This week our book highlight comes to you live from the RootsTech Conference, where we have this book on display along with many others we've completed this year.

Working on this book with Marlene has been one of the most joyful experiences of our careers. She positively radiates with an energetic joy that is contagious!

Including digital media with your printed book provides the best of all worlds: you get the low-tech, easy-access, leaf-able beauty to put on your coffee table; and additional digital files that can be easily shared and replicated for other uses.

My favorite way to spend a day -- when I get to take something boring and turn it into something beautiful. So when we got a call from this client, we were excited about the challenge she offered.

Our client had hired a professional genealogical researcher to research her family lines. As far as I could tell, the data was sound and the researcher had done a great job of sleuthing out some interesting facts. But the research was presented to the client in a series of word files with a few photocopied documents attached. Great stuff, but not so much to look at. 

This is a good example of a tribute that doesn't take a lot of time or a lot of writing: a collection of a few memories, a few photos, and some family history that can be shared among family members.

A personal history can also be interesting to a wider audience than one's family and friends. Here is a book we were privileged to create for Robert L. Marquardt, a renowned businessman who became passionate about the Job Corps program. Besides providing employment for many thousands of people around the world, he had a vision centered on helping other people succeed in life. He worked with thousands of youth who had grown up in challenging circumstances and changed many lives in the process. 

This week we thought we'd show you a book that just came back from the printer, and that we thought was a great idea. This family collected a faith-promoting story from each extended family member and put it together in an inspiring book. It's a great example of a spiritual memoir or "ethical will" that focuses on the values that are important to you. 

Jimmie Hughes is a game rancher from Nevada. He was the first mayor of the town of Mesquite and if he ever decides to change careers, he could be a stand-up comedian. His book is full of hilarious (and sometimes touching) stories about his life as a missionary, businessman, and rancher. (My favorite is the tale of the Japanese buffalo hunter. If you ever get to Mesquite, ask him to tell you the story.)