SqueakyChu Continues Puzzling in 2025 - 1st Quarter

Hi Folks!

It's me back again...reading and puzzling. I very much enjoyed posting pictures of some of the jigsaw puzzles I've done in the past, and I will continue to do so throughout this year of 2025.

My name is Madeline. I'm in my 70s, married, with three grown children, and two grandchildren, ages eleven and six. I'm a retired nurse, but now I sort of live the life of a librarian as I have a very active Little Free Library on our front lawn (built by my husband), am an avid Bookcrosser, a devoted fan of LibraryThing, and the creator of the TIOLI challenge on LT's 75 Books Challenges for many years now.

My favorite reads are literary fiction (particularly contemporary Israeli and Japanese novels) and memoirs. I never know what I will read in the future as...if a book I want to read is on a list...for sure I'll never read it. Stick around and see what I will read...at random, of course. :D



Pages Read YTD: 1,517
Pages Read per Day: increased to 17
Books in my To Read Pile: increased to 329
BookCrossing Books to be Released: decreased to 1,500

JANUARY


Market Day by Playful Pastimes, 1,000 pieces

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Bookcrossing Meetup in La Madeleine, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on 01/18/24. It was fun, but the restaurant was too noisy!

CURRENTLY READING:
1. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin - TIOLI #1: Read a book which has a least one set of double letters in both the title and the author's name - 401 pages

FEBRUARY:


Butterfly Dreams by Simply Southern - 1,000 pieces

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Bookcrossing Meetup at a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia on 02/16/25. I skipped this due to bad weather.

COMPLETED:
2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi - TIOLI #1: Read a book with the word "cat" in the book's title, subtitle or author's name or pictures a cat on its front cover (cat on cover) - 272 pages
3. What You Are Looking for is in the Library - by Michiko Aoyama - TIOLI #1: Read a book with the word "cat" in the book's title, subtitle or author's name or pictures a cat on its front cover (cat on cover) - 300 pages
4. Murder in the Yoga Store - Peter Ross Range - TIOLI #3: Read a book with a title word that starts with the same letter as your first or last name (M, first name) - 150 pages

MARCH:


Venice by Peter Pauper Press - 1,000 pieces

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Bookcrossing Meetup in Alexandria, Virginia.

COMPLETED:
5. Kissing Girls on Shabbat - Sara Glass - TIOLI #1: Read a memoir written by and about someone you never heard of before 2025 - 293 pages
6. The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A Practical Handbook for Autistic Teens and Tweens - Yenn Purkis - TIOLI#4: Read a book with a four-letter word embedded in a longer word in the title (some/awesme) - 108 pages
7. The Thinking Heart - David Grossman - TIOLI #4: Read a book with a four-letter word embedded in a longer word in the title (king) - 93 pages

Feel free to stop by to say hi. I'll finish my thread topper(s) someday soon! :D Done!

Welcome back!

>6 drneutron: Thank you so much, Jim. Of course, I’m here again!

Wouldn't be the same without you, Madeline. xx

Hi Madeline, i have starred your thread dear friend.

>8 PaulCranswick: I plan on sticking around for a bit!

>9Thanks, John...and I starred yours as well.

>10 SqueakyChu: I should hope so too!

>11 PaulCranswick: LOL!

Hi, love the jigsaw puzzles, especially Venice. Starred.

Happy new thread Madeline!

I'm looking forward to another year of TIOLI!

>13 Kristelh: I am sooo addicted to jigsaw puzzles now, Kristel. It's cutting into my reading time, I believe, but we'll just have to ive with that.

>14 quondame: Susan, you know I'm looking forward to it as well. It never loses its fun for me.

>15 SqueakyChu: I understand what you are saying about puzzling cutting into reading. I plan to enjoy both in 2025. Happy New Year to you. I plan to visit threads more often, including yours of course!

>16 Whisper1: Welcome back to my thread, Linda. Do stop in to say hi often and tell me about puzzles you are going to be doing!

Alas, I have a lot of holiday puzzles that I was going to put together, but somehow didn't get around to doing them. I plan on starting a 1,00o piece puzzle of nutcrackers tomorrow morning. What are your plans for the first puzzle?

