Nerd Alert

This book is chock full of ‘nerd’ love, in the literary world. Not so far into the full on nerdy realms of fantasy, sci-fi, etc, but this is still really right up a nerd alley here. Maybe its the nerd in me (or is it a geek in this case? Are the two interchangeable? When can I say nerd? When can I say geek? Is it politically correct to say either?) but I’ve always loved maps, and there is a certain kind of fun in drawing and looking at maps. To picture somewhere new or strange laid out in map form. Its not just so simple as looking at Google Maps, there is something in seeing a map of say Middle – Earth or Westeros or even a galactic map of the Star Wars galaxy for example; its much more thrilling and interesting, seeing this fictional world (or worlds) brought to life.

In all honesty, what fan of Game of Thrones doesn’t love the opening intro to each episode? Or looking at the map of Westeros and Essos and Southeros? Or what fan of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Middle – Earth doesn’t like looking to see what Frodo’s trek to throw the ring into Mount Doom looked like? Or what fan of Star Wars didn’t enjoy tracking the Yuuzhan Vong’s invasion into the Star Wars galaxy in the old Del Rey novels (Legends) New Jedi Order series?

Maps

The above image is one of numerous maps from the book; this one charting Odysseus’s journey in The Odyssey by Homer. As you can see each map is a beautiful full page (or usually two pages, sometimes even more) that shows the travels of a character (or characters) and the settings. The rendering from book to the computer doesn’t do it quite the justice it deserves, as these maps are brilliantly and beautifully drawn.

As the next map shows, from Watership Down:

This one depicts the various rabbits from Watership Down and their travels over the course of the novel. Whereas the one above showed the travels of Odysseus. Numerous other books are broken down into maps as well, depicting the travels of characters. Moby Dick, The Life of Frederick Douglas, A Wrinkle in Time, and much much more.

There is a brief bit about each book and the map and why the map is drawn the way it is that accompanies each map. The essays are written about the books, about the maps, and giving all kinds of little background information on the book in question (as well as the creation of this map).

Review

GoodReads blurb on Plotted:

This incredibly wide-ranging collection of maps – all inspired by literary classics – offers readers a new way of looking at their favorite fictional worlds. Andrew DeGraff’s stunningly detailed artwork takes readers deep into the landscapes from The Odyssey, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Invisible Man, A Wrinkle in Time, Watership Down,A Christmas Carol, and more. Sure to reignite a love for old favorites and spark fresh interest in more recent works as well, Plotted provides a unique new way of appreciating the lands of the human imagination.

Plotted on GoodReads

Overall this is just a fun read. Each map is beautiful and well crafted. There’s a wide range of books that they picked from to cover, from beloved childhood books (Watership Down and Wrinkle in Time) to classics like Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, and A Christmas Carol.

There is certainly something in this for anyone. For map lovers, for literary lovers, for essay lovers, etc. Its a relatively short read too but you’ll spend much more time devouring each map over and over and looking for little easter eggs and bits of info that you might have missed the first time.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global GoodReads Rating: 3.66 (as of 11.8.21)
My LibraryThings Rating: ****

Thanks For Reading

Thanks for reading everyone, and be sure to keep checking back daily for new updates her on The Beer Thrillers! November is still going strong with an article a day so be sure to check back often and regularly!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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I left home to drop off books at the Hershey Public Library at 9:00AM. Having given my dog a nice walk in town, and setting things up for my ex-wife to come in and be able to take care of the dog with my daughters. I left the Hershey Library and went straight to the Thousand Steps Trail.

This is just a recap of the day, and not a complete article, I’ll be doing those post-full trip, which will include a lot more pictures of the trails, the breweries, and the beers I had from the travels.

All told my hike was roughly 7 miles. The thousand steps portion was certainly difficult, and a heck of a work out going up the thousand steps. But it was so worth it at the top when you get a view like this:

The view was absolutely breathtaking and worth it the whole time. I highly recommend the trail and the climb for anyone who is able to make it. It is just breathtaking. I have a dozen good pictures from the trip to show in the full article.

After the hike, I stopped at Juniata Brewing Company to sample a good flight of beers and let my legs rest a bit.

After this, I traveled another hour and forty minutes to get to the Ghost Town Trail and Hoodlebug Trail by Indiana. Walked the path and then visited Levity Brewing, which was right next to my hotel for the night.

I legitimately can’t say enough good things about this brewery. Both Eric and Nathan – the staff, bartenders, co-owner, etc, – were absolutely fabulous, taking the time to talk to me about my trip, my beers, the book I was reading, etc. And without even knowing about my blog, Eric, the one bartender and co-owner, gave me a free can of their latest release, for my hikes and travels. They were super nice, the place is beautiful, and clean, and all in all just a wonderful experience. The eight beers I had were all absolutely amazing. I honestly can’t say enough good things about them, and will be doing quite a few reviews and mentions of them in the future I am sure! Do yourself a favor and make sure to stop out and check them out.

Juniata Brewing Company was also a very nice little brewery and worth stopping by and checking out their spot. Its a bit out of the way, but still worth it as well.

Tomorrow I head to Pittsburgh and skirt it for some hikes, and cut through the city, and might end up at the casino – who knows, wish me luck!

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

The Trip to Indianapolis:

• The Trip to Indy
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Three Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Five Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Six Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Seven Recap
• Recap and Stats

So what do