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Remembering Isaac #2
Discovering Isaac: The Beloved Potter of Niederbipp
Like Remembering Isaac, this story takes place within a sketchbook. Where the first book was Jake's, this one is Isaac's. It will open your mind and heart to forgotten truths discovered by a simple potter who was shaped by life and loss and love.
If you're looking for a happy ending, Discovering Isaac will not disappoint you, but you may be surprised by the tangled web wrapped up in these pages. It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry, but like the book before it, it will leave you wanting to become a better you.
If you're looking for a happy ending, Discovering Isaac will not disappoint you, but you may be surprised by the tangled web wrapped up in these pages. It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry, but like the book before it, it will leave you wanting to become a better you.
431 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
22 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
Ben Behunin
20 books48 followersIt has long been my feeling that biographical sketches should be written in first person because almost all of them are written by the person they're about anyway, pretending to be someone else so as to make themselves look cool or important enough that someone would care to write something about them. I am neither a great pretender, nor good at writing in third person, but I'll do what I can to make you feel like reading this was worthwhile.
I was born at a very early age in Provo, Utah, the first child of seven children that joined the family over the next 14 years. I was raised in primarily in Utah, but also lived in Ohio and Florida. From the time I was very young, I enjoyed making art, drawing, carving, making up games and stories. Through grade school and junior high, I lived in a neighborhood that was nearly exclusively occupied by old people. Having no one to play with beyond my own siblings, I made friends with the old folks and would often sit with them on their porches and listen to their stories as they fed me lemon drops and moon pies.
I was first exposed to pottery in a freshman ceramics class. I took the class thinking it would be an "easy A". In reality, it was neither easy or an A. I was terrible, my experience being much like Jake's in the book. I kept working at it though and earned myself a small scholarship to Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho where I continued my studies.
A mission for my church took me to Switzerland, Germany and Austria for two years beginning in 1993. While living in Tiengen, Germany, I met Irene Adeler, a German potter who invited me to return and work for her in her Pottery in 1995. I spent four months as her apprentice before returning home to continue my education in Hawaii. The experience in Germany was instrumental in my education and my decision to become a potter. I continued to study art and business in Hawaii before transferring to the University of Utah.
After making a few semesters worth of landfill art, I changed majors a couple of times and with sixteen credits left to graduate, I decided I would rather die than give any more money or creativity to the school, so I dropped out and have never looked back. Since 1996, I have been a full-time potter. I married Lynnette Scott in 1997. Our son Isaac was born four years later and Eve joined the family three years after that. After borrowing a neighbors studio, and sharing one with a partner, I built a studio in my backyard. This is also where I do most of my writing.
I first visited Niederbipp in 1994 and thought it would be a great name for my first born. Fortunately for my son, he has a very practical mother.
When I'm not making pots or pretending to be a writer, I like to eat strong cheese, listen to bluegrass music and hike in the mountains near my home, not necessarily all at the same time, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. I wear bow ties whenever I have to dress up. We don't have any pets, but sometimes we pretend we do. I often dream I can fly, but that is another story.
I was born at a very early age in Provo, Utah, the first child of seven children that joined the family over the next 14 years. I was raised in primarily in Utah, but also lived in Ohio and Florida. From the time I was very young, I enjoyed making art, drawing, carving, making up games and stories. Through grade school and junior high, I lived in a neighborhood that was nearly exclusively occupied by old people. Having no one to play with beyond my own siblings, I made friends with the old folks and would often sit with them on their porches and listen to their stories as they fed me lemon drops and moon pies.
I was first exposed to pottery in a freshman ceramics class. I took the class thinking it would be an "easy A". In reality, it was neither easy or an A. I was terrible, my experience being much like Jake's in the book. I kept working at it though and earned myself a small scholarship to Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho where I continued my studies.
A mission for my church took me to Switzerland, Germany and Austria for two years beginning in 1993. While living in Tiengen, Germany, I met Irene Adeler, a German potter who invited me to return and work for her in her Pottery in 1995. I spent four months as her apprentice before returning home to continue my education in Hawaii. The experience in Germany was instrumental in my education and my decision to become a potter. I continued to study art and business in Hawaii before transferring to the University of Utah.
After making a few semesters worth of landfill art, I changed majors a couple of times and with sixteen credits left to graduate, I decided I would rather die than give any more money or creativity to the school, so I dropped out and have never looked back. Since 1996, I have been a full-time potter. I married Lynnette Scott in 1997. Our son Isaac was born four years later and Eve joined the family three years after that. After borrowing a neighbors studio, and sharing one with a partner, I built a studio in my backyard. This is also where I do most of my writing.
I first visited Niederbipp in 1994 and thought it would be a great name for my first born. Fortunately for my son, he has a very practical mother.
