Considering current economic woes, I think it's fair to say that people are probably not feeling at their most joyful right now. After all, it's difficult to smile when you're losing your job, your home, and everything else that makes you feel secure. Thus, Keys to Living Joyfully, a new book by life coach Sheri Kaye Hoff comes at an opportune time for anyone who is not feeling exactly joyful right now.

I'm going to be honest with you - you're not going to learn anything you don't already know from Hoff's book. Her methods are familiar - she advocates prayer, meditation, reciting mantras and making gratitude lists among other practices - even cliche. You will find similar techniques in every self-help book ever written. However, as we all know, cliches become cliches because there is truth behind them. So, while the concepts Hoff discusses are not new, it's always good to review them. Hoff does that, infusing the familiar ideas with her own brand of positive, hopeful energy. Her book is especially useful if you want a quick, refresher course and don't have time to commit to big hitters like Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or John C. Maxwell's volumes on leadership.

The one thing from Hoff's book that did make an impact on me is this: "I am responsible for the level of joy that I experience in my life. My circumstances do not create joy, my approach to life and my thoughts about my life contribute to the level or lack of joy in my life" (33). Again, this is not a new concept, but it's such an important thing to remember. I can't tell you how many people I know who look to their spouses, their parents, their possessions or their friends to make them happy. Not surprisingly, these are the least happy people I know. Like Hoff, I believe a person is responsible for their own joy. If they don't have it, she suggests ways to create more "happy" - living in the now, firgiving/forgetting, visualizing a joyful life, and finding your life's passion.

Another thing I thought was really interesting is that Hoff encourages her readers to pay an honest tithe as a step toward acknowledging the abundance they have in their lives, an important key to living more joyfully. This is a concept I often hear recommended from LDS pulpits (and one I wholeheartedly believe in), but I don't think I've ever heard it mentioned in a non-LDS book. Hoff's experience with receiving blessings from paying tithes to her church will ring true for Mormons especially.

All in all, I enjoyed Keys to Living Joyfully. With the exception of tithe-paying, it doesn't really teach anything new, but it does provide a quick, hopeful reminder of ways to cope with the fear and unhappiness that can plague us all. In uncertain times, there is only one thing you can control - you. Sheri Kaye Hoff will remind you how.

Grade: C

In a world where ash falls in constant flurries, soot stains every surface and swirling mists descend nightly, hope has almost ceased to exist. For the kaa people - enslaved to wealthy masters, who beat, rape and kill as often as they feed, clothe and reward - life is especially bleak. As a half-skaa orphan, Vin knows well the life of the downtrodden. Unwilling to submit to a cruel overlord, she has instead chosen a life on the hardscrabble streets of Luthandel. Her unique talents make her useful to the city's criminal bosses. Hardened by her difficult life, Vin is a skittish wraith, who's learnd that everyone has an ulterior motive. In her experience, trust always brings betrayal.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson introduces us to this frail creature, whose world flips when she encounters a brilliant thief named Kelsier. Vin has known plenty of petty criminals, but Kelsier is different - the scars criss-crossing his arms bear witness to his incarceration in the Pits of Hathsin, a prison from which no one has ever escaped. Until now. There's only one explanation for his survival - Kelsier is a Mistborn, an aristocrat with mystical powers. Only this aristocrat isn't like his comrades. This aristocrat wants to overthrow the Lord Ruler, whose 1,000-year reign has brought his people nothing but misery. Although the terrible ruler has few friends, a rebellion is tantamount to suicide. Rumor has it that the Lord Ruler is immortal. Kelsier's obviously insane, but there's something about him that attracts Vin. Possibly it's only the fact that he offers hope to a world starving for something to believe in; or that he seems like someone on whom she can rely; more likely, it's because he holds powers similar to Vin's own. Joining his crew means Vin might finally be able to understand her own powers. Soon, she has aligned herself with the charismatic leader, for better or worse.

