Author Marc Romano hastened from home in the summer heat to the Barnes and Noble on Court Street in Brooklyn to discuss “Crossworld: One Man’s Journey Into America’s Crossword Obsession” (Broadway Books). The audience laughed when this Brooklyn resident opened by saying while people speak of hot writers, he was “literally hot.”

Mr. Romano said his book assessed the cultural impact of crossword puzzles “not just in terms of fun and games, which they are.” They had a big impact on him: Working on 10 crossword puzzles a day once helped bring him out of a two-year depression.

Who are these people who are obsessed with word puzzles? They come from a variety of backgrounds. Other interests among great puzzle solvers include music and mathematics: those endeavors, he said, also require the ability to pick up on patterns.

In his presentation, he described the creation of crosswords by Arthur Wynne in the New York World in 1913. Mr. Romano also mentioned historical anecdotes such as how, during May and June 1944, the Daily Telegraph had five puzzle answers such as “Utah” and “Omaha,” coincidentally relating to the Allied assault on Normandy. “Overlord” was the code for the Allied assault operation; the clue for this word in the puzzle was “But some big-wig like this has stolen some of it at times.” Mr. Romano said he had no idea what this clue meant, and welcomed the audience or others to let him know if they did. (Knickerbocker readers: Please weigh in.)

One audience member asked about various degrees of crossword-puzzle difficulty. Mr. Romano said the genius of a great puzzle editor was in calibrating the difficulty of clues. He offered the example of the crossword answer “Sagan.” An easy clue would refer to the astronomer Carl famously saying “BIL-lions and BIL-lions of stars.” A more difficult clue yielding the same answer would be “French writer Francois.”

Another asked about the habit-forming properties of crossword puzzles. “It’s a very healthful addiction,” Mr. Romano replied. The brain is a muscle, and crosswords are a great way of exercising it. Mr. Romano added that he was constitutionally unable to leave a crossword puzzle unfinished.

In the audience was Stephen Irolla, who was carrying several newspapers containing several crossword puzzles. He follows baseball and has worked in journalism, covering high school sports in central New Jersey. Also attending was the Reverend Philippa Turner of the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest. Her other interests include photography – she took the picture of Mr. Romano that appears on the dust jacket of the book.

Also seen were Frank Longo, Adam Cohen, and Stella Daily, who have constructed puzzles for The New York Sun’s puzzle editor, Peter Gordon. Mr. Longo has been constructing puzzles for a decade, Ms. Daily for three years. Mr. Cohen, now in his 30s, has been making crossword puzzles since he was 15 years old, and sold his first puzzle at age 24.

During the question-and-answer session, the Knickerbocker also learned that Newsday crossword puzzle editor Stanley Newman hosts crossword boat cruises. The next one is a 10-day Panama Canal trip in January, starting and ending in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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TWIST AND TALK At 192 Books in Chelsea, sandal-clad author Mark Svenvold read last week from his book “Big Weather: Chasing Tornadoes in the Heart of America” (Henry Holt). His book describes a swath of the Midwest known as “tornado alley,” where thrill-seekers go in search of the “big” tornado. The activity has early roots: Benjamin Franklin was supposedly the earliest American tornado chaser – on horseback!

The true tornado chaser, Mr. Svenvold said, exhibits patience. When it comes to sitting and waiting, one must be able to “outlast Whistler’s mother” and “Rodin’s thinker.” There are times when “you can stop at almost any stoplight,” he said, and see tornado chasers. They travel along the interstate highways for long hours at a time, eating at Applebee’s and paying tour group leaders.

Frequently gesticulating with his arms, the tall author spoke of “tornado tourists.” Among the colorful figures who conduct tours for such tourists are Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz, better known as “the Twister Sisters.” The audience laughed when Mr. Svenvold said the Twister Sisters had met in Minnesota at St. Cloud State University.

Mr. Svenvold said global warming could be the defining issue of this age, and “our generation could be known as the one that did or did not address this.” He spoke of the “cult of utility,” whereby humans attempt to master natural resources, and how the sublime gets subverted by those who commodify nature for profit.

So steeped in the lore of weather is Mr. Svenvold that, he joked, “my best friends run when they see me coming” since they know he will talk about the weather. Mr. Svenvold’s entertaining book proves wrong the saying that weather is of interest only to convicts and coal miners.

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SALMAGUNDI SELECTION Kathleen Garcia Arffmann, formerly general manager of visitor services at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been named director of the Salmagundi Club, which has served as a center for American art since 1871. Educated at Columbia University, Ms. Arffmann led a staff of about 150 full- and part-time employees as well as 100 volunteers during exhibitions such as Tutankhamun, Degas, and Vermeer. In 1980 she developed the Metropolitan’s Cultural Tourism Department. Located at 47 Fifth Ave., the Salmagundi Club organizes and hosts exhibitions, lectures, painting demonstrations, and classes.