This was a very fun puzzle to put together. It was complex but not frustrating and had lots of interesting parts. The pieces snapped together fairly well and were in mostly good shape. Could make out the print on them, too.
This puzzle makes me think of my son - his favorite holiday has always been the 4th of July - even getting married in July so they could set off fireworks. :) And I always appreciate when there is a poster included for close viewing. Will have to pull this one back out in July!
Wow!! This book got me!! I wasn't sure what to expect and feared it would be too scary or intense. I don't love highly suspenseful books and thought it might be a freaky (un-nerving) mental health plotline. It was not that. It was a mystery and a character study with a twist at the end that was truly shocking! I think this is a book I could re-read - something I rarely like to do. But I'd love to see if I see things any differently knowing the ending. At one point I felt some behaviors of one of the characters were mirroring the actions of another character, but I had no idea how this book would twist and turn and completely catch me by surprise... to the point that I quite literally sat upright in bed and yelled "What???" at one point. :) Even looking back through the book now for quotes, it is so head shaking and well written. The suspense, the "I should have guessed", etc. Wow. Highly recommended!
I rated this book 5 out of 5 starts. The rest of the book club, as a whole, rated it 4.5. Pretty high average for a group of particular women! :)
Quotes from the book...
About love... about how we often mistake love for fireworks - for drama and dysfunction. But real love is very quiet, very still. It's boring if seen from the perspective of high drama. Love is deep and calm - and consistent.
We were crashing through every last boundary between therapist and patient. Soon it would be impossible to tell who was who.
I could reveal the truth about the man she was living with, whose bed she shared. I had no choice. I had to help her.
Here are some links of potential interest to go along with this book.
World of Wonders is a lovely book filled with beautiful illustrations by the author (worth the hard cover price). It is truly beautiful to hold in your hand and read. It is quite a mix of scientific information about plants and animals mixed with with a poetic memoir that touches on nostalgia, racism, and even hope. So you learn something about biology and are also touched and enlightened. I really enjoyed reading this book and it would not be as good an experience on Kindle. You need the experience of the actual book in your hands. Also, it inspired me to learn more about peacocks!
I rated this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
Nashville Public Television - A Word on Words with Aimee Nezhukamatathil
An enjoyable story. It is set in the 1980's and was written in 2013 - but it doesn't feel too dated. There were some parallels (vaguely) with The Midnight Library - about parallel lives and changing the course of your life. It also showed me that while things change, they also stay the same. The character who hated things without really even having any personal knowledge of, or experience with, them was powerfully written. I loved how that character went out to look at things - newspaper, the columns, the glass pyramids - and decide for himself. (side note - I guess I just didn't realize that when I saw those glass pyramids myself, in person in 1992, that they were so new! They were only created in the mid-80's!) I loved the ending of this book a lot.
I would give this book 4 stars.
Quotes from the book -
The important events in our lives are always the result of a sequence of tiny details.
"Wearing a hat gives you a feeling of authority over someone who isn't" he thought to himself.
This was a good book, albeit low key. I did enjoy learning more about C.S. Lewis. The family story with Meg and her brother George was very sweet. It was a good story overall yet I couldn't help but feel the writing was mediocre. However, this is one of those books that grows on me in memory... so 4 stars. :)
Quotes from the book...
Maybe someday you'll be old enough to read fairy tales again.
Reason is how you get to truth, but imagination is how we find meaning.
When you are fed up with life, start writing. Ink is the great cure for all human ills.
What if there were a library out there with books about the life you actually live and books about the ways your life might have gone had you made different choices... and what if you got the chance to explore it and perhaps change your life yet again? Would you make different choices thus altering the course of your whole existence?
The Midnight Library was a unique and interesting book to read. It struck me as kind of like Quantum Leap - except all within Nora's own life. I loved the idea of discovering that regrets weren't really regrets - that those decisions were actually good ones. That life is good even in the midst of hard. Trust your gut. This was really different than books I usually read - but I so enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more by Matt Haig!
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars. My book club as a whole rated it 4.1 stars.
Quotes from the book...
Thomas Hobbes had viewed memory and imagination as pretty much the same thing, and since discovering that she had never entirely trusted her memories.
