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Black Cat

Black Cat is a 500-piece puzzle from Fred, and the artist is Karen Obuhanych. This is a super cute puzzle that was lent to me for free from Completing the Puzzle.

Completing the Puzzle is a subscription service that is very easy to use and is great for people who want to try different brands and not worry about having to store puzzles they have done. The puzzles come in a prepaid mailer that includes a pouch with the pieces and a laminated image. When you finish the puzzle, you just stick on the label, pop it in the mail, and they will send you your next puzzle. 

They recently approached me about becoming an affiliate. If anyone is interested in trying them out, they can use my code PUZZLINGBOOKWORM to get 25% off their first month.

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What I’m Reading – July 2026

What I’m Reading Now

Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (For the Love of Austen #2) – I really enjoyed their first book, which was a retelling of Emma. This one is a retelling of Pride & Prejudice, and I like it so far.

What I Recently Finished

  • The Midnight Train by Matt Haig (The Midnight World #2)
  • The Final Target by Nora Roberts
  • The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick
  • Summer Island by Natalie Normann (Very Hygge Holiday #1)
  • Christmas Island by Natalie Normann (Very Hygge Holiday #2)

What I Added to my TBR

  • Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
  • Never Worry About Money Again: By Answering One Question by Jesse Mecham
  • Worse Than Strangers by Kyleigh Leddy

TBR Stats/Goal Updates

  • I currently have 174 books on my TBR. Of these, 10 are nonfiction and 164 are fiction.
  • I have read 36 books so far in 2026. My original goal was 100, but there is no way I am reaching that at this point, so I have changed it to 50. My reading ebbs and flows depending on my mood and circumstances, so I’m fine with making that change.
  • I have not finished any nonfiction books so far in 2026. My goal is 6.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
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Rabbit Hole Town

Rabbit Hole Town is a 500-piece puzzle from HUADADA. I came across this puzzle randomly on Amazon and just loved how cute it was. It makes me think of Peter Rabbit if he was all grown up. I love the little bedrooms and the concert hall, but my favorite space is the store near the top. 

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Bees & Honey

Bees & Honey is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cavallini & Co. This is my third puzzle from this brand and I really enjoyed it. The image features vintage-style illustrations of honey bees, beehives, and pollinator-friendly plants. Piecing together the beehives, the flowers, and the banner at the top was quite pleasant. The larger insects were easy enough but kind of creepy.

I got a bit stuck when it came to all the small bees and the plain colored pieces. Luckily a friend came over and helped me with them. It was much more fun working on those tedious pieces with someone else.

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Week in Review: June 28, 2026

This week I started taking the new medication my psychiatrist prescribed for my anxiety, and it has been a struggle. It can be quite sedating for the first couple of weeks, and I am definitely experiencing that. It got to the point on Friday that I couldn’t keep my eyes open at my desk and I had to log off work to lie down. I really hope this effect goes away soon!

On Tuesday, I had a meeting with my son’s new therapist so that he could get some background information before starting therapy with him. I really liked him. I felt like we covered all the important topics and that he seemed to understand a lot about autism. Michael will start meeting with him this coming week, and I’m hopeful that it will go well.

In other news, I won a $50 gift card to Puzzledly from an Instagram giveaway! I was able to order two regular puzzles and one mini puzzle. It was so exciting! I’ll post the puzzles when I get them; they are new releases so they won’t be shipping for a couple of weeks.

I have still been puzzling a lot more than reading. I am only on my fifth book this month. I am currently reading Christmas Island by Natalie Normann.

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Redoing My First Puzzle After Five Years

This month marks five years since I started doing puzzles, so I celebrated by putting together my very first puzzle again. When I had done it the first time, several of the pieces had separated from the cardboard backing, so I took some time to glue them back together.

The quality of the puzzle was definitely an issue with a lot of peeling on the knobs and the pieces having what I can only describe as a squishy fit. The finish was quite glossy as well, and the lighting where I was doing it made that challenging.

I still had a great time putting it together though. The flowers and butterflies/other insects came together quickly and the words took a bit longer, just how I remember it the first time.

I am so thankful to my therapist who suggested way back when that I needed another hobby besides reading. Little did she know my foray into puzzling would turn into an ongoing obsession that would give me so much joy and result in me finding a whole bunch of people who love it just as much as I do!

Puzzle: Rare and Beautiful by Puzzle Crush, 500 pieces

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My Library Tour

My personal library is pretty small, as libraries go. I have gotten rid of a lot of books over the years for various reasons, and for the last several years have consumed books primarily through digital means – either on the Kindle app or through library apps like Libby and Hoopla.

I thought it would be fun to give a little tour of what physical books I do have. Enjoy!

At the top of the first bookshelf, we have the children’s section. The top shelf has the Little House books as well as all of the spinoffs that were written about her daughter, her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. The second shelf has some Little House books for very young children as well as some other children’s classics.

Next we have the fiction section. This includes some classics and some contemporary, including all of the books written by my favorite Christian author, Jamie Langston Turner. Sitting horizontally is my very small physical TBR.

At the bottom of bookshelf number one are some photo albums from my younger years and my son’s babyhood up until we started using digital cameras. I also have some D&D books, some high school and college yearbooks, and a recipe binder.

The top two shelves of bookshelf number two are actually not books, but DVDs. I used to own just a few movies, but then I decided a few years ago to collect some of the shows and movies that I wanted to have access to outside of streaming services. I also have one game – Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Switch.

The middle two shelves of this bookcase are my nonfiction section. The first shelf has Christian nonfiction books, including several Bibles, and the second shelf has autism-related books and a couple of cookbooks.

The last shelf is actually Michael’s books. He rarely reads but does have a few books he has collected over the years that he wants to keep. He had started collecting Pokemon books but later decided he didn’t want to get any more than the three sets he has now.

I just looked at my Kindle digital content, and I have 310 books and 6 audiobooks on there. On the Libby app, there is a list of 491 books that I have borrowed going back to 2017.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of my physical book collection!

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Green Room

Green Room is a 1000-piece puzzle from Soonness, and the artist is Rowon. I have heard about this brand for years but never considered it before because of the price. Earlier this year, I decided to splurge and get one to try it out. After putting it together, I have mixed feelings about it.

First of all, I love the art! The colors are great, and the whole feel of the image is just so cozy and full of life. There was quite a bit of green and brown that slowed me down, but thankfully the pieces had unique connectors that made it not too overwhelming.

On the other hand, the quality of the pieces was not that great. A couple of the pieces were damaged, and the knobs were peeling on some of the other pieces. The brand did send out an email that they were aware of the issue and that we could send in pictures to get a replacement puzzle. I feel like for the money I spent, they should have had better quality control upfront, but I appreciate the effort to make things right.

For me personally, the pieces were a bit too matte. The finish felt almost like paper to me, and I didn’t really like it. So this is not a brand I would consider rebuying.

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Week in Review: June 21, 2026

This was a busy week. Last Sunday Michael and I had lunch with our friends Mike and Sherry. It was nice to see them as it had been a while since we got together. I also needed to get their house key since I had agreed to feed their cats while they went on a trip. Mike also asked if I could tape the back of a puzzle he had done because he wanted to frame it, so I did that on Saturday.

Here is the puzzle he did and what it looks like with puzzle glue sheets on it.

On Wednesday, my friend Suzanne came over. We ordered pizza and she helped me finish a puzzle I was working on that had gotten to the challenging spots. I was very glad for her help and her company. Then on Friday, my friend Renee came up and we went together to see Shakespeare in the Park. This theater group has been doing free plays every summer for thirty-three years! Renee and I have gone the last three years, and we really enjoy it. The play this year was As You Like It, and it was a lot of fun.

I had orthodontist and eye doctor appointments this week, and both went well. I also helped Michael fill out paperwork for a new therapist and coached him on how to tell his current therapist he wanted to stop seeing him. Michael felt like the conversation went well, and I am so proud of him.

I still get overwhelmed when I am busy or things are very loud, but I’m glad to be better able to handle social things better than I had been.

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The Beach Hut

The Beach Hut is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Steve Read. This is part of their My Haven series. My friend Renee got this for me for Christmas. I was impressed because she picked out a puzzle that I really liked and also because it was complete despite coming used from a flea market.

I really enjoyed building this one. There were so many interesting objects in the image, and I found the colors very soothing. It was a pleasant experience all around, and I am always happy with the Ravensburger quality.