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Word Nerd: Dispatches from the Games, Grammar, and Geek Underground
In this zany, one-of-a-kind memoir, former executive director of the National SCRABBLE Association John D. Williams Jr. brings to life the obsessions, madness, and glory of the SCRABBLE® culture―from living-room players to world champions. Beginning his career on a lark as a freelance contributor to SCRABBLE News , John D. Williams fell down a rabbit hole inhabited by gamers, geeks, and the grammar police. For twenty-five years, as the executive director of the National SCRABBLE Association, Williams served as the official spokesperson for the game, and as the middleman between legions of fanatical word-game fans and the official brand. Now Word Nerd takes readers inside the byzantine, dog-eat-dog world of top tournament players, creating a piquant (seven-letter word, 68 points!) work that is part pop-cultural history, part anthropological study. Indeed, what Christopher Guest did for the world of dog shows in his film Best in Show , Williams does for the world of competitive word games in this funny and perfectly observed memoir. As readers will discover, Word Nerd explores anagrams, palindromes, the highest-scoring SCRABBLE plays of all time, the birth of the World SCRABBLE Championship, as well as many of the more colorful figures that inhabit this subculture. Die-hard word fans will find invaluable tips on how top players see their boards and racks to come up with the best play, how they prepare, and the psychology of tournament competition. Those uninitiated in the mysteries of SCRABBLE mania will find a delightful, madcap memoir about all the fun people have with language and how words shape our lives and culture in unexpected ways. Whether reminiscing about past national champions, detailing the controversy over efforts to purge the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary of all offensive words, opining on the number of vowelless words that are allowable (cmw for a Welsh deep-walled basin or nth for the ultimate degree), noting how long it takes a word to get into a dictionary, or explaining why there remain more male than female champions, Williams crafts a loving tribute to words and the games people play with them. Word Nerd will fascinate both amateurs and seasoned experts alike.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2015
17 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 2, 2021
1 1/2*
I love a good game of Scrabble. I love words. Words are a game. Too bad this book was mostly about John D. Williams Jr. being the rep for the Scrabble brand. Nothing wrong with that, and I read the whole book, so take that for what it's worth - but it wasn't what I hoped it would be.
I love a good game of Scrabble. I love words. Words are a game. Too bad this book was mostly about John D. Williams Jr. being the rep for the Scrabble brand. Nothing wrong with that, and I read the whole book, so take that for what it's worth - but it wasn't what I hoped it would be.
August 10, 2016
If nothing else, you MUST read this for the list of quasi-banned words. I'm going to play the shit out of them.
I'm a self-confessed word nerd who loves Scrabble - though not a Scrabble-level word nerd, this book taught me. It was an interesting glimpse into next-level Scrabble dedication to which I'll never, ever rise (which is totally cool with me), but I did feel there were many instances of name dropping, you know? Yeah dude, I get it, you know lots of important people and met lots of famous types. And they heart Scrabble.
A good read and certainly worth your time if you've ever felt smug after winning a game of Scrabble.
I'm a self-confessed word nerd who loves Scrabble - though not a Scrabble-level word nerd, this book taught me. It was an interesting glimpse into next-level Scrabble dedication to which I'll never, ever rise (which is totally cool with me), but I did feel there were many instances of name dropping, you know? Yeah dude, I get it, you know lots of important people and met lots of famous types. And they heart Scrabble.
A good read and certainly worth your time if you've ever felt smug after winning a game of Scrabble.
February 11, 2025
This is probably the most niche book I've ever read and I am entirely obsessed. And I picked it up on accident! What a treat.
July 1, 2017
I love to play SCRABBLE, though I am no expert, so I was intrigued by the idea of this book! I learned a lot about the game, the company, and the tournaments. My favorite parts were the side stories - like how the author met Jack Black, or about some of the more colorful personalities in the SCRABBLE culture. At times, though, it read more like history than memoire, and I would have loved more stories.
June 24, 2025
5⭐️/5⭐️
A fun, niche read that dives deep into the world of Scrabble and the competitive tournament circuit!