"Never underestimate the big importance of small things," Mrs. Elm said. "You must always remember that."
I am saying that the thing that looks the most ordinary might end up being the thing that leads you to victory.
It would have made things a lot easier if we understood there was no way of living that can immunize you against sadness. And that sadness is intrinsically part of the fabric of happiness. You can't have one without the other.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
The Lincoln Highway spans 10 days in June 1954 as a group of young people travel across the US on The Lincoln Highway encountering adventures and learning more about themselves all along the way. There was a definite feeling of The Odyssey in this book.
This was quite a book! I so enjoyed reading it and found myself thinking about it during the day - anticipating reading again at night. It wasn't that I loved the characters (I really only liked Billy), but I was drawn into the story. Each 'voice' was clear and recognizable. I did note the chapters going backwards from 10 to 1. But it wasn't until after I finished that I really contemplated that meaning. Billy had asked Emmett to count to 10 before he acted in anger or hurt someone again. In a way the book was Emmett building in anger to its conclusion, although quietly. The end got me... I did not know how the book would end, but didn't expect what happened. In re-reading the last part of Emmett's story, it says what happened in so many words. While reading this book I was quite aware that the author was masterful at holding tension throughout without me wanting to yell RUN! It also inspired me to want to travel the Lincoln Highway coast to coast.
I rated this book a 5 out of 5 stars. My book club as a whole rated it 4.1 stars.
Quotes from the book...
For what is kindness but the performance of an act that is both beneficial to another and unrequired?
Yes, Emmett. A good Christian shows compassion toward those who are in difficulty. And that is an important part of the parable's meaning. But an equally important point that Jesus is making is that we do not always get to choose to whom we should show our charity.
How easily we forget - we in the business of storytelling - that life was the point all along.
Emmett believed that the power within him was new in nature, that no one but he could know what he was capable of, and that he had only just begun to know it himself.
CBS Saturday Morning with Amor Towles
Amor Towles website where he answers questions about the book The Lincoln Highway and share the recipe for Fettuccine Mix Amore. :)
This was another one of those 300 piece Bits & Pieces puzzles that I really disliked before. I tried this because I really liked the picture and wanted a smaller puzzle to do quickly. Figured it would be tough and frustrating because of all those stupid and weirdly shaped pieces, but it wasn't! Main difference between this one and the other one was the quality of the image. You could actually look at the puzzle pieces and determine what it looked like - what it might be! Big difference! So, while those weird shaped pieces aren't my favorite, maybe all those puzzles aren't lost. If the image is good, the puzzles can be okay. Will try more in the future and not just give them all away. (just wish it had a listing of what all the places in the picture are - to know names and locations.) Note - some of the pieces, the picture part was lifting away from the piece... not many, but some. :(
This was the puzzle that I completed while we were (finally!) getting out of covid quarantine! But by this point, I was totally hooked on jigsaw puzzles. :) I knew that even though we were returning to our 'regular' lives, I would continue putting together puzzles.
This was my first MasterPieces puzzle and the first of their Travel Diary series. This one was of Barcelona. Truly, on a cold winter day, imagining travel to Spain is a very good thing. :)
Some of the pieces 'fit' more than one place. But not bad and not detracting from the fun overall. Nice scene. 9th puzzle - a real challenge, especially at the end! I was realizing at this point how much I love having a poster included with a puzzle. So much easier to hold and look at than the box.
I remember this puzzle felt like a turning point of some kind. I was ready to really seek out new puzzles and felt like I had a feel for what I liked (and didn't like). This was my first puzzle from Vermont Christmas Company and definitely made me a stalwart fan. This was also my first puzzle by artist David Maclean. And while I didn't realize it then, he would absolutely become one of my very favorite puzzle artists - no matter the brand!
It was a 550 piece puzzle and was harder than I expected it to be. The colors and print were quite vague so it was hard to tell what was what. However, it was enjoyable - not frustrating like that Bits & Pieces puzzle had been. It felt like a good challenge - and was very fun. I even sent a photo of the completed puzzle to my friend, Donna... the bikes reminded me of her. :)
Still in quarantine and working my way through that online order of puzzles... this one was sweet and easy. Bright, colorful and fun. But I was beginning to realize I wanted more challenge than 300 piece puzzles (for the most part).
