is the 3rd book I’ve gotten for him, and will buy more. Keeping his brain sharp, withOUT jellyfish pills! 😊

I bought this for a crossword puzzle addict who always finds crossword books full of too easy puzzles. This one was a challenge even for him. The spiral binding is a nice way to access all the puzzles.

I bought this for someone and they love it!

I purchased this for a relative that loves crossword puzzles. She is losing her sight and needs to use a magnifying glass. It was too small for even me to see it. She didn't stand a chance. We found one of the four ordered that she could see.

These puzzles are truly difficult. Frustrating, requiring the use of pencil and eraser but very rewarding when you make progress. Next time I would buy a slightly less challenging day of the week Daily Crossword Book just to make me feel a little better about myself. If you like to have to dig really deep and often suspend your traditional use of words and their definitions, get this book.

Will must be the best puzzle editor in my books.

Bought this for an older person but the printing was very small and made it very hard for them to use.

I read reviews complaining about the small print, but ignored it because I have 20/20 vision, and figured it was older people who have trouble reading. Well - the print is tiny enough that it gives me eye strain.... Yikes!

Purchased for my Dad for Christmas. I'm sure the puzzles are fine, not here to review how well NY Times does crossword puzzles. BUT in case you only skim listings like I do - the extra large in this item refers to how big the crossword puzzle is (more clues than a standard puzzle) and NOT the size of the print in the book! Sorry Dad, you're definitely going to have to bust out the magnifying glass for this one. Think twice if you are buying this for an aging... er... visually challenged audience.