>18 Whisper1: I do puzzles continuously, Linda. If you are on Instagram, I post pictures of them there. Just friend me there, and you can see them. I'm squeakychusssssss on Instagram. Yes, there are seven of the letter s at the end of my screen name because I was angry that someone else used my name there! Also I post pictures of my puzzles on Reddit under "r/jigsawpuzzles".

I rent puzzles from a puzzle rental company called Completing the Puzzle (completingthepuzzle.com). In between those, I either buy puzzles at my local Friends of the Library used bookstore or redo some of our own puzzles. I also swap puzzles with fellow puzzlers in my BookCrossing (BookCrossing.com) meetup group once a month.

I guess my first puzzle of the New Year will probably be whatever puzzle I get in the mail from the puzzle rental company. I don't know what it is ahead of time. I have a wishlist there, and they send me puzzles at random from my wishlist. Receipt of every puzzle is such a fun surprise.

I like to do 1,000 and 1,500 piece puzzles at this time because they fit well on the folding board we use to do them. During pandemic we did a lot of 1,500 and 2,000 piece puzzles. That's when I really got started with them. Before that, it was only doing a large puzzle each summer at a beach week during our vacation. Pandemic changed tha dramatically!

Madeline--Happy new thread. Here's to 2025 and books and puzzles and friends!!

>20 Berly: Hi, Kim! Wishing you all the best for 2025!!

Happy 2025, Madeline

>22 PaulCranswick: Hey, Paul! Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Madeline. Here's to DC United making the playoffs. If the Commanders can be revitalized so can DC United.

>24 Oberon: From your typing to God’s ear! I used to be the greatest Redskins fan, but that was back in the dark ages. Now I, too, would like to see a better DC United in the coming season. I’ll be sure to roots for the Loons as well.

I am deeply sorry (among other emotions) that the Harris-Walz team lost the election. I was growing very fond of Tim Walz, who seems like such a good guy.

Best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy New Year, Eric.

Happy New Year Madeline! I'm going to try to spend more time this year visiting threads--dropping my star now.

On puzzles versus reading--my hands down favorite way to spend time is doing a jigsaw puzzle while listening to an audiobook. For me they are completely complementary activities and that way I don't have to choose.

Happy New Year! Your puzzle pictures are so beautiful. I always mean to do more puzzles but never get around to it.

Enjoy your 2025 reads!

>26 AnneDC: Hi, Anne!! Happy New Year! So happy to hear that you love puzzling as much as I do.

>27 _Zoe_: Hi , Zoe! So glad we got to see you this past year. I understand why you may be a bit too busy to do much puzzling! Wishing you and your whole family the best in the New Year.

>28 thornton37814: Hi, Lori! I’m starting out the year enjoying my reading and intend to get more reading done this year than last year. I hope 2025 is wonderful for you and your loved ones!

Happy New Year, Madeline!

Happy New Year, Madeline!

>30 quondame: >31 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Susan and Deborah! Wishing you both a good-to-you 2025.

>2 SqueakyChu: Love that puzzle!

Happy reading in 2025

>33 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. Have a great New Year!

>35 johnsimpson: All the best to you and your family in the New Year, John!

>36 SqueakyChu:, Thank you Madeline my dear.

A belated Happy New Year, Madeline! I love the puzzle pictures, especially >4 SqueakyChu:. Thanks for sharing!

>25 SqueakyChu: I had the same impression of Tim Walz. What a shame that we got the opposite.

I hope you have a wonderful reading year!

>38 atozgrl: Thank you so much, Irene. I love to share pictures of the puzzles I’ve completed, especially those with great original art work.

The coming four years will be tough. Thinking about what might have been makes me sad, but that’s in the past now, and we have to do the best we can to face the future in a positive way.

>39 SqueakyChu: Amen to that! I am trying to think positive thoughts here at the start of the year, and I'm going to try to avoid things that upset me this year.

>40 atozgrl: Irene, good for you! Great plan!

I am going to try to do good deeds to counter all the awful things I've already seen done by those who will be in the new US federal administration. However, I am very proud and supportive of my Maryland leaders, both state (Angela Alsobrooks, Jamie Raskin, Wes Moore, Chris Van Hollen) and local.

One thing I've decided to do is to maintain a regular charity donation schedule rather than just donate at whim. Each month, I will decide which charity will get my donation to counteract whatever horrible thing the new US government tries to put in place. I no longer feel I can march, and I am limited by my poor hearing. However, I think that, rather than despair or get angry, a better approach for me would be to do something to counter what I see as negative. In that way, I hope to practive tikkun olam which is a Hebrew phrase for "repairing the world". Please join me in this.