When I'm not making pots or pretending to be a writer, I like to eat strong cheese, listen to bluegrass music and hike in the mountains near my home, not necessarily all at the same time, but it wouldn't be a bad idea. I wear bow ties whenever I have to dress up. We don't have any pets, but sometimes we pretend we do. I often dream I can fly, but that is another story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
June 20, 2010
5/10
Positive:
-Love the layout, fonts, sketches, etc.
-Very clean
-Encourages strong morals/values
-Includes a couple of charming characters
Negative:
-VERY repetitive (I admit to crying out in frustration when Jake would have the SAME conversation or thoughts about staying true to himself, discovering truth, needing to be humble, or how much he was in love with Amy...the book could have been cut down by at least half, if not two-thirds).
-Slow pace
-Deep conversations that continue for pages and pages (so many good thoughts and insights, if only he had followed the adage "Less is More")
-tries to make it not seem LDS while making everything about it LDS
I wanted this review to be positive because I really feel like the author has good motives and is trying to create an inspiring story, but I have to be honest that at this point, I'm still not in love with the characters, the storyline, or all the repetition.
Positive:
-Love the layout, fonts, sketches, etc.
-Very clean
-Encourages strong morals/values
-Includes a couple of charming characters
Negative:
-VERY repetitive (I admit to crying out in frustration when Jake would have the SAME conversation or thoughts about staying true to himself, discovering truth, needing to be humble, or how much he was in love with Amy...the book could have been cut down by at least half, if not two-thirds).
-Slow pace
-Deep conversations that continue for pages and pages (so many good thoughts and insights, if only he had followed the adage "Less is More")
-tries to make it not seem LDS while making everything about it LDS
I wanted this review to be positive because I really feel like the author has good motives and is trying to create an inspiring story, but I have to be honest that at this point, I'm still not in love with the characters, the storyline, or all the repetition.
March 29, 2010
I finished this one quite a while ago, and I can't decide what I want to say about it. I love that it is clean and uplifting, but at the same time I'm starting to feel a little aggrivated. This book and its predecessor total over 800 pages, yet cover less than 1 month. It's getting to the point where I start thinking "If I hear what this guy eats for 3 meals a day one more time, I'm going to scream!!"; also, every time the main character talks to ANYONE--but especially his One True Love--it is Deep and Meaningful, Soul-searching and Life-affirming. Can't anyone just have a conversation about their favorite movie? This provides some interesting things to consider, but also starts to wear on your nerves after a while. On the whole, it is worth a read, but I could do with a smaller dose of general preachy-ness.
May 14, 2010
Yeah, this review is from someone who is NOT from Utah! I'm from Willow, Alaska. "Niederbippian" is as much fun to say as "Willowite". Reading about Utopia-Niederbipp, where people know how to bake bread but shun coffee (still), is a lovely way to distract yourself from a busy, tiring day. Great historical illustrations and wise quotes complement sketches by the author. The forget-me-not is still one of my favorite flowers. However, the writing style and the story itself disappoint. Poor Jake cannot escape the reader for a single minute of his time. I wish I could read more about the craft and trade of village pottery and less about Jake's agony of what he might have done wrong to tick off his girlfriend. Nice hint that we should all have health insurance because we are not as lucky as Jake and have Niederbippians take care of us. So true! And depressing, mostly because health insurance is by no means a vital substitute for Niederbippians! As a final note, for the next edition, I recommend the author will have someone proofread the German expressions and quotes used in the book before sending it to print.
March 6, 2010
This book is as charming as the Mitford series. Jake, the newest potter of Niederbipp discovers the joys and challenges in the lives of the previous potters of Niederbipp as he experiences his own.
March 25, 2021
Don't read this for a plot mover of a story. Read it for the life lessons Jake learns, things that should take you an entire lifetime to learn but somehow the stars and the entire "Universe" line up exactly right so that he can learn it all in two short weeks. You know, because he's already twenty-two and has wasted so much of his life being focused on himself. Haha. Really. This should be marketed more as a self-help book (don't get me wrong--I LOVE self-help books). The story has potential. It really does. Spread it out over a lifetime and I'd be a little more hooked.
Some of the many take-aways from this book:
*Things aren't always as they seem so don't judge too quickly.
*The answer is almost always love. Just love.
*Second chances are real (and third and fourth and fifth, and well you get the point).
*Be patient with yourself and others.
*Now is the best time to tell someone you love them.
*Blood given freely saves.
*The Spirit of God is real and tangible.
*The ability to embrace quiet to contemplate or meditate or to understand what being still means are essential skills to acquire in this life. It's how we find peace. How we find and hear Him.
*God is real. He cares about the choices we make and He wants to be a part of all we do. It's up to us to choose to let Him in though.