Told from the perspective of someone on the “inside”, it was fun to read the personal anecdotes and learn about what makes Scrabble play unique, dynamic, and more complex than most reader’s would realize. The appendix even includes some helpful hints, factoids, and word lists for “living room scrabble players” like myself.
I liked how John kept it real in his storytelling and was quick to admit his own shortcomings. I’ve told so many people about this book because I always love reading and watching things about topics people are passionate about but I was otherwise unaware of.
A fun, niche read that dives deep into the world of Scrabble and the competitive tournament circuit!
Told from the perspective of someone on the “inside”, it was fun to read the personal anecdotes and learn about what makes Scrabble play unique, dynamic, and more complex than most reader’s would realize. The appendix even includes some helpful hints, factoids, and word lists for “living room scrabble players” like myself.
I liked how John kept it real in his storytelling and was quick to admit his own shortcomings. I’ve told so many people about this book because I always love reading and watching things about topics people are passionate about but I was otherwise unaware of.
September 28, 2021
Not a bad book about Scrabble history, competition, culture and the games business. I raced through this. Think Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players is a better book.
August 27, 2015
If you're a SCRABBLE fan who liked Stefan Fatsis's Word Freak, you will probably enjoy this self-deprecating memoir by the former director of the National SCRABBLE Association. Through chapters on a variety of SCRABBLE-related topics, the author effectively narrates a corporate and player's history of the game as it evolved from a parlor game to a worldwide tournament phenomenon. While SCRABBLE and its altruistic advocates have weathered numerous business vicissitudes, the game remains a cultural touchstone for most and an avid passion for many. The author has helpfully included very useful tips and word lists in the appendices that will make you want to sit right down and pull out some tiles!
November 30, 2015
Boy, as books go it's really more of a 2-star book (at least for folks who haven't been in the Scrabble tournament culture, as I have). But John Williams has walked the tightrope between a persnickety tournament-player population, and a persnickety corporation serving a persnickety public. And he's a good guy who loves Scrabble and has done a fine job stewarding the game during an interesting era for it.
February 24, 2016
I got my eight year old Scrabble for Christmas and we’ve been having a ton of fun playing it so when I saw Word Nerd at the library I thought it could be an interesting, casual way to learn more about the culture surrounding the game. And it was, for me. I found Mr. Williams to be a good storyteller, he offers up a lot of humorous behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
July 31, 2015
Possibly of interest only to a scrabble fan (which I am). It'd have been better had it been a coherent story instead of what read like a collection of essays on various topics of interest to a scrabble player.
June 21, 2015
Quick little read on the author's experience in the Scrabble world. Funny with a lot of fun insights and anecdotes, but a little too much business-side stuff for my taste.
July 25, 2015
This book started out fun and really interesting. Towards the middle I got bogged down with all the ins and outs of Scrabble championships.
December 23, 2016
An enjoyable Scrabble read -- although I was much more interested in the "wordy" chapters than in the tournament goings on.
July 16, 2017
Scrabbly
February 24, 2016
3.5 stars -
I enjoyed learning more about the world of competitive Scrabble.
I enjoyed learning more about the world of competitive Scrabble.
January 4, 2020
Word Nerd: Dispatches from the Games, Grammar, and Geek Underground by John D. Williams, Jr. is a Scrabble book which was published in 2015. My library system has had it in its collection for four years yet I never thought of reading it until now. I have a personal library of Scrabble books yet all of them had been read before I started writing and posting book reviews in early 2010. Thus 2020 marks my tenth anniversary of sharing my reading list with the cyberworld.
Williams was the former executive director of the National Scrabble Association, and I would always see him at the large Scrabble tournaments, such as the Nationals or Worlds. Thus I came to his book already knowing who he is and all about Hasbro's decision to pull out of the National Scrabble Association. I am part of the community he is writing about, and recognize all of the player names in the book. I have even played most of them. So my background as a reader is that of an insider who did not need to read this book to learn anything new. That said, I did nonetheless find that its presentation relied on knowing a considerable degree of backstory. I wonder if Williams wrote this for the audience of hundreds of Scrabble tournament and club players who may have felt abandoned by the corporate pullout. When Hasbro stopped promoting and funding tournaments, Williams lost his contact with us and maybe this book was his effort to have the last word.
