Jigsaw Puzzles for a Book Lover’s Night In

A jigsaw puzzle is the perfect accompaniment to a night in, whether you’re cozying up with a cup of tea to avoid chilly fall weather or simply need some peace and quiet. Puzzling is also a great activity to leave and resume later: you can easily pick it up between chores, do a little while watching television, or work with a group after finishing up a board game. You can find puzzles for every skill level and interest, but if you’re a fan of books and classic literature, we’ve got you covered. These are our favorite bookish jigsaw puzzles. 

_{Prices are accurate as of October 3, 2024. Subject to change.}

The World of Miss Marple 1,000-Piece Puzzle

Miss Marple is one of Agatha Christie’s most iconic characters, and this puzzle depicts her in her element in the St Mary Mead garden. Every person, item, and animal is a possible clue for solving one of Miss Marple’s mysteries. When putting this puzzle together, you can refer to the poster for image references, and check the back for how each character fits into Miss Marple’s latest mystery.

Book Nerd 1,000-Piece Puzzle

Holly Maguire’s colorful overflowing bookshelf design is fun to put together alongside an audiobook. While you might think the image is simple, it actually presents two levels of difficulty. One side of the bookshelf is arranged randomly and the other shows books arranged by color, which are much more difficult to piece together.  Focusing on one half at a time was the best way to finish after I got the edge pieces done. 

Shakespearean Insults 1,000-Piece Puzzle

Text-based puzzles are not for the weak. This one includes many of Shakespeare’s most famous insults, bordered by the names of all his plays. (The back of the included poster lists in which play each insult pops up.) The most confounding part of this puzzling process for me was sorting out the typeface colors and attempting to recognize the different fonts.

Murder Most Puzzling: The Clairvoyants’ Convention 500-Piece Puzzle

Keeping with the mystery theme of this puzzle, there is no reference image of the final result – it’s revealed only through assembly. After you’ve completed the puzzle, inspect the image, which contains clues to solve the mystery of the Clairvoyants’ Convention. I relied on color sorting until I had more than half of the puzzle together, and then the interlocking clues became clearer. It’s a delightful challenge for an experienced puzzler. 

Chronicle Books Bibliophile Diverse Spines 500-Piece Puzzle

The stacks of colorful book spines make this an engaging visual project and it also serves as inspiration for your next read. The puzzle includes a reading checklist with each of the more than 60 books included in the image. You can check off the books you’ve already read, and then work through the rest of the list. I sorted the puzzle pieces by color and worked through the books spine-by-spine. The relatively simple design makes this a great weekend puzzle. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 500-Piece Puzzle

The cover of Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography makes for a great puzzle. The large black bird and red background are deceptively simple. Focusing on the concentric circles of the sun first was the most satisfying for getting a section of the puzzle done, then it took a while to assemble the bird and the various parts of the red background. 

Feature Image Credit: Kateryna Hliznitsova/ Unsplash+