I would love to hear what others are going to do to work against all the negativity and hatred which seems to be filling the world (sadly, this is not only just in my country). Please share ideas with me as well.

Oh! And against the book bans...I live in Maryland which has a law that bans book bans. Therefore, I will happily fill our own Little Free Library with whatever books I choose to fill it.

By the way, I am on BlueSky since I deactivated X and Threads. You can find me there as SqueakyChu.

Please join me in hoping and praying for peace (especially for my close family and friends) in Israel and the speedy return of the hostages.

>41 SqueakyChu: related to your charity donation schedule = every time I buy a book, I donate the same amount to a charity -
listed with Paul's charities on his site...

>41 SqueakyChu: What a great idea! I'll have to think about what I can do.

I'm not familiar with most of the politicians you mention, but I have been very thankful for Jamie Raskin.

>42 m.belljackson: Point me to Paul's charities on his site. I've never seen that.

I love that you donate to charity each time you buy a book. i almost never buy books any more because I get so many book donations from neighbors and friends for my Little Free Library. In addition, I have been swapping books with fellow BookCrossers since 2003! In BookCrossing I have released over 36,000 books to others to date! :)
https://www.bookcrossing.com/memberstats/releases

>43 atozgrl: Yeah, Irene, Jamie Raskin made his presence known very quickly! I was at a town hall of his at my synagogue before he ran for Maryland Congressman from my district. I wanted to shake his hand, but there was too much of a crowd around him to easily allow me to do that. I'm sorry now that I didn't push my way through that crowd to express my personal appreciation for him. I do that online all the time, but that's not the same. I feel very lucky to be one of his constituents.

Hi Madeline, Happy New Thread. I'm not sure if I've followed you in the past, but this year thread starred.

Your Jigsaw puzzle posts reminds me of a TikTok I saw recently. The person does a lot of puzzles too and they share them with friends after they finish, but what they do is sign and date the last piece they put in. Then as they circle around the friend group, each new finish signs their last piece (assuming its not the same piece). Interesting idea.

>46 mahsdad: Hi, Jeff! Good to have you here. Happy New Year!

I love the idea of signing and dating the last piece. What my husband and I do is that we leave four pieces at the end for both of us to finish the puzzle at the same time. After we complete it, we sign the box with the date completed, the days it took us to complete the puzzle, the city we were in when we completed it, and if any pieces are missing. Afterward, if it's not a keeper puzzle, we swap our puzzle with fellow puzzlers (mostly in my local Bookcrossing group). All of us do that signing thing, so it's lots of fun...and each puzzle has a history.

On some of our older puzzles, like the larger ones we used to do annually at the beach, I've found puzzle pieces that my younger son wrote comments on. It's always fun to find those.

Hi Madeline. Read through your threads. That is quite the number of books released on Book Crossings. And I really like the idea of signing/dating the last piece of jigsaw puzzles. I finished my first puzzle here in Florida. It was only 300 largie pieces so it wasn't hard but I did like the picture. I will post it soon.

>48 Kristelh: Looking forward to see the puzzles you do, Kristel. I post pics of my puzzles on Instagram (I'm SqueakyChusssssss there) and on Reddit (on the forum called jigsawpuzzles, where I'm SqueakyChuChu). I don't post them all here because they're too many for a book group! LOL!

>1 SqueakyChu: Welcome back and happy reading in 2025!

>44 SqueakyChu: Check Paul's Grand European Tour 1, Numbers 181 and 182.

Many of my books are from Thrift, but donation ($15 today) adds up!

>50 ocgreg34: Thank you so much! Happy New Year. Wishing you good reading for 2025.

>51 m.belljackson: I'll check it out. Thank you!

>51 m.belljackson: So I see that Paul donates to ecology, literacy, Alzheimers and cancer research and you donate to Animal groups, like Defenders of Wildlife or Friends of Animals or aavs, UNICEF, the Sierra Club, Best Friends, Women for Women, and the potbelly pigs of Tucson!