It was a short book--about 195 pages when you eliminate the end-of-book word lists and the reproduction of a New York Times article--which read like a long resumé of Williams's career with the NSA. He was instrumental in starting the English-language World Scrabble Championship and in developing the School Scrabble program. I enjoyed reading about the times Scrabble champions appeared on TV, whether on "Martha Stewart Living" or "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" as I saw those episodes (and still have them on VHS). Williams sometimes had hard times wrangling Scrabble champions for morning shows especially if they were appearing the day after a celebratory victory party.
One chapter focussed on men's domination of the uppermost Scrabble ranks, and Williams interviewed three of the leading women players to learn their opinions. I was happy to read that none of these players, all of whom I have played, felt as if their male opponents were holding back or deferring to them in any way. "She's just another expert", according to Williams. We treat our opponents as equals. The late expert player Leah Katz said that Scrabble was the "great unifier", and I have met my closest friends--as well as my life partner--across a Scrabble board.
Those who write Scrabble books have to be particularly careful about their spelling. For the most part, Williams's book was error-free. However, perhaps by the next printing he can correct the player's name to Lynn Cushman (p. 41; not Lynne) and fix qwwali (p. 210) to qawwali. His #1 tip to "instantly get better at Scrabble" erroneously states "Learn the 101 acceptable two- and three-letter words". Umm, there are a lot more than 101 two- and three-letter words. What Williams might have meant is that there were (at the time of publication) 101 two-letter words alone. Regrettably the book ended with a disappointing transposition of words. When Williams found a Z and E tile in a corner of his attic, he wrote:
"I knelt down and switched around them on the floor." (p. 199)
If only he had written (and he likely did) "I knelt down and switched them around on the floor" I would not have had a quizzical look and obligatory reread at the very end of the book.
Perhaps the most enlightening moment occurred while I was reading the chapter entitled "Are Men Really Better than Women?" when the author wrote:
"Men do have an affinity for trivia, collecting, and focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others. In my experience, women, not so much. Scott and I talked about how it's boys and men who early on memorize baseball statistics, car features, and other arguably useless facts. It's an easy transition from that dubious pastime to studying and learning thousands of esoteric words that no one else knows or uses."
I had been keeping a running total of how many times Williams had used esoteric or esoterica so far in the book. The above passage made it four times between the two. I felt that using esoteric/esoterica twice was too many times--once would suffice for such a small book--yet when I realized the surrounding context wherein the word was used I could only roll my eyes and think of myself as a typical male Scrabble expert.
Williams was the former executive director of the National Scrabble Association, and I would always see him at the large Scrabble tournaments, such as the Nationals or Worlds. Thus I came to his book already knowing who he is and all about Hasbro's decision to pull out of the National Scrabble Association. I am part of the community he is writing about, and recognize all of the player names in the book. I have even played most of them. So my background as a reader is that of an insider who did not need to read this book to learn anything new. That said, I did nonetheless find that its presentation relied on knowing a considerable degree of backstory. I wonder if Williams wrote this for the audience of hundreds of Scrabble tournament and club players who may have felt abandoned by the corporate pullout. When Hasbro stopped promoting and funding tournaments, Williams lost his contact with us and maybe this book was his effort to have the last word.
It was a short book--about 195 pages when you eliminate the end-of-book word lists and the reproduction of a New York Times article--which read like a long resumé of Williams's career with the NSA. He was instrumental in starting the English-language World Scrabble Championship and in developing the School Scrabble program. I enjoyed reading about the times Scrabble champions appeared on TV, whether on "Martha Stewart Living" or "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" as I saw those episodes (and still have them on VHS). Williams sometimes had hard times wrangling Scrabble champions for morning shows especially if they were appearing the day after a celebratory victory party.
