Author: Trish

Into reading, decluttering, budgeting, and doing jigsaw puzzles!
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Library Puzzles

I posted the other day that I had borrowed a couple of puzzles from the community collection at the library. I was excited to do them, so I sat down last weekend and ended up doing both of them one after the other. They didn’t take very long since they were both only 300 pieces and they had extra large pieces.

The first one I did was A Pie for the Parson, which is from Buffalo Games and features art by Charles Wysocki. It is the first winter scene I have done this season, so it was a refreshing change from all the fall puzzles I have been doing. I love the idea of a pie wagon coming around to my house!

The second one was called Sailing on the Wind, and it is also from Buffalo Games and the artist is Steve Sundram. I love how bright and colorful it is! It was so much fun to pick out all the different patterns on the hot air balloons.

I am hoping I will find some more great choices when I return these to the library!

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Fall Grid

Fall Grid is a 1000-piece puzzle from 1canoe2. I love grid puzzles, and I love 1canoe2, so this was a home run for me. I have actually done another grid puzzle from this brand called Simple Joys, and I loved it as well. Full disclosure, they were having a $15 puzzle sale, so I actually just ordered a Halloween-themed grid puzzle from them to do next October.

This puzzle has such cozy fall vibes with the crackling fireplace, the mug of hot cocoa, the basket of apples, and the other images. I also love the beautiful colors. The quality of this brand is top notch, with great piece quality and a good fit. Such a great experience!

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The Lost Bookshop

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I enjoyed The Lost Bookshop so much. I loved immersing myself in the world Woods created in this story.

The highlights:

✅I have really come to enjoy magical realism as I have read more of it, and it was very well done in this book. 

✅I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to follow along with the two timelines and the different points of view. 

✅The two women did encounter some difficult situations in their lives that were hard to read about, but they was handled well.

✅The emphasis on books was so lovely, especially the rare book dealing aspect.

✅I love Henry, the MMC.

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Marie’s Pumpkin Patch

Marie’s Pumpkin Patch is a 500-piece puzzle from Spin Master Games, and the artist is Fiona Lee. I wasn’t familiar with Fiona Lee, so I looked her up and found some really charming illustrations. This one definitely fits the fall theme.

The quality of this brand is not as good as a lot of the others I have done. The main problem I have with it is the feel of the pieces – they have a flat feel I didn’t like. For lack of a better work, they feel icky. I will probably avoid this brand in the future.

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Library Haul and Puzzle Swaps

I read most of my books on my phone these days, but occasionally I have to make a trip to the library for some physical books that I can’t find in Libby or Hoopla. I picked up these two on my last trip and have already started Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop. It’s lovely so far.

The two puzzles I found in the community collection section of the library. I’m not sure why items are placed there instead of in regular circulation, but there were a few puzzles mixed in with the books and audiobooks. I had a nice chat with the librarian about it and found out they want you to let them know when you are taking items and how many and then return them like you would regular library items. That way they can see how much use the collection is getting.

I asked about donations, and they accept up to a box a day per person and it can include puzzles. There is no guarantee the donations would end up in the community collection, though. They could be included in the next library book sale if that’s what they decide. So I’m debating whether to donate puzzles to them or just hold onto them for the next time there is a puzzle swap near me.

Speaking of swaps, I exchanged messages recently with someone from one of the Facebook groups I belong to who wanted to swap some puzzles. I accidentally agreed to exchange a puzzle I really didn’t want to part with because I didn’t read what she had written very carefully, and I was not sure what to do about it, but then she had to delay the swap due to some health issues and asked if I wanted to wait or cancel, so I was able to cancel without impunity. It was such a relief!

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Loveless

Loveless by Alice Oseman is a young adult novel about Georgia, who is struggling to understand and define her sexuality. She is headed to college and still hasn’t had any sexual or romantic feelings for anyone, not even a crush. Has she not met the right guy yet? Does she actually like girls? Should she just try kissing someone to see what happens? What is wrong with her?

During the course of her freshman year, Georgia learns about the A in LGBTQIA+ and discovers that there is nothing wrong with her–she is simply asexual/aromantic. Coming to understand this brings a lot of changes in how she sees herself and how she moves through a world that is so focused on coupling up.

I loved this book. It was so engaging, and I was totally invested in Georgia’s journey. I also appreciated the strong friendships and enjoyed the university setting. It’s not perfect, but it does a great job of showing one possible experience of being aro/ace. Well worth the read!

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Fall Festival

Fall Festival is a 1000-piece puzzle from Pieces & Peace, and the artist is Abby Jacobs. This is a French brand I tried for the first time earlier this year and loved, so I was happy to be able to get some more from them.

I originally had this on my shelf to do sometime this fall, but then someone else posted it on Instagram and I realized it actually had Halloween elements in it. So I pulled it out to do at the end of October. I finished it Halloween night, which I was happy about.

I love the fall vibes with the colorful trees and cozy market stalls. But my favorite part is the kids in their Halloween costumes all lined up for the costume contest.

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The Bookstore

The Bookstore is a 300-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Charles Wysocki. There was one piece missing, which is unfortunate. I got this at a puzzle swap, but it is possible that I lost the piece myself – I need to double check under the couch to see if I can find it.

I enjoyed this image. It went very fast due to the smaller piece count, but it was still a lot of fun.

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Woodworking

Woodworking by Emily St. James

I had to wait a long time for my hold of Woodworking to come up, but it was well worth the wait. This is the story of Erica Skyberg, a trans woman who hasn’t told anyone yet. Erica is a recently divorced high school English teacher, and she befriends Abigail, who is one of her students and a trans girl.

There is a lot to like about this book. It is very well written with interesting characters and good pacing. I also learned a lot about the trans experience from characters at different points of their transition. It was a pleasure to read, and I look forward to more from this new author.

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The Language of Flowers

The Language of Flowers is a 1000-piece puzzle from Reverie, and the artist is Winona Kieslich. This was my first puzzle from Reverie. It is an Australian brand and all of their puzzles have something to do with books.

They are a bit pricey and sometimes hard to get here in the US. I got this one several months ago when I had a free shipping code, which made the cost a bit more palatable. Now the US tariffs have driven the prices up even more, so I will not be buying them for the moment.

Now to the puzzle itself: I absolutely loved it! It was a fabulous experience and the image is just so charming! Everything from the packaging to the piece shapes to the level of detail in the image was perfect.