PUZZLING — Stella's summer jigsaw review

When it’s too hot to play outside, to garden, or walk yourself or your dog, what should one do? When a cool room beckons, but you have reached a point in your book where you need a pause, what is a good restful alternative? When the summer evening keeps you awake longer and the cooking and dishes are done for the day, and the relatives have gone home, what’s a relaxing, but also engaging, reward? When all the conversations are had and there is no more news to catch up on, the drinks are made — cool or hot (depending on your preference) — what’s an activity you can do alone or shared? A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle!* Not any kind, but one that is interesting enough, well illustrated and designed, and one that preferably has a book theme, of course! Our summer evening activity throughout the busy festive season — not quite finished yet — has been In the Bookstore. It’s not too easy, nor frustratingly difficult. (These challenges are for other times in the year). A 1000-piece to me is perfect. The 500 never feel quite enough and are done before you know it; while the 2000 either have tiny pieces or they are too big for the puzzle cardboard which needs to be moved from room to room (i.e. has to fit through doorways) during the construction process due to the nature of small rooms in small houses. This puzzle is a delight. One, because it is a bookshop. Two, it is filled with a vast array of genres (fantasy, cooking, travel, art). Three, it has colour-coordinated bookshelves (something I would never have in reality, but love it in a puzzle). Four, book characters are popping up in their respective areas — a detective in a deerstalker solving a crime, a bard in the poetry section, Tintin and Snowy, as well as wizards and a happy prince — as well as some well-known writers checking the shelves. Five, the comic-style design is visually appealing and the illustrator’s humour peeks through. Six, it’s nicely made — nothing is worse than flimsy bending pieces or too many strange-shaped pieces. (The exception being my round childhood puzzle which I still think is wonderful. This is a themed stamps of the world jigsaw. Horses, of course!). Also available, Paperback Classics and In the Museum. And on the book theme, more amusement can be found in Classic Paperbacks Memory Game and for extra distraction, A Book of Surrealist Games.

*(Unfortunately most dogs can not participate successfully in this activity. Our cat attempts to help by skidding the pieces into place (!) when we are out of the room.)