I was so excited when this puzzle was delivered! The minute I saw it online I knew I wanted to put it together. It did not disappoint in any way. This was also my first move 'up' from the 300 piece puzzles. That felt a bit daunting! :) This was such an enjoyable puzzle - and of course I loved the image - it combined two of my favorite hobbies in one!
Finished on January 22, 2022
Puzzle #6 - Ravensburger Cozy Wine Terrace - 500 pieces - #167968 - Challenging and fun. Good pieces in size, color and fit.
This was a balm to cover the frustration of that last one! ha! Simple, easy, sweet picture. The pieces actually looked like the puzzle was supposed to. And I did love the larger poster included, too - especially since the box was small. I now know this is offered in 1000 pieces, as well. I think I would enjoy putting that one together, too. This really was a lovely and relaxing puzzle. Pretty sure I would enjoy hanging out with these 'three sisters'. :)
Finished on January 20, 2022 (yes, we were still in covid quarantine...)
By this time I had placed some online orders to feed my growing enthusiasm... :) They had arrived and I felt like a kid in a candy shop - or at the very least a kid with a brand new package of 64 crayons! What to do first??? I chose this puzzle from Bits & Pieces and was soon feeling totally undermined. I did NOT like the wonky shaped pieces. This is when I realized my brain does not work 'sideways'. (This puzzling experience truly has shown me many things about how I think... so very interesting.)
Soooo, the Bits & Pieces 'random cut' is not for me... made zero sense to my logical brain. I also felt the picture was so vaguely printed that nothing really looked clear or like it was supposed to. However, I wasn't going to let it beat me! I managed to finish it. Looking back, this is so interesting that I struggled so much with a 300 piece puzzle. I wonder if it would still be a struggle for me now or if I have strengthened my puzzling muscles enough that it would be easier today... hmmm....
Puzzle #3 - FX Schmid - A Day for a Brougham Ride - 300 pieces
More attic shopping... came up with this one next. (Thankful for those slight hoarding tendencies I have??) ha! Still in covid quarantine...
This puzzle wasn't as enjoyable as the first two primarily because the colors weren't very distinct and so it was harder to put together. Even after placing some of the pieces I couldn't tell by looking at that piece that it truly 'belonged' there. But by this point I was 'old hat' at puzzling and decided to just take it in stride. ;) ha!
Finished on January 18, 2022
Puzzle #3 - FX Schmid - A Day for a Brougham Ride - 300 pieces. I did like the larger pieces.
Puzzle #2 - MB Puzzles - Charles Wysocki Americana - Traveling Cowboy EZ Grasp - 300 pieces
Again, I went 'shopping' in my attic and found another old puzzle up there. Good thing as we were still in covid quarantine. :)
This time I found Charles Wysocki's Traveling Cowboy. I really liked this one. Easy but with a bit of challenge - nice pieces to work with. Getting the hang of this puzzling thing!
Finished on January 17, 2022
Puzzle #2 - MB Puzzles - Charles Wysocki Americana - Traveling Cowboy EZ Grasp - 300 pieces
Puzzle #1 - Charles Wysocki Americana - Catchin' Bugs. 300 piece EZ grasp - MB Puzzles
This is the puzzle that got me started. My husband was sick with covid and we were cooped up in the cold, early days of January, 2022. I decided to finally get on the bandwagon (albeit a couple of years later than the rest of the world!) and put together a jigsaw puzzle. But being quarantined meant I had to go 'shopping' for a puzzle in my own house. Lo and behold, I found a couple stashed up in the attic. I lugged them down and decided to put them together. I realized that I was going to love putting together jigsaw puzzles! What a wonderful discovery! I jokingly said that jigsaw puzzles are what I WANTED coloring to be last year. (I decided to color as a stress reliever a year ago but found the whole process of coloring to be far too stressful! ha!) Putting together jigsaw puzzles provided me with mindful mindlessness... what a gift! Truly, these puzzles have been a great stress reliever and I am fully hooked.
Finished on January 16, 2022
Puzzle #1 - Charles Wysocki Americana - Catchin' Bugs. 300 piece EZ grasp - MB Puzzles