As Vin studies and trains with Kelsier, she's astonished to learn that she, too, is a Mistborn. Like her mentor, she can leap to impossible distances, travel with impressive speed, fight with super strength and more by harnessing the power of Allomancy. Each member of Kelsier's crew is a brilliant allomancer in his own right, but Vin and Kelsier are the only ones with the exceptional powers unique to the Mistborn. Between them and the rest of the crew, battling the Lord Ruler may not be quite the suicide mission they once believed it to be.

The first step of Kelsier's plan involves creating a distraction. To this end, Vin must impersonate a noblewoman to glean insider information. It's a dangerous job - not only must she conceal her powers, but she must also hide her street-sloppy manners beneath layers of jewels and lace. To complicate matters, she's caught the attention of a handsome nobleman and his jealous ex-fiancee. Vin's slow transformation from cowering street urchin to confident Mistborn comes will challenge, frustrate and empower her in ways she never imagined possible.

Despite the Kelsier/Vin Dream Team, overthrowing the Lord Ruler will not be easy. There will be bruises, heartache, despair, even death along the way - can Kelsier & Co. overcome it all and accomplish their mission? Or will the so-called Hero of the Ages lead them all to their deaths? Only a harrowing battle against an impossible evil can decide the outcome.

With vibrant characters, a well-drawn setting, and plenty of action, Mistborn: The Final Empire has it all. It's an epic sci fi/fantasy that will appeal to readers of all stripes. It's a familiar enough quest/coming-of-age story made wholly original by Sanderson's vivid imagination. Although the story starts out a little slow, the characters will make you care enough to stick around; by the 3rd chapter or so, you will have discovered exactly what "compulsively readable" means. I guarantee you'll be flying to your computer to order the other two books in the series. I did. Although Mistborn: The Final Empire lacks the absolute magic of Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, Brandon Sanderson does the genre proud. All hail Mr. Sanderson, a true sci fi/fantasy master.

Grade: A-

Jennifer Allison made her way onto my TBR mountain chain (which is actually a color-coded, obsessively-organized Excel file) when I read a review of her first book on Amanda's blog. After one unsuccessful attempt to locate it at my library, I forgot all about the author and her series about Gilda Joyce, a 13-year-old sleuth who uses her psychic abilities to solve mysteries. Then, the librarian at my kids' school asked me to read Allison's sophomore novel and create a test on it for the school's homegrown reading program. Since I hate reading series books out of order, I requested the first book from the library. After a brief wait, I finally had both books in my hands. It took me about a day and a half to speed through them, a half hour to write tests, and a couple minutes to request the next two books from the library. It's always a thrill to find a compelling new series.

It's not often that I get to meet a real, live author face-to-face, but the other day Angela Morrison showed up on my doorstep. Better yet, she came bearing books - specifically, two brand, spankin' new copies of her first novel, Taken By Storm (if you missed my glowing review, click here). Even though I don't love the cover art, I do love the feel of these glossy hardcovers (ooooh shiny, as Megan would say). One is mine (Thanks for the sweet message, Angela!) and the other is for ... drumroll, please ... one of you!

Before I give you all the details of the contest, let me point out a few things:

- The book is a brand-new hardcover.

- The book is autographed.

- Even though Angela is LDS (Mormon) and one of the novel's main characters is also LDS, this is not an LDS novel. I consider it a clean read, but others might not. You don't have to be LDS to enjoy this one, so don't pass up the chance to own it just because you're not Mormon. Trust me - Taken By Storm is not preachy at all (although it definitely promotes sexual purity, an important element of an LDS lifestyle).

Okay, so here's the nitty gritty: I will draw the name of one winner on April 30. I'm making it easy on you this time - all you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered. Blog about it and I'll throw in an extra entry ('cause that's just the kind of nice blogger I am). Good luck!

P.S. The contest is open to all my readers, wherever you are in the world :)