*and for the one funny line in there..."you have what the Iroquois used to call 'kowabunga.'" It's a new phrase at my house. Haha.
Like I said this book is amazing and so full of "life lessons." SO SO good for those reasons. The story was just hard to digest as is.
Some of the many take-aways from this book:
*Things aren't always as they seem so don't judge too quickly.
*The answer is almost always love. Just love.
*Second chances are real (and third and fourth and fifth, and well you get the point).
*Be patient with yourself and others.
*Now is the best time to tell someone you love them.
*Blood given freely saves.
*The Spirit of God is real and tangible.
*The ability to embrace quiet to contemplate or meditate or to understand what being still means are essential skills to acquire in this life. It's how we find peace. How we find and hear Him.
*God is real. He cares about the choices we make and He wants to be a part of all we do. It's up to us to choose to let Him in though.
*and for the one funny line in there..."you have what the Iroquois used to call 'kowabunga.'" It's a new phrase at my house. Haha.
Like I said this book is amazing and so full of "life lessons." SO SO good for those reasons. The story was just hard to digest as is.
August 13, 2018
I liked this book even better than the first. It is a brilliant concept - the idea of sketch book. This sketch book is that of Isaac's - the previous potter of Niederbipp. I also love the love story between Jacob and Amy. This is a sweet book full of profound wisdom and truths.
March 14, 2018
This series is delightful.
October 18, 2010
My over all impression of this book was that I felt uplifted after reading it. It was also full of life lessons and words of wisdom. I think I'd better read it again someday and take notes. I enjoyed the story line and the new people that Jake and Amy meet. I was also impressed with Isaac. As Jake and Amy learn about him you realize that he could have become angry and self-centered from the sadness in his life, but instead he choose to become more Christ-like and to lift others up. Very touching!
May 25, 2010
I liked this book less than Volume I. The novelty of the format had worn off somewhat, and the messages passed on from Isaac, the potter, were more heavyhanded. Behunin could still use a more professional editor and proofreader.
But having said that, I will probably purchase and read Vol. 3. This is a young, local author, who has turned to writing because arthritis is curtailing his making a living as a potter.
But having said that, I will probably purchase and read Vol. 3. This is a young, local author, who has turned to writing because arthritis is curtailing his making a living as a potter.
January 7, 2023
I love this series and couldn't wait to get through them all!! I would recommend them to anyone ! I was in a rough time in my life when I found the 1st book on a borrowing basis bookshelf. These books somehow gave me light to get through the rough dark time I was in!! I read and re-read many of the sayings he had all over in them from different people. I also found that there were more books to the story when I looked online, and found Ben is a potter, and has a shop about 45 minutes from my house. My husband planned a trip to visit before Christmas thst year and I bought the rest of the set from him. He signed them all and rang me up. For Christmas my husband had gotten me one if his beautiful platters that year also. Then the next set came out and I just got the last one in that set also. It takes off from the Isaac books in a whole different direction. They make great gifts also!
June 15, 2017
This book is a continuation of Jake, the new potter of Neiderbipp, an actual town in Pennsylvania, and how he begins to learn about Issac the previous potter and how he made a difference in this little town because of his love for its people, and the importance of investing time in developing relationships and serving. He learns why the potter made mugs and hung them on the wall and the secret of peppermint tea and of Forget-me-nots. It's a book the makes me feel good as I read it because it seeks to show goodness. It continues building the story between Jake and Amy two young artists, a potter, and a painter, and their love for each other and the people of Niederbipp. It also talks deliciously about Marzipan, my favorite sweet!
March 26, 2024
I finally finished the last 15 pages (I should have finished this book in December). Another fun read that continues the love story of Amy and Jake with some positive messages, too. I don’t have much else I can say about the book since the story of this book ends at only six weeks since Jake has arrived in the town—the book is long-winded and plenty descriptive. I’ll read the third one just to see how the trilogy ends.
May 2, 2021
This is the second in the three novel set, a continuation of book one. So many interesting personalities in this small fictional town of Niederbipp. Most of the two books thus far have shown tenderness and goodness with occasional reflections on Christian themes. I liked both of these books.
May 7, 2018
So many wonderful insights. I can't wait to read the final book in the series. It has been wonderful remembering, discovering and learning about becoming like Isaac the humble potter of Neiderbipp.
November 26, 2018
My friend who loaned this series to me asked if I like it. I said "I do, though maybe just because I want to live in Niederbipp". There is a lot of truth packed into this sweet story. I want my husband to read it so he can understand what makes me tick. Does anyone know a real life Neiderbipp?
June 15, 2019
This kind of book is not everyone's cup of tea (pun intended if you've read it) but I have thoroughly enjoyed the sweet lovely story, and have the third book on hold to read next. Just an overall uplifting tale in a quaint setting.
February 19, 2020
I loved the 1st book and I have tried to get into this one but I have to say, I hate that it is printed in sepia! What the heck? My eyes don't like it and I can't get into the story that I was so excited to continue from the previous book. Ugh. I'm sure I will try again, for the 3rd time.
November 30, 2022
I like the characters and it is a nice change to know I don't have to dodge foul language and dicey descriptions of events, but this got a bit too preachy and in-your-face philosophical. Still it was a pleasant enough story. It just takes a very long time for anything to happen.
February 20, 2018
Love the philosphy, faith, and love examples.
May 28, 2018
I really enjoyed this book despite its preachiness and the sappy and sentimental dialogue. But honestly, weren’t we all that corny at the start of our first loves?
October 21, 2021
Book 1 of 3. Fun but unusual story.
April 11, 2022
This was an excellent book. I loved it!!!
January 2, 2023
Theses books by Ben Behunin really do give you a lot to think about your life and what you are do to be better
January 13, 2023
I love books that describe good values and habits of people. This helped me become a better dad, Grandpa, husband, mentor.
April 20, 2023
I agree with Amy's critique.
April 29, 2024
The lessons continue
November 12, 2025
I love part two of the series. The story continues of this quaint town, and those who live there. Very enjoyable.
January 15, 2020
This is a folksy, clean, relaxing read. The sketchbook format is fun and entertaining. The quotes are wonderful. It’s rather long though this didn’t bother me in the least. The author Ben Behunin really is a local potter. I’ve met him a few times and find him down to earth and humble. I love his creative genius.
My friend put it best: “It is indeed delightfully sappy, and many would see it as preachy. That's kind of what it is supposed to be, I think. A book to turn people towards God, love, relationships, and good living.”
My friend put it best: “It is indeed delightfully sappy, and many would see it as preachy. That's kind of what it is supposed to be, I think. A book to turn people towards God, love, relationships, and good living.”
July 5, 2018
I enjoyed this as much ad the first one. I like the way the story is developing. I find the book refreshing. It makes me want to have that type of live. It shows the value of true genuine friendship. There is lots of times where I see service. This is so uplifting and a far cry from from the world we live in. I want to live in Neiderbipp.
June 5, 2010
I started my review of the first "Isaac" book by stating that I thought it was a great book. I can't quite get there for this book. It was a good book, and I enjoyed reading it. However.....
1. I found myself being a bit irritated with Jake. He somehow seemed more immature than in the last book.
2. The backstory about Isaac was a bit too loose for me. It seemed to me that Isaac came across as more of a two dimensional person - even though the townspeople characterized him as so very Christian. He just didn't seem quite real to me. (Yeah, I know, this is fiction. But it's supposed to be believable anyway, right?)
3. At times I felt as though the author wasn't sure I was capable of getting the message; so it was repeated, and again, and then explained yet again. This could have been a much shorter, tighter book had the reader been credited with enough sense to "get it" the first time. I ended up feeling - almost - browbeaten by the message.
I think perhaps the reason I enjoyed the first book a bit more was the variety of people (and their stories) that lived in it. That formula seemed to work better. I even thought the sketches in the first book were better - this time around they seemed almost calculated.
Nearly my favorite thing was the quote headers of each chapter. I so enjoyed them. The woodcuts were a wonderful addition.
Editing continues to be an annoyance.
I think I'd like to see the direction the next installment takes me, the reader. At this point, though, it's an iffy proposition. I wish Mr. Behunin well in his efforts.
1. I found myself being a bit irritated with Jake. He somehow seemed more immature than in the last book.
2. The backstory about Isaac was a bit too loose for me. It seemed to me that Isaac came across as more of a two dimensional person - even though the townspeople characterized him as so very Christian. He just didn't seem quite real to me. (Yeah, I know, this is fiction. But it's supposed to be believable anyway, right?)
3. At times I felt as though the author wasn't sure I was capable of getting the message; so it was repeated, and again, and then explained yet again. This could have been a much shorter, tighter book had the reader been credited with enough sense to "get it" the first time. I ended up feeling - almost - browbeaten by the message.
I think perhaps the reason I enjoyed the first book a bit more was the variety of people (and their stories) that lived in it. That formula seemed to work better. I even thought the sketches in the first book were better - this time around they seemed almost calculated.
Nearly my favorite thing was the quote headers of each chapter. I so enjoyed them. The woodcuts were a wonderful addition.
Editing continues to be an annoyance.
I think I'd like to see the direction the next installment takes me, the reader. At this point, though, it's an iffy proposition. I wish Mr. Behunin well in his efforts.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews