Guest Post: G.T. Karber
Author of Murdle Junior
Getting Hooked: Why People Love Puzzle Books
A Resurgence of Popularity
Why do people love puzzle books? And why are they facing a resurgence of popularity? Well, I think the answer is pretty clear. To start, puzzle books have always been popular. But I think in the last few years, especially after the beginning of the pandemic, they’ve begun to take on a greater significance.
Sure, people have always loved solving a puzzle. Small bite-sized challenges give us a respite from the chaos and confusion of the world as-is. And instead, you get to step into a world that has simple rules, clear goals, and one unique solution. If only life could be so easy!
Escaping, Thinking and Bonding
But it’s not just that puzzles give us a bit of an escape. They also help hone our critical thinking skills. When you get good at a puzzle, you’re honing parts of your mind that can then be applied to those messier problems of our everyday life.
And puzzles bring people together. Whether you’re solving them with your family, or racing to solve them faster than your friends or your partner, puzzles can be wonderful to bond over and enjoy.
Connecting and Disconnecting
But now that we’re carrying around our phones all of the time, and so many of our jobs are also on computers, we no longer need just a way to connect.
We also need a way to disconnect. And with a puzzle book, you really have a way to put away everything else and really be alone. And for parents with kids, you want something that will absorb them, that isn’t just another app or another video on the phone.
In the past, puzzle books might have been a meaningless diversion, or a trifle. But now, when we’re surrounded by trifles, and when we have an endless flood of meaningless diversions on our phone, always bombarding us, puzzle books are something that actually honours our time.
When you’re solving a murdle, the book will never interrupt you to try and sell you something. It’s not tracking your behaviour to sell to a corporation. I don’t think anybody who likes solving the murder-mystery logic puzzles in Murdle feels like they are ruining their life, or that they can’t set reasonable boundaries on their behaviour.
Hooked in a Good Way!
People sometimes tell me they are “hooked” on Murdle, and I always stop and ask them, “In a good way?” I’ve definitely found myself scrolling too often on social media, or playing too many pointless games on my phone. But they always tell me, “Yes, of course!”
Murdle isn’t something that grabs your attention, or demands more and more of your time. It’s something that is always there for you, waiting, ready to give you a fun little game to help you destress, to help you focus yourself, to help you hone your mind. And sure, to help you pass a little time in your day.
And I think that’s why people love puzzle books.
Murdle Junior by G.T. Karber is out 24th October 2024 (Souvenir Press)
Thank you to GT for visiting our blog this week to tell us more about the Murdle Junior puzzle books. Murdle Junior is available from Amazon or Bookshop.
For more children’s books with similar themes, try these booklists:
- Best Mystery and Detective Books for KS2
- Books for Fans of Murder Most Unladylike
- Children’s Books About Maths
Check out our reading for pleasure and curriculum booklists to find more books for children in KS2.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
> See our Books of the Month.