One chapter focussed on men's domination of the uppermost Scrabble ranks, and Williams interviewed three of the leading women players to learn their opinions. I was happy to read that none of these players, all of whom I have played, felt as if their male opponents were holding back or deferring to them in any way. "She's just another expert", according to Williams. We treat our opponents as equals. The late expert player Leah Katz said that Scrabble was the "great unifier", and I have met my closest friends--as well as my life partner--across a Scrabble board.
Those who write Scrabble books have to be particularly careful about their spelling. For the most part, Williams's book was error-free. However, perhaps by the next printing he can correct the player's name to Lynn Cushman (p. 41; not Lynne) and fix qwwali (p. 210) to qawwali. His #1 tip to "instantly get better at Scrabble" erroneously states "Learn the 101 acceptable two- and three-letter words". Umm, there are a lot more than 101 two- and three-letter words. What Williams might have meant is that there were (at the time of publication) 101 two-letter words alone. Regrettably the book ended with a disappointing transposition of words. When Williams found a Z and E tile in a corner of his attic, he wrote:
"I knelt down and switched around them on the floor." (p. 199)
If only he had written (and he likely did) "I knelt down and switched them around on the floor" I would not have had a quizzical look and obligatory reread at the very end of the book.
Perhaps the most enlightening moment occurred while I was reading the chapter entitled "Are Men Really Better than Women?" when the author wrote:
"Men do have an affinity for trivia, collecting, and focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others. In my experience, women, not so much. Scott and I talked about how it's boys and men who early on memorize baseball statistics, car features, and other arguably useless facts. It's an easy transition from that dubious pastime to studying and learning thousands of esoteric words that no one else knows or uses."
I had been keeping a running total of how many times Williams had used esoteric or esoterica so far in the book. The above passage made it four times between the two. I felt that using esoteric/esoterica twice was too many times--once would suffice for such a small book--yet when I realized the surrounding context wherein the word was used I could only roll my eyes and think of myself as a typical male Scrabble expert.
July 18, 2018
A good companion for Fatsis' Word Freak, this book will appeal to tournament scrabble players and those simply curious about this sub-culture. Williams sincerely understands his precarious position within the culture, and writes with humor and a joi de vivre that surely was part of his professional persona. There are so many bits here that make the evolution of tournament scrabble just a tad more glamorous, if not simply more colorful. His most noble part is his devotion to school Scrabble. As a female tourney player, I was pleased with his chapter on gender imbalance within the top ranks. He interviewed several top women players and avoided the type of sexism that offended me in McCarthy's Letterati. A couple side notes, even though I fully endorse this book with 5 stars: I found two or three items the copy editor should have fixed; also, I wish he had chapters on two topics that make me curious: cheating scandals and the rift between NASPA and WGPO, but I understand why this lifetime diplomat between corporate/leadership and the "purists" did not tell all... for the very reason leadership and the purists collectively wish the rest of you will come join our fun...!
September 20, 2021
This is my second book about Scrabble I read this year. See also Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. Word Freak mentions the author of this book and this book mentions the Word Freak book.
Both books are good for different reasons. Word Freak investigates the tournament perspective more. Word Nerd focuses more on the different tasks of the former National Scrabble Association including creating a school tournament and being the face of Scrabble. Word Nerd is more from an American point of view whereas Word Freak is more from a global point of view.
If you are trying to become a better Scrabble player, both books would be helpful. In fact Word Nerd even includes a list of tips at the back on how to become a better player. There is a little black and white photographs section in the middle with photos of old boards, past tournaments and more.
My favourite part of the book was the Going Hollywood section. It’s not very long but it includes the stories of how Scrabble and Hollywood come together. Like when shows what to include Scrabble in more than just a passing fashion, they ask John for help. Read stories about Martha Stewart and Jack Black.
Both books are good for different reasons. Word Freak investigates the tournament perspective more. Word Nerd focuses more on the different tasks of the former National Scrabble Association including creating a school tournament and being the face of Scrabble. Word Nerd is more from an American point of view whereas Word Freak is more from a global point of view.
