Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
The Cambridge is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is the much-loved Charles Wysocki. I love his images, and this was an especially good one because it had so many different buildings as well as some fun words and interesting boats.
I really enjoyed putting it together. I still have four more of his in the 1000-piece size to do when the mood strikes!
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 2
This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was good, but not as good for me as the first book. I loved being introduced to the world Klune created, meeting the magical children, and seeing things unfold between Linus and Arthur. In this book, the story focuses on the fight the inhabitants of the island wage against the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to be able to live in peace. It was clever and had some really touching moments, and I appreciated the social commentary. I just didn’t feel that it drew me in the way book one did.
All Good Things Are Wild & Free is a 1000-piece puzzle from Flow/Workman Puzzles. Flow is a magazine and an international brand that celebrates mindfulness, creativity, and the simple pleasures in life. This illustration was done by Dutch artist Valesca van Waveren and was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s words in Walking.
I really enjoyed this puzzle, and I did find it very relaxing to do. I love how there are little details scattered around the image so there aren’t large sections of just one color, and I like the little touches like the rounded corners. The finish of the pieces feels smooth and clean, just how I like them.
I got this one at a puzzle swap. There is another one called Everything Is Made Out of Magic that looks really pretty too that I might consider getting.
I haven’t read a Christian fiction book in quite a while, not since my favorite Christian writer Jamie Langston Turner had a new book out. But I have been following M. Jean Pike’s blog for a while now and decided to read one of her books and really enjoyed it!
In All the Broken Places, we meet Monica Humphrey, who is a schoolteacher living with her cat Ginger. She is lonely and overweight. A fall in the grocery store leads her into a relationship with the store’s manager, Barry, as well as into a weight-loss journey. As both of these storylines unfold, we learn about Monica’s history, especially with her father and the female relatives who raised her after her mother died.
I was quickly drawn into this book and connected with Monica right away. As someone who is overweight myself, I really appreciated that Monica was portrayed as a complex human being with a range of emotions and abilities.I loved seeing her emotional growth alongside her physical transformation as she reflects on the past and how it has affected her.
Unlike many Christian fiction books, the story was not predictable, and I enjoyed the twists and turns that it took, especially at the end. I definitely recommend checking out this or one of her other books!
Rig Views is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Jason Taylor. This is another of his indoor/outdoor images that I have fallen in love with. It was actually a much quicker build than I expected. I did it on a Sunday afternoon/evening while I was doing my colonoscopy prep. ☹️
There are a lot of fun little details and textures in this puzzle, so I was never stuck or bored. I love the contrast between the beautiful nature scene with the colorful items inside the vehicle.
Doesn’t Peanut Butter look cozy? I recently bought this self-warming pet bed and he absolutely loves it. He is definitely spending the majority of his time on it!
This has been another busy week at work, but I did take Tuesday afternoon off to take Michael for a meeting with a potential new dentist. He has to switch dentists due to a change in insurance, and we needed one who had some sedation options for when he needs work done (he is fine for a cleaning). This dentist does not offer IV sedation or nitrous oxide, but he does offer medication that the patient would take the night before and the morning of the appointment. Michael has been successful with a combination of medication and nitrous, and he decided that he is willing to try just the medication the next time the situation arises, so we went ahead and scheduled his next cleaning with this dentist.
I watched a very interesting movie this week called Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser. It takes place in Japan and is directed by Japanese director Hikari. Fraser is an American actor living in Tokyo who lands a gig with a “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. It was a bit odd at times but heartwarming.
I also watched quite a lot of Olympic figure skating this week. I thought the women did especially well, and I enjoyed a lot of their free skates. I used to watch a ton of figure skating when I was younger, but I have been out of touch except for the Olympics for a while now. I enjoy some of the other winter sports as well, but just didn’t have the time to watch them this time around.
I hope everyone had a good week!
Midnight in Prague is a 1000-piece puzzle from KI Puzzles, and the artist is Mandalina Tantareanu. She is a Romanian illustrated based in Germany, and she especially loves drawing cities.
This is the third one I have done from her Cities at Midnight series. My son Michael gave it to me for Christmas in 2024, and it was the last puzzle from 2024 still on my to do shelf. There are three more puzzles in this series, which I bought myself for Christmas in 2025 so I would have the whole set.
I love puzzling buildings and words, so I was glad this puzzle had some of both. The cobblestone bridge was also fun to do. The top section with all of the blue and white was a lot more challenging but doable.
Such a lovely image!
The Devil You Know is a chick lit/romance by Freida McFadden. It is a sequel to The Devil Wears Scrubs, which I read back in 2023. I must not have realized there was a second book, but when I saw this one on Kindle Unlimited, I grabbed it to read right away.
The story centers on Dr. Jane McGill, who has a husband, a daughter, and a job at a VA hospital. At work, she runs into Dr. Ryan Reilly, who she had previously dated, and starts to wonder if she made the wrong choice back then.
I liked the first book better and would recommend starting with that one if you decide to read these, but this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it. I think it’s kind of funny that McFadden is known for her thrillers but I haven’t read any of them yet!
All Day Long Food Truck is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. Most of the food truck puzzles I have done of hers have been 500 pieces, so it was exciting to see one in a larger piece count.
I loved the bright colors in this one. My favorite part to put together was the words on the signs and menus; I find them really fun to do. I also really liked the piece shapes in this one; they are different from what I usually see from Ceaco. It did have the largest reference poster I have ever seen, which was really annoying to use but necessary to see the entire image.
Recently, one of my cousins asked me to post pictures of the process I usually follow when doing a puzzle, so I took pictures of each step as I was putting this one together and posted them on Facebook for her.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 1
Linus Baker is a solitary man who lives with his cat and enjoys old records. He works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and is sent to observe and report on one of the orphanages run by the department. This classified assignment is unique because this orphanage is home to six dangerous children and an enigmatic caretaker named Arthur Parnassus.What follows is a delightful tale of discovery and understanding.
This book is just the sort of thing I would have loved as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 50-something adult. I especially identified with Linus and his longing for beauty and connection, but all of the characters were wonderfully drawn and the story is enchanting. The social commentary is on point but not overdone as well.
I highly recommend this book and am already reading the sequel.
In So Many Words 