I'll be doing monthly donations to Jewish/Israeli causes (as most of my family are Israeli, and I am deeply sad they have to be at war) and food providers because food is so expensive (I don't understand how less affluent people can even feed their families these days). I'll probably look for other causes to which to donate simply because our forthcoming political situation is going to be unbearable. I don't want to live in a country of consisting only of lies, bullying, immorality, and hatred.

>29 SqueakyChu: I'm so glad we got to see you too! One day I'll get around to posting/sharing some photos of the visit :)

I like your tikkun olam project; that sounds like a great way to spread some positivity.

>54 _Zoe_: I'm not only doing it for others, Zoe. I am doing it for myself to try to elevate my mood. It's going to be so hard to get through the next four years and to maintain a hopeful outlook during that time.

I have a question for those reading (or who have already read) On Freedom by Timothy Snyder. I thought that this book was going to be a small, easy-to-read book as were On Tyranny and Our Malady. I just started it and find it more to be a book about his philosophy about freedom. I don't quite understand it. I've read about 10% of this book. Should I continue through it, or should I bail? I really, really like Timothy Snyder, but so far I can't comprehend what he's trying to say. :(

>56 SqueakyChu: I have read his Bloodlands and Black Earth and they were fairly dense books (and horrific in subject matter). I thought both of them very much worth the read but they were very different books then On Tyranny. I would say you don't have to subject yourself to a treatise if that wasn't what you were looking for.

>57 Oberon: Thanks for your input, Erik. I've put that book on hold while I read a novel I'm really enjoying. My guess is that Snyder's book will probably soon be due back at the library, and I won't be able to renew it as it's new and popular. I see Snyder quite a bit on TV. My husband always calls me when he appears.

Hi Madeline!

I was thinking of joining you for On Freedom, but I think I'll hold off a bit, since you are If you decide to tackle it again any time soon, let me know. I've got quite a few heavier books I want to get to, but I know I'm going to have to mix in quite a lot of the lighter stuff just to keep !my mood up

>59 Dejah_Thoris: I'm going to bail on On Freedom. I'll have to read it sometime in the future. I'm too depressed about the political changes in the U.S. now and want to read lighter stuff. It's hard enough these days to read the hateful news which makes me feel depressed, frightened and angry. My next read is going to be Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi which two friends recommended to me.

1. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin



****************************
TIOLI #1: Read a book which has a least one set of double letters in both the title and the author's name (RR, RR, RR, LL)
*********************************

There were many reasons why I started reading this book and even more for continuing it. First, the book came to me from a fellow BookCrosser from Philadelphia who stopped at my home for a five-minute visit to hand off this book to me before traveling back home. Second, I knew this book has been a best-seller so I figured I should just browse through it. After browsing through a few pages, I noticed that the characters had Jewish names, and a bat mitzvah had been mentioned. Reading a bit more, I found that gaming was an important aspect of this novel, which interested me very much since I have one son who is an avid gamer and remember him as a kid buying his first Nintendo with allowance money he saved for a year! I was a bit into this novel when Hokusai’s wave was mentioned and smiled because my same son, at the time I was reading this book, was visiting Japan. Such synchronicity!

The story itself is of two American college friends, both very bright, whose attraction for each other is gaming. They agreed to spend a summer in Massachusetts during college vacation to co-build a computer game. The writing in this novel is very dense, but a pleasure to read. The story evolves slowly, moving back and forth through time, but releasing information about its characters in a sly sort of way. I especially like the way the author describes relationships between characters and how the ethnicity of each plays an important part of who each individual is and how that is important as each relates to others.

I love this book so much because it’s about gaming in a positive way and friends who sincerely care about each other. I cheered for Sadie and Sam and the relationship and friendship they built over their love of gaming. I find it striking that there is so much depth and nuance to all of the relationships in this novel. The part of the novel that takes place in Japan was great, and I appreciated where some Japanese culturally significant items were explained. I was attracted to many things in this story: an Israeli character who ate shakshuka, intense and devoted gamers, Jewish characters, Asian characters. The section of this book called Pioneers was brilliant. I was in tears as I realized what this video game was about as I was reading. The gaming aspect of this book not only brought back memories of the first computers games my family and I played, but also how gaming evolved over the years to become what it is now to myself and other family members.