If you are trying to become a better Scrabble player, both books would be helpful. In fact Word Nerd even includes a list of tips at the back on how to become a better player. There is a little black and white photographs section in the middle with photos of old boards, past tournaments and more.
My favourite part of the book was the Going Hollywood section. It’s not very long but it includes the stories of how Scrabble and Hollywood come together. Like when shows what to include Scrabble in more than just a passing fashion, they ask John for help. Read stories about Martha Stewart and Jack Black.
November 28, 2022
Fun anecdotes, nice premise, well-told stories. Some issues: the author often comes across as desperately wanting to be (accepted as) a 'nerd' which is predictably annoying. There is surprisingly very little about Scrabble theory in the book -- info/backstory on certain rules was provided when necessary, but there were generally no deeper insights from the author's career into strategy for advanced play (excluding those which are widely known, such as word lists.)
Unfortunately, the author is abnormally adamant about promoting the idea that "it's cool to be smart" (direct quote) -- a notion that seems conceived largely by his occupational motives (marketing, popularity, image of playing Scrabble) rather than his actual experience with professional Scrabble players. The author fails to realize that the vast majority of people who solve puzzles or engage in stimulating games do so not out of a desire to be perceived as "cool" or "smart," but because it is a form of entertainment. This ignorance is manifested in the slogan "it's cool to be smart," which comes off as a clunky, incongruent repeated line.
Unfortunately, the author is abnormally adamant about promoting the idea that "it's cool to be smart" (direct quote) -- a notion that seems conceived largely by his occupational motives (marketing, popularity, image of playing Scrabble) rather than his actual experience with professional Scrabble players. The author fails to realize that the vast majority of people who solve puzzles or engage in stimulating games do so not out of a desire to be perceived as "cool" or "smart," but because it is a form of entertainment. This ignorance is manifested in the slogan "it's cool to be smart," which comes off as a clunky, incongruent repeated line.
June 24, 2018
An entertaining short memoir by the former Executive Director of the National Scrabble Association that includes what goes on behind the scenes at the Scrabble tournaments, the differences between living room play and tournament play, how words are added and removed from the Scrabble dictionary, tips for improving your game, anagrams, palindromes and the list of around 175 offensive words that were removed from the Official Scrabble Dictionary sold to the public in the 1990s. Williams keeps the focus firmly on Scrabble rather than himself and I was curious to know more about how Scrabble affected his life. He mentions in passing that he liked to keep his weekends to himself but was also being bombarded by letters and calls from everyone from retired schoolteachers to prison inmates asking for his advice on whether a word was correct in the game and if Scrabble dictionaries could be distributed more widely. Great as an introduction to competitive Scrabble culture but falls short as a memoir.
April 7, 2018
This book could have been a lot better - I can say this because at its best it is excellent. At its best, Williams puts you into this bizarre world he found himself in, and you learn what it is like to be in it. What it is like to be playing scrabble with a bunch of teens at a swimming pool populated with rock stars and major Hollywood stars in bikinis. What it is like to be at a scrabble tournament with a great percentage of people there mad at you.
I wish he wrote like that consistently. He has these stories that could be amazing - hanging with Martha Stewart, various world scrabble tournaments, etc., but he slips into just telling you the facts and not really putting you There. He clearly can write well - but it seems sometimes he was in a hurry to get through stuff that should have been savored.
I wish he wrote like that consistently. He has these stories that could be amazing - hanging with Martha Stewart, various world scrabble tournaments, etc., but he slips into just telling you the facts and not really putting you There. He clearly can write well - but it seems sometimes he was in a hurry to get through stuff that should have been savored.
August 12, 2018
I'm sure this book will definitely be exciting and helpful for those who are serious about Scrabble. But even if you aren't the book still has a lot of interesting chapters regarding the inner Scrabble world: geeks' jokes, details about working on Scrabble dictionaries, a match between a human and a machine, consulting the movie production team about Scrabble tournament etc.
