First Chapter Puzzles

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First Chapter Puzzles

Classics Imagined. Premium, beautifully crafted double-sided literary jigsaw puzzles that bring beloved novels to life. Mission-driven.

Connecting us to the stories we cherish and the people we love. 🧩📖✨ Woman-owned.

11/04/2026

Who decided that Dracula could only be read in October? Oh, right. Me. I’m official dropping my self imposed restriction...

Although I had envisioned Dracula as my errie October read, I’ve decided to go ahead and read it in November rather than wait until next year. For years I’ve been obsessed with reading it in October, but I keep missing my window. Amanda || Vintage + children’s books assures me that Dracula is a good fit for November, too. 😉

It’s hard to believe that in all my decades of reading classics, I’ve never gotten around to this one! I’m sure I’ve seen some of the film adaptations over the years, but interestingly, I don’t remember them. The only Dracula movie that seems to have stuck with me is the 1979 horror comedy Love at First Bite. Anyone else remember that one?

I’ve been looking forward to Dracula for several years now. I’ve heard that it explores some fascinating theological questions, which I always enjoy pondering. The deeper questions of human nature, our internal struggles, and the competing forces that pull us in different directions are endlessly interesting to me, especially when they’re explored through literature.

So, November it is! 🦇📖

Do you ever limit your reading choices based on the season?

11/03/2026

🎉 Congratulations, Jessica! 🎉

This does not get old! It is so exciting every time I get to pick a winner.

I can’t wait to send you this lovely collector’s edition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. I love passing books into the hands of another book lover. I hope you enjoy it! ❤️

And thank you so much to everyone who has joined the Classic Book Giveaway at www.firstchapterpuzzles.com (if you haven’t joined yet, you can find the link in my bio). It’s so much fun building and being part of this community where we celebrate great books, discover new ones, and enjoy beautiful puzzles along the way. 🧩📖

I’ll be announcing the next giveaway soon! ✨ I have something special in mind, but I need to see if I can find a copy. Stay tuned!

P.S. Jessica, be on the lookout for an email from me so I can get your address and send this your way! 📚💌

11/01/2026

Which do you prefer? The beginning or end of daylight savings time?

Personally, I would prefer we did not have daylight savings time. But since we do I can say I definitely prefer the end of daylight savings. I just love that feeling of an extra hour in the morning. The first day back to standard day light time, strangely, always feels unusually long.

This year I’m excited because I’m hoping I can use the end of daylight savings to jumpstart getting up a little earlier in the mornings and being more faithful to my morning reading.

However, I’m not really looking forward to it being dark by 6 PM! Oh well.

In other news, I finished Frederick Buechner‘s Godric. What an interesting read. Unlike anything I’ve read before. Sometimes it was a little disturbing. Perhaps I’ll get around to posting some reflections on the novel.

Has anyone else out there read this book?

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween friends! I hope you are doing something fun tonight and that you got in all the reading you had hoped for October.

My October didn’t go quite as expected. I feel like I say that a lot. Maybe you can relate, but I suppose that’s just life.

I had intended to finish Godric and then read Dracula for the first time this month. Instead, I didn’t even finish Godric.

This morning, I decided I wanted to at least complete something before October was done, so I pulled out my old Edgar Allan Poe collection that I picked up from a library sale when I was in high school and chose a short story.

As it turns out, I picked one I had never read before: “The Oval Portrait.” It only took me about 15 minutes to read, but it was wonderfully atmospheric and eerie. It delves into obsession with art and beauty to the point of missing, and ultimately sacrificing, what is right in front of you. A lot packed into a very short story.

Have you read any Edgar Allan Poe lately?

I’m hoping the first couple of weeks of November will settle down a little before we get into the full swing of the holiday season. I’d love to reinstate my morning reading habit and finally finish Godric.

Here’s my big question for you. At this point should I save Dracula for next October? 👀

Hope you all are doing well. Let me know what you’ve been reading!

10/25/2026

The week has taken an unexpected turn. A regular heart appointment for my Dad, turned into an ER visit, which turned into a 6 day and counting stay in the hospital.

Sort of funny. My Dad, in a cantankerous moment, commented to the nurse as she came for another vial of blood, that all they do is poke at him all day and take his blood. She quickly quipped, “We are actually a band of vampires.”

How fitting, I thought, as I sit here reading Dracula. (Actually, turns out I’ve only read about 1 paragraph. Hospitals are neither a good place for resting or reading.)

So grateful for good medical care. My Dad was in pretty rough shape when we arrived on Tuesday. But things are looking up.

Here’s a lovely moment I overheard today…. 2 nurses were helping my Dad get cleaned up. It’s been five days with no shower, no sponge bath, no nothing. I stood outside the bathroom and listened in as they bantered with my Dad. “Let’s get your legs. Let’s wipe your armpits. Lean forward, I’ll get your back. Let’s get your socks off and do your feet.”

And then my Dad’s sweet voice…

“You are being Jesus to me.”

Hope you are squeezing in some good October reads and you and all your loved ones are staying well.

10/20/2026

Today marks day 3 of returning to my morning reading routine.

Life has been hectic the last couple of months. Between travel, participating in a local lit fest, and working what feels like nonstop to finalize my next two puzzles for First Chapter Puzzles, it seems like all of my normal routines have fallen by the wayside. I’ve done very little reading, very little cooking, and very little exercising.

I’m thrilled, more than I can really convey, to have officially sent the production files for Pride and Prejudice and Treasure Island to the manufacturer. I should receive samples in the next three weeks or so, and after that, production will be scheduled!

But back to my daily reading habit…

It sure did feel good to settle into my red velvet chair in the glow of my reading lamp, hot cup of coffee in hand, and return to Godric. What an unusual read this has been—but so good!

I was a little surprised when I opened my book and discovered that my bookmark was a pressed flower. I had completely forgotten that I’d picked this little blossom from a plant in my garden that I didn’t recognize. With the help of a fellow reader here on Instagram, I was able to identify it as blue mistflower.

This is kind of funny. These beautiful little lavender flowers were growing in perfusion in a flower bed right outside my back door, yet, I had never seen them there, even after 11 years of tending my little garden. As it turns out, I think I’ve been so busy this season and NOT tending my garden, that it allowed these to grow. I think in past years I have interpreted this plant as a w**d and I have pulled it up (though its rhizomes remained safe in the soil)! But this year, aside from my spring cleanup, I’ve barely touched my garden, and these beautiful flowers emerged.

Anyway, it was such a frilly little lavender bloom, and it turns out it presses beautifully!

I may make this a thing next year! Beginning in late April, there is almost always something blooming in my garden. Wouldn’t it be fun to have all of my spring and summer reads marked with flowers from the garden?

It would be a record of both what I was reading and what was blooming at the time. 🌸📚

10/14/2026

October has been a slow reading month for me, but SO full in other areas. I’ve barely touched a book in two weeks. Actually, I’ve touched a lot of books, I just haven’t opened them to read them!

Between doing my first vendor event, traveling to a regional independent bookseller conference, and putting the finishing touches on my two new puzzle designs, I’ve been devoting nearly every spare moment to First Chapter Puzzles.

I’m happy to report that the production files for Pride and Prejudice and Treasure Island are officially out of my hands! So, hopefully, that means a little more time for reading.

I’m excited to get back to Godric, which has been such an interesting read. It is a fictionalized autobiography of a medieval saint, but let’s just say he doesn’t always present himself as saintly! It has been a fascinating read and, at times, both inspiring and convicting.

Next up: Dracula. Can you believe I haven’t read it yet? I focus most of my reading on classics, and still, there is so much left to experience!

Anyone else reading something especially good this October?

10/13/2026

The literary arts are on fire here in Indianapolis 🔥.

I’ve started taking First Chapter Puzzles on the road and in person! My very first showing was at Proof: A Midwest Lit Fest, presented by Indiana Humanities. This incredible event brought together writers, readers, booksellers, and literary organizations to celebrate the thriving literary culture of Indiana and the Midwest.

And it was awesome!

I loved seeing all the people enjoying a day exploring the thriving literary community in the Indianapolis area.

It was especially fun for me to see so much enthusiasm for my puzzles.

I am so excited to get Pride and Prejudice, Treasure Island and Little Women into the hands of my fellow book lovers and puzzlers!

10/08/2026

The literary arts are on fire 🔥here in Indianapolis.

I’ve started taking First Chapter Puzzles on the road and in person! My very first showing was at Proof: A Midwest Lit Fest, presented by Indiana Humanities . This incredible event brought together writers, readers, booksellers, and literary organizations to celebrate the thriving literary culture of Indiana and the Midwest.

And it was awesome!

I loved seeing all the people enjoying a day exploring the thriving literary community in the Indianapolis area.

It was especially fun for me to see so much enthusiasm for my puzzles.

I am so excited to get Pride and Prejudice, Treasure Island and Little Women into the hands of my fellow book lovers and puzzlers!

10/03/2026

This month’s 📖 Classic Book Giveaway 📖 is...

🐾🌙 The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 🌙🐾

October always feels like the beginning of a new season of reading. The days are getting shorter, and evenings are beginning to invite us to slow down and settle in with a good book.

And really... what better time for a classic mystery? 🔎

This month, I’m giving away a beautiful little hardbound edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles—a pocket-sized red leather volume with gold embossing and gorgeous gilded page edges. It’s going to look beautiful on someone’s shelf or, even better, in the hands of someone curled up in a comfy chair with a cup of hot tea!

And here’s a fun bit of literary history: this was the story that brought Sherlock Holmes back to readers after Doyle had killed him off eight years earlier. His fans had been clamoring for Sherlock’s return and Doyle delivered!

Whether you’ve never read Sherlock Holmes before, would enjoy revisiting an old favorite, or simply want this lovely little edition for your collection, I’d love for you to enter!

To enter, visit firstchapterpuzzles.com. After a couple of seconds, a pop-up will invite you to join the giveaway—just enter your first name and email, and you’re in!

📅 A winner will be drawn at the end of October, so keep an eye on your inbox—and good luck!

PS. Why do I do this? Because it’s part of my personal mission to inspire a love and appreciation for the great literature that has connected humanity across generations—and this is one small way I get to share that love.

PPS. While you’re there, you can also take a look at the 2 new puzzles in the First Chapter Puzzles collection: Pride and Prejudice and Treasure Island!

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