I did not want this astonishingly complex novel to end or to have to say goodbye to Sadie and Sam. These two characters were so real I felt like I would know them if I ran into them in real life. I want them as my friends as they have such high regard for each other (despite their away times from each other and their disagreements). My heart ached quite a bit for Sam—-for his estranged father, for the absence of his mother and for the pain he chronically endured due to his foot injury. He was such an authentic character that he almost became a real person to me. That feeling doesn’t often happen with my reading. I wanted to protect him…so nothing bad would again happen to him.

Rating - 5

“I want to make something that will make people happy…Sometimes I would be in so much pain. The only thing that kept me from wanting to die was the fact that I could leave my body and be in a body that worked perfectly for a while—better than perfectly, actually—with a set of problems that were not my own.” (Sam)

>61 SqueakyChu:, Hi Madeline my dear, i read this towards the back end of last year and loved it and i am glad that you liked it dear friend.

>62 johnsimpson: I not only liked it, John, I *totally* loved it. I never wanted it to end and kept reading it more and more slowly as I was finishing this book. The last novel that made me feel this was was South of Broad by Pat Conroy.

>61 SqueakyChu: I also rated Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 5 stars. I have never played some of the games it referenced, but the connection and characters definitely touched me. So glad to read that you loved it too.

>64 elorin: Robyn, after I finished this book, I kept hugging it! I want to give it to someone who would enjoy it, but I'm not sure my friends who've never enjoyed video games would like it. I'll probably take it to a Bookcrossing meetup and see who will pick it up. It's the kind of book I want to hang onto, but I won't read it again so someone else should surely read it.

I have lots of fond memories of playing Simon's Quest, Super Mario Brothers, and The Legend of Zelda with my kids when they were young and with my husband. Now I limit myself to playing Pokemon GO, but I've played that since 2016. I think I'm the oldest person who plays that game, LOL!

>65 SqueakyChu: I am torn between keeping my book, knowing I will read it again, and giving it to someone else to enjoy as much (I hope!) as I did. I have played Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros, and Oregon Trail! but never Stardew Valley.

>66 elorin: Remember the part in the book where Sam’s grandfather had a Donkey Kong machine in his pizza parlor? When my kids were little, they loved going to the dentist because he had a Pac Man machine in his waiting room!! :)

>61 SqueakyChu: This looks interesting. I was recently talking to a friend whose daughter has designed and facilitates an online game (I'm sketchy on the details).

>68 qebo: This would be so great for you to read, Katherine! Then pass it along to your friend and her daughter. Do you want me to mail you my book? Let me know. I want this book to be loved and appreciated by others as much as I loved and appreciated it.

>69 SqueakyChu: Thanks, but I read fiction as e-books. Easier on my eyes and also on my physical storage space.

>70 qebo: That's fine...as long as you read it! :D

>67 SqueakyChu: Smart dentist!

>72 elorin: Well, it turns out he wasn't so smart after all. This particular dentist ended up in prison for tax fraud! I no longer am his patient. :O

>65 SqueakyChu:, Hi Madeline, i have never been a gamer but both Amy and Andy love playing games and even Elliott is getting into games, he likes Skylanders.

>74 johnsimpson: I don't know any of the new games, John. I still play Pokemon GO and haven't moved on from there because gaming takes so much time. I started playing it in 2016, and still spend lots of time on it. I think I might be the oldest person playing it! LOL!

2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi


-----------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book with the word "cat" in the book's title, subtitle or author's name or pictures a cat on its front cover (cat on cover
--------------------------------------
These were four cute stories set in a Japanese cafe where a patron would be able to time travel by sitting in a designated seat when otherwise unoccupied and following certain rules. All the stories were connected by the same set of people who either worked or visited this cafe.

For some reason, I had a hard time following who was who. Perhaps because all the characters had Japanese names? I’m not sure, but I had to keep concentrating on who was who and what each person’s relationship was to the others.

The stories were sweet. This was satisfactory light reading for the times I needed to take a break from continuing bleak news in reality.

Rating - 4 stars

Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When in the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability. It is much easier to conceal sadness from a stranger, or from someone you don't trust.

>76 SqueakyChu: I need to add this to my list - I need some light reading. Thanks!

>77 Dejah_Thoris: I might have another one soon (for light reading). It's another book of Japanese fiction. The book is What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. I found it in the new book section of my public library. Look at its cover. How could I not pick it up...and take it home?! :D

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is part of a series. I'm not a series book reader, but this novel captured me in a delightful way so I actually put the next book in the series on hold at my public library.

