Review: Adventurers Wanted: Slathbogs Gold

I had been wanting to read this book for a couple of years as it looked intriguing.  In the meantime two sequels came out, so I finally decided to read it.  The story follows 15-year-old Alex Taylor on as he becomes an adventurer in a magical world after curiosity leads him to inquire about a recruiting sign for adventurers in a shop window on an unusually deserted street.  We meet his fellow adventurers (including the obligatory dwarves & elves) and learn about the adventure (ridding the kingdom of a dragon and claiming his hoard) they are to complete along with the rewards and code of adventuring.  Along the way, Alex discovers much about his companions, the magical world he is visiting and his own abilities and potential.

This book is written for a much younger audience than I had expected, more for elementary school ages.  Although it is definitely several steps up from a beginning chapter book and includes danger, peril and fighting, there is an absence of any intensely scariness on the order of Harry Potter or Fablehaven.  This makes it a perfect read-a-loud story for younger children introducing them to elements of classic magical quest stories, including trolls, codes of honor, oracles and visits to a dwarf kingdom and an elf forest along the way.  I felt the climatic battle with the dragon could have used a little more detail and complexity, but overall I enjoyed the story very much once I got used to the tone of cheerful positivity.  The story was a fast, run read, and I look forward to finally reading the sequels as well.

Click here to read more about Slathbog's Gold, here for Horn of Moran (book 2) and here for Albrek's Tomb (book 3).

Christmas Jar Report Christmas 2011

This account comes from the winner of the Beehive Bookstore Christmas Jar in December 2011.  Just after Christmas, she moved out of state so we are glad she finally found a few minutes to tell us about her experience giving away our store's Christmas Jar--the total of which was $133.85 thanks to all of our generous customers who contributed!

The Christmas Jar

A couple of years ago as it was getting close to Christmas I casually asked someone at church if they were all ready for Christmas ~ she replied “We aren’t having much of a Christmas this year”. I could see that her response had caught her off guard. She really didn’t want anyone to know that their family was struggling that year.

Her response haunted me for the next few days as the Spirit whispered to me that I needed to do something for them. Not many years before I had been where they were. The Lord had blessed me with a wonderful job and now I had the ability to help them.

I enlisted a very close friend to help me deliver the presents, gift cards and cash that I’d put together for her family. When I picked her up, her husband said to her ~ “Don’t forget to go by the bank and “make the deposit” on your way.” We dropped by the bank on the way and when she came back to the car she had a $250 dollar deposit to add to the “Christmas Jar.”

At Christmas time a year later my friend's father was critically ill & her son (Chris) came all the way from Maine to California to see his Grandfather, even though money was very tight for him and he was getting married in less than a month.

While Chris was in California I won the “Christmas Jar” at the Beehive Bookstore. I wondered who I should give it to ~ then the Spirit whispered to me “give the jar to Chris and his fiancé, along with a copy of the book “The Christmas Jar.” Tell him the story of our “Christmas Jar” gift the year before. Along with the Jar& book I included a little note, telling him the wonderful experience his mother and I had shared the year before and that I hoped he & his wife could carry on the wonderful tradition of “The Christmas Jar” in their new family.

Review: Banana Split by Josi Kilpack

There seems to be a lot of new fiction from LDS publishers now arriving in the store, many of them from familiar and favorite authors about familiar characters.  The store sometimes receives advance copies of books.  Unfortunately, I often time do not have time to read them all, but when we got our advance copy of Banana Split, I decided I needed to just indulge myself and read it right away.

Banana Split is the latest in a series of culinary mysteries by Josi Kilpack featuring Sadie Hofmiller who loves to cook.  Each story can be read alone, but I have really enjoyed reading them in order because I feel the development of the characters has really grown with each book.  In the first couple of books, I really enjoyed the mystery/puzzle to be solved which oft took very surprising twists and turns along with the really fun recipes.  However, I often felt the characters were not very deeply explored and did not feel like I could relate to Sadie.  However, as the series has progressed, Sadie's character has also become more complex with fascinating layers that are weaved into the story and who-dunnit plots making for more satisfying reading.  Pumpkin Roll came out last fall, and I have talked to many who feel it was the best to that point.  I think Banana Split is a continuation of the high level reached in Pumpkin Roll and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Sadie is in Hawaii house-sitting a friend's condo complex while trying to come to terms with the traumas experienced a few months earlier in Boston (the climax of Pumpkin Roll).  Her anxiety and depression have trapped her into a very un-Sadie-like existence where she hardly leaves the condo.  As things seem to go for Sadie, she discovers a body, which trauma causes her finally seek professional help for her emotional issues.  Although she is trying to come out of the hole into which she has fallen, she has no interest in knowing anything more about the victim who is generally believed to have died from a drug overdose.  However, when Charlie, the 11-year-old son of the victim approaches Sadie for answers about his mother, Sadie's reluctant attempts to help him find closure not only helps her begin to emerge from her depression but also helps her find out she is stronger than she thinks she is when she is trying to help someone she has grown to care about.  