Two things I really like about the author are his irony, and his trying to tell a real story (without trying to prove that no mistakes or failures have ever happened).
Two things I really like about the author are his irony, and his trying to tell a real story (without trying to prove that no mistakes or failures have ever happened).
February 28, 2022
My Recommendation: This was a fun, totally random book that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I'm still baffled about where or when I picked this up, but that doesn't really matter. I read this in one sitting (heck yeah, vacation poolside reading) and really enjoyed Williams's conversational tone and meandering stories that all tied together over his roughly 25-year career with the National SCRABBLE Association.
My Response: I have no idea where I stumbled across this book. At first, I thought it was The Allusionist or 99% Invisible podcasts, but can't find any mention of it on their sites and there's nothing on NPR, aside from a review which I usually avoid, points to where it came from. I also didn't purchase it from Amazon or any other online book retailer, so I must've randomly picked it up in a physical store and not tracked the purchase.
I'm glad I picked it up though! Not because I play SCRABBLE, because I'm not great at it, but because it just had a great title and subtitle and I figured it'd be an interesting read and it truly was.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
My Response: I have no idea where I stumbled across this book. At first, I thought it was The Allusionist or 99% Invisible podcasts, but can't find any mention of it on their sites and there's nothing on NPR, aside from a review which I usually avoid, points to where it came from. I also didn't purchase it from Amazon or any other online book retailer, so I must've randomly picked it up in a physical store and not tracked the purchase.
I'm glad I picked it up though! Not because I play SCRABBLE, because I'm not great at it, but because it just had a great title and subtitle and I figured it'd be an interesting read and it truly was.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
September 17, 2018
The former director of the National Scrabble Association has written a book for Scrabble aficionados that deals with such topics as marketing the game and purging the official dictionary of derogatory and obscene terms while keeping an inclusive dictionary for tournament players. There is information on stellar players, various tournaments, and helpful hints for the ordinary player.
This is a fun book for those that enjoy the game.
This is a fun book for those that enjoy the game.
August 21, 2022
All right, good stuff. I liked the stuff more generically about the Scrabble world at large, and less about his own professional accomplishments. Sure, he did a bunch of great stuff, and it felt like he was trying to justify and argue for something like his beloved National Scrabble Association. While I agree with him, I could've done with less of the "John did this" stuff.
Recommended for Scrabble fans. Who can resist?
Recommended for Scrabble fans. Who can resist?
January 13, 2018
You would have to be a diehard "word nerd" to really like this book, but the author had some interesting insights into the game of Scrabble and how people become tournament champions. He didn't quite have enough material for a book so it got a bit thin in parts. An amusing read with some very helpful word lists in the appendix. UMIAQ anyone?
November 16, 2018
This is a moderately engaging book if you're interested in Scrabble, its history as one of the world's most popular word games, and how its corporate owners have sort of abandoned promoting it because its not as profitable as it used to be. However, dedicated Scrabble lovers, including those who play in tournaments, have taken on many of the activities.
January 16, 2021
this was a really great read until the chapter about lack of female participation in scrabble competitions. it boiled down to 'men are better at math' instead of something more nuanced, but from a book that basically is about men, that's to be expected. otherwise, a nerdy and engaging read. i need to up my scrabble game.
March 6, 2025
I found this book so interesting, and once I was reading it I didn't want to put it down, but when I wasn't feeling super motivated to read it. As a casual memoir it is incredible, and I thought it was so funny and insightful, and THE LAST CHAPTER!!!! I almost cried. I felt such a connection to this game and its players even though I've only played it like, twice with my Grandma
April 20, 2019
popsugar challenge 2019: read a book revolving around a puzzle or game
This was super interesting.
Also, IRL friends, I am pretty much always ready for a game of scrabble. (Or boggle.) Let me know if you want to play. :)
This was super interesting.
Also, IRL friends, I am pretty much always ready for a game of scrabble. (Or boggle.) Let me know if you want to play. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews