To promote Is That a Word?: From AA to ZZZ, the Weird and Wonderful Language of Scrabble, author David Bukszpan, director Alex Laviola and Chronicle Books created a parody video that painstakingly reproduced the video of U2’s classic song, “With or Without You.”
Bukszpan plays Bono in the video (but he didn’t sing the song) and FSG senior publicist Brian Gittis starred as The Edge. We’ve embedded the book trailer above, but you can compare it with the original video at this link. Here’s more about the book:
Scrabble aficionados may know that both “Brr” and “Brrr” are legitimate plays, but what about everyday names like Peter, Carl, and Marge? They’re not listed as proper nouns, but they are certainly playable. For lovers of Scrabble, Bananagrams, and Words with Friends, this lively guide helps readers make the most out of word games, packed with new ways to remember the best words alongside tips for improving game play and much more. Part strategy guide and part celebration of all things wordy, this collection of facts, tips, and surprising lists of playable words will instruct and delight the letterati.
The author reminded us in an email: “BONO is not a playable word but BONOBO is.”