>75 SqueakyChu: Not the only one out there. 2371 2790 6529

>79 Oberon: Why do I get the name AndrewMessi when I enter your code? Is that your screen name? Is that because your son likes Messi? I just sent a friend request to you! :D

>80 SqueakyChu: Yup. Andrew was a giant fan of Messi back in 2016 when he started the account on my phone. He lost interest. I didn't.

>81 Oberon: LOL!!

Level 47?!!!!!!!!!!! You are one hard core Pokemon GO player!! :D

My Little Free Library (in front of my house) used to be a gym so I could play all the time. Now I have to walk elsewhere to defeat gyms/amass coins so it suddenly became hard to advance. :( I still love playing it, though. One of my PoGo friends is Jose's 38 year old great nephew who died of cancer this past year. I feel so sad when I see his name and know we can't send each other gifts. Other than that, I do play with some LTers, the best of who is @radicarian (Zoe's husband). My older son Josh only plays with me each winter when he travels to Japan. I love all the foreign post cards I collect! I also am saving a Feralgator which had been a Totodile and was the first Pokemon my grandson Eli ever caught when he was a preschooler. :D

When Niantic took my Little Free Library out of their game (for who knows what reason!), I took the picture of a Zubat off the front of the Little Free Library. That was the first Pokemon my grandson could identify. At that time, his mom didn't want me playing videos games with him (screen time, yeah, yeah), but we did see a statue of a Zubat while riding a small train in a local park! :D

>61 SqueakyChu: my friend and neighbour gave me her copy of this book. She hadn't read it as does audiobooks, but her mother had left it for her. I will certainly read it now, as my initial attraction was to the cover!

>76 SqueakyChu: I couldn't quite get behind this one. It kind of confused me.

>83 LovingLit: I hope you love Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow as much as I did. I plan to release my copy to members of my BookCrossing group.

>76 SqueakyChu: I thought Before the Coffee Gets Cold was cute. I’m in such despair over the politics of the USA, I’m enjoying lighter reads such as this book now. The sequel is on hold for me at the library. I’ll pick it up, but I’m also reading three other books at this time so I’m not sure I’ll even get to it.

>84 SqueakyChu: re: US political situation...I hear you. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be living within that :(

>85 LovingLit: I've never been this scared in my life except for the time I was diagnosed with cancer.

3. What You Are Looking for is in the Library - Michiko Aoyama


--------------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book with the word "cat" in the book's title, subtitle or author's name or pictures a cat on its front cover (cat on cover)
------------------------------------------------
This is a lovely book of interrelated novellas. Each is about one adult who visits the same community library to have an odd librarian help point their way to a more satisfying future.

I really liked the ideas brought out in these stories which basically acknowledged the difficulties of working through one’s fears and gaining the courage to actively work for a better future.

There were many situations with which I identified in this book. One example was the feelings described by a newly retired worker who had worked for the same company for forty-two years. I easily identified with the emotional ups and downs of all the characters, though. Their experiences seemed very realistic.

This volume was so nicely written that I can see it being the start of a series with this set of novellas as being #1 in the series. Each story was simple, but the gentle emotional support received by every main character made reading this book very special.

I really liked this book. It was so…uplifting. I needed that.

Rating 4.5

Not one single job I could name is absolutely secure. Everybody just does their best to hang in there, trying to balance it all.

Hi Madeline, so glad that you liked Before the Coffee gets cold, i also loved it and am now a big fan of Japanese and Korean books and have added a few to the to be read pile.

>88 johnsimpson: I’d love to know which Japanese and Korean fiction you are reading. I’m such a fan of Japanese fiction and would love to read some of those when you read then. I now have the next book in the “Coffee” series waiting on hold for me to pick up at the library.

4. Murder in the Yoga Store - Peter Ross Range



-------------------------------------------
TIOLI #3: Read a book with a title word that starts with the same letter as your first or last name (M, first name)
------------------------------------------------
Why did I read this book about a real life gruesome murder? First of all, it made the news because it was such grisly murder in the heart of affluent Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and simply could not be believed or understood by anyone familiar with that area. It happened in a neighborhood I frequented all the time, either to attend indie movies or to shop at a huge corner Barnes and Noble bookstore. I guess I wanted to just wanted to find out how such a gruesome happening could occur in a familiar and seemingly innocent place.