 

I felt that the mystery, subplots, pacing and characterizations all were well-done, meaning I was drawn into the story which kept me thinking, caring and guessing all along the way to a satisfying conclusion.  Oh, and the recipes really looked delicious.  I can't say I've tried them out as when I could be cooking, I'd rather be reading.  To check out Banana Split on our website, click here.

Postmortal Spirit World Customer Review and Book Signing

Postmortal Spirit World is the result of a multi-year project by Mark Sheffield, a local San Jose CPA and personal friend for 35 years.  His love and enthusiasm for the gospel and doctrinal knowledge is infectious.  It has been interesting to watch the journey to bring this work to press.  He has published other small projects (What Would Jesus Do? and Read the Instructions to name a couple), but this has been a major undertaking resulting in the formation of Shiloh Press to publish and distribute this work as well as other projects and items.  Shiloh Press was formed as a non-profit with proceeds going to benefit charity.  Officers and authors do not take monetary compensation.  To read more about Shiloh Press and the other items they publish click here. 

It has been interesting to see customers' reactions to this book.  The title captures their attention as this is a subject of widespread interest to most folks.  We have had a customer buy the book and come back after reading it to buy copies for all his children.  Everyone who has read has been very positive.  Click here for a link to a scholarly review posted at the Association of Mormon Letters.  Just yesterday I was on the phone with Charlene who used to live locally but now lives in Mississippi.  She was calling to order another copy of Postmortal.  She had seen our email about the book and ordered it online.  She could not put it down when she started reading and was so impressed she has been telling her friends about it.  She lent her copy to a friend who after reading it wanted her own copy, so Charlene gave her that copy as a gift and was calling to order another one as she wanted to keep one as a reference.  She gave me her permission to share her comments as a customer review.

Charlene found the book well-written, self-explanatory and easy to understand.  She commented that "You don't have to be a scholar to understand it."  She liked the question and answer format and found many of the diagrams to be extremely informative and helpful.  She had no idea there was so much information from the scriptures and general authorities about this topic and found it fascinating and inspirational.  She has been a member of our church for over 30 years and had never heard about many of topics mentioned and explained in this book.  I think if there had been more time to chat she could have kept going giving me additional examples of exciting insights she had gained.

Saturday, November 19, 2011, Mark Sheffield will be at our store signing Postmortal Spirit World and other Shiloh Press titles between 1-3 pm.  If you can't make it but would like to have one of these books signed by the author, let us know and we will be happy to arrange with him to have them signed.  Click here to read more about the book on our website.

Guest Review for Jacob T. Marley

I have read Jacob T. Marley but haven't taken the time to write a review.  Here is one from Kay Curtiss which closely reflects my opinion.

Kay's Kritique:  A tradition I have is watching A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens every year.  My favorite is the one with George C. Scott as Scrooge - although I also really enjoy the 1951 version with Alastair Sim as old Ebenezer.  So when I saw this title coming out, I thought - "Yes I always wanted to know a little more about Jacob Marley!" and Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett did not disappoint.  The writing is very "Dickenish" -- and when looking at Marley's life with the aid of some "spirits", it caused me to pause and reflect on my own life . . . (click here to read the full review and summary of the book)

Surprise visit by author Bill Bennett, formerly of San Jose

Bill Bennett, the author of last year's The Christmas Gift, came by the store October 26 while he was in town for another event.  We were interested to find out he and his family used to live in San Jose, and he actually joined the church here 30 years ago.  He signed all our copies of his new book, Jacob T. Marley, and met some family friends who came by to chat. 

We learned that Bill had always wanted to write and quit his job at Franklin Covey a couple of years ago to pursue this dream.  He self-published The Christmas Gift  which did very well.  The film rights to the book have recently been sold.  Deseret Book is publishing his new book about Jacob Marley, Scrooge's old partner from A Christmas Carol,  and he is looking forward to a book tour before Christmas which will include several Dickens festivals.  Bill explained that he had always wondered about Jacob Marley and what happened to him, whether he ever get a chance to redeem himself after warning Ebeneezer Scrooge.  If you have ever wondered who Marley was, how he got to be the way he was, and what happened to him after he died that brought him back to warn Scrooge, this is the book for you.

Bill is already well into the process of writing his next book which will be an allegory about how difficult it is to explain something intangible (like faith) to someone who has never experienced it.  Below some photos of Bill in our store and with the family friends that came to visit.

Guest Book Review

Since I don't have enough time to read as I'd like, I'm including a guest review of a book I want to read soon.  I've read the first two Secret Sisters mysteries and enjoyed them.  

Here is a guest review from Kay Curtiss of Keepin' Up with LDS Bookstores.  Click here to read more about this book and the author on Kay's blog:

Kay's Kritique:  Ida Mae Babbit  (who has her own Facebook page) and her cohorts are at it again in another Secret Sister Mystery that take them to a Dude Ranch in Montana which Ida Mae's son, Keith, owns.  This crew will keep you laughing with their antics (especially Ida Mae's late night, flannel PJs, bare-back horse chase) as they solve the mystery of the sabotage of the Dude Ranch.   Tristi has created some fun, great characters and her descriptive writing keep you laughing throughout with the "visuals" she creates in your mind. Hang 'em High was a great escape for me on a rainy weekend when you just want to curl up with a good book - which I did!  This is definitely one you won't want to miss!