I enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles. I never had the time and or patience before a couple of years ago, but due to different health issues, a spinal fusion and then an ankle joint replacement, walking on my lunch breaks was no longer an option for me.In the Everett Public Library staff room, we usually have an ongoing jigsaw puzzle. I was never really interested until I had to sit still and do something different.

Since then, I’ve become one of the most adamant of the staff puzzle club. Anything from a 500 to 1000 piece puzzle is usually there waiting to be pieced together. And like Linda’s latest post pointed out, puzzles help with depression. When deciding to write a post, I thought I might as well write it on something I was personally interested in and so I ventured forth to see the digital offerings that Everett Public Library had about the subject of puzzles. 

Here are some puzzle related digital items that sounded interesting to me:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – In this story a virtual reality world is a vast online utopia where people plug into an “oasis” instead of the grim , poverty stricken reality of the outside world. This story is full of action, puzzles, nerdy romance and the nostalgia of the 1980’s. In this high energy cyberquest, geeks everywhere will feel like they were separated at birth from the author. 

Young Adults who are fans of John Green (Fault in Our Stars) will enjoy the ebook by Arvin Ahmedi called Down and Across. In this  coming of age story a college bound senior, Scott Ferdowsi, sneaks off to D.C. and meets a college girl, Fiora Buchanan, whose ambition is to write crossword puzzles. The main character, Scott, gets himself into all sorts of mayhem like sneaking into bars and picking up girls at the national zoo all while trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to be.

A streaming video I found in the library collection on Kanopy is a 1992 Italian mystery/thriller called Body Puzzle. This film has been described as a fun 90’s giallo. The leading lady, Joanna Paula is a heroine in peril because some sick killer keeps breaking into the house and leaving severed body parts laying around. Needless to say, this title is Not Rated and definitely a slasher film. 

Something more science related is a streaming film called Mastering Rubik’s Cube, which is on Kanopy as well. Are you interested in an easy to learn eight step method for solving this mind bending puzzle? Follow along step by step and you will be solving a Rubik’s Cube in less than three minutes.

A third interesting streaming title on Kanopy is a documentary on artist Rene Magritte.  He makes witty and provoking images that merge his childhood, memories and everyday objects from his Brussel’s apartment into a fantastic, unique puzzle of art.

Some streaming music that came up in my puzzle search that is available from the library is Beggars Banquet by the famous English rock band the Rolling Stones. This streaming album on Hoopla has the song “Jigsaw Puzzle.”

Also the American rock band Saint Motel has a streaming album called Voyeur. I listened to their song “Puzzle Pieces” with its upbeat piano and happy tempo.

Since the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order I’ve completed a couple of jigsaw puzzles, but miss the team effort of my fellow staff members. Oh well, that will come back in time…but now I’m off to order a puzzle of Rene Magritte’s art!