One thing that struck me in this book was the part during the trial where the murder victim Jayna’s mother was staring at the murderer Britanny and trying to understand the evil in her mind. To this day, I do this when I see or hear about great evil perpetrated on others. That is one thing I’ll never be able to understand.

Though murder is not a pleasant subject for a book, this small volume took into account the interesting details about the people involved in this case and about its setting. In the years since this murder occurred, I had totally forgotten what exactly happened. The author’s excellent writing brought out the forensics in a most engaging way. Despite its grim subject, this is a great read and a fascinating, yet deeply sad story.

Rating - 5 stars

Bethesda has a very low crime rate. “They call us when there's a dog in the road in Bethesda,” laughed one police official.

For all the jigsaw puzzlers I know, I have some fun news. I recently joined a Facebook puzzle swap group in my Maryland county. I thought I’d check out a swap they held at my local library. It was great fun. I had to leave after a short while or I know I’d be jumping in front of everyone else to grab all the best puzzles. I came back at the end to help take home some leftover puzzles to distribute in my Little Free Library and in my BookCrossing group. Since the swap was held in my local closest library, I was asked if the library would be willing to donate a shelf for a free puzzle exchange. I asked at the desk, but the two librarians there were both hemming and hawing. I know that our local Friends of the Library bookstore sell donated jigsaw puzzles. That’s where I buy mine for about four dollars a puzzle. Nevertheless, I messaged the library manager to ask if I could steward such a shelf. After about a week, I heard from her, and she sounded very happy about my idea. She will talk to her staff and see if they can make that happen in the future. I am sooooo excited about this. One good thing to be happy about in the midst of my fear and sadness of my country going to hell very quickly. :(

>91 SqueakyChu: Hi Madeline, this does sound like a lot of fun. I hope your wishes come true and that you will be granted a shelf for a free puzzle exchange. This is a wonderful idea. When I got my hair cut this afternoon, three women were sharing images from their cell phones of puzzles they recently put together. One was a 1,500 piece of the huge silver sball (speaceship) at the entrance of Epcot. Then, we all talked abot how expensive puzzles can be, and shared we found them them a good prices.

Last week I went ot Ollie's Discount Store and brought home five puzzles, each were $4.99. Two were 500 pieces and the others were 1,500. I also bought a puzzle kit that contained a mat, glue and trays to keep like colored pieces in them.

It felt great to talk about puzzles.

>92 Whisper1: That is so cool, Linda. Try to find others that like to puzzle and make your own puzzle swap group. The one I just joined has two administrators who each have a puzzle “closet” at each of their properties. They started a FB page to get the word out. Members can go to either of their closets at any time to swap puzzles for free. I haven’t visited either of them yet, but I hope to visit the one closest to me soon.

Their rules for puzzles are to put puzzle pieces in a zip lock bag, tape the box shut, rubber band the box, and use a post it note on the outside of the box if pieces are missing. That’s it. So far, they have about 600 members in their group!!

Another fun thing to do is to join the Reddit group called “jigsawpuzzles” and post a picture of each of your puzzles as you complete it! I love doing that.

Hi there! I am finally getting back into the LT swing of things, but where are you? Hope all is OK. Maybe you're just busy in puzzleland! : )

>94 Berly: Hi, Kim! I'm very busy in puzzleland. I work on a jigsaw puzzle with my husband at least daily. I found a local puzzle swap group so now my puzzle supply is limitless. That is in addition to our subscription to a puzzle rental company.

I joined Bluesky and tend to find myself doomscrolling. It's not good for my anxiety, but I have to know what's going on here, there, and everywhere (most is not good).

I haven't been visiting threads here much, but I do keep up-to-date on the TIOLI challenges since I run them. I am reading, but just more slowly. I am enjoying taking new books out of my local library, but that does not help my pile of books at home get smaller in size. Oh, well!

Hi there!! Well, you certainly sound busy, in a mostly good way. : ) Sorry/not sorry your book pile isn't shrinking. And I had no idea there was such a thing as a puzzle rental company!! I might have to share that info with a few friends. ; )

>96 Berly: The puzzle rental company we use is called Completing the Puzzle. We make a wishlist of puzzles from their catalog. They select one for us and ship it to us. We return the puzzle after we complete it. Shipping is free. When they receive the returned puzzle, they ship us another one. At the top of this thread, the pictures of January and March show two puzzles from that company. I love the surprise of seeing which puzzle they pick for us each month.

>97 SqueakyChu: That is awesome!! Thanks for the name of the company. I will be sharing and using this. : )

>98 Berly: Let me know what you think of it. Two things I have to warn you of: (1) It might be a bit pricey, but I don't mind that because puzzling is one of my favorite hobbies so it's not that expensive to me. (2) There is a lag time between puzzles (which for me is about 8-10 days) as the puzzles have to travel between Texas and Maryland. That is not an issue for us as we have other puzzles we like to redo while we wait for our rental puzzle.

This is the puzzle on which we are now working. :D It's hard, but I love the challenge.

>99 SqueakyChu: - That is a gorgeous puzzle, Madeline!

Puzzling! AND books. I haven't done one of my puzzles in ages, mainly because I don't have a good slanted surface and flat tables are hell on my back. But I'm intrigued that there are rental services for puzzles. And I'll look for Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

>100 jessibud2: I know, Shelley! That company uses the best art work for their puzzles. My preferred jigsaw puzzles these days tends to be painted artwork. By the way, did you notice the price of that puzzle?!!

>101 ffortsa: Judy, I adored that book so much that I don't want to give it away. I will, though, at a BookCrossing meetup in Alexandria, Virginia, tomorrow. However, I will tell everyone in my group that they *have to* read that book! Are you still active in Bookcrossing?

>102 SqueakyChu: I too like fine art puzzles. in fact, that's all I've held on to. These look lovely.

As for Bookcrossing, I haven't been active in a long time. Every once in an email about something traveling, but that's all.

>102 SqueakyChu: - Yeah, that's pricey.

5. Kissing Girls on Shabbat - Sara Glass


---------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a memoir written by and about someone you never heard of before 2025
----------------------------------------
This memoir was the brave story of Sara Glass, a young woman who had been in love with another woman as a teenager. Since she was a member of an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, she had to push aside those feelings in order to be matched to a man to marry and with whom to have children. Sara recounted what happened during her loveless marriage and her efforts to be the good wife in the context of of her strict religious upbringing. Sara shared her very personal feelings about this. I found her story both sad and hopeful as she became increasingly aware of what to do to save herself as time went by.

The author, an excellent writer, put much emotion and beauty into her story-telling. I found what she wrote fascinating and absorbing. Her struggles were many. I found especially shocking what she told her readers about a situation with her boyfriend Ben and what happened to her sister Shani. However, all through the book, despite Sara’s many challenges, I was always rooting for her well-being and ability to find true happiness.

Rating - 5 stars

For my twenty-fourth birthday, Yossi bought me a toaster oven and a bread machine. It was confirmation of all that I had already known. To him, I was not a woman. I was a vagina who could cook.

6. The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A Practical Handbook for Autistic Teens and Tweens - Yenn Purkis, Tanya Masterman


--------------------------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book with a four-letter word embedded in a longer word in the title (some/awesome)
_______________________________________

I picked up this guide as I was walking through my local library. I was curious about it as I had never seen a book about about autism directed to young people. I wanted to see how the information was presented and also to see if I would learn anything new from it (I did). I had to smile, though, when I saw a sticker on this library book that said, "Please do not write in this book". No one had.

I liked this book very much as it was powerful and supportive. It gave very positive vibes. It was meant as a workbook as there are chapters for readers to write how the information in each chapter pertains to him or her. This book is very gentle in tone. I would recommend it to readers of all ages.

Rating - 4 stars

Having people in the world who are different from one another is a really positive thing.

7. The Thinking Heart - David Grossman


--------------------------------------
TIOLI #4: Read a book with a four-letter word embedded in a longer word in the title (king)
-------------------------------------
This book of essays (and one poem) by David Grossman was deeply thoughtful, yet sad and frightening. The essays moved through time from 2017 through 2024. Those which impacted me the most were the ones that spoke directly about how the Netanyahu government has poisoned Israel’s democracy. I found reading these essays very hard but important as I much respect what this author had to say about Israel’s sad deterioration as a country.

Rating - 5 stars

…we must understand that the way a majority treats its minorities is one of the greatest tests of a democracy.

I'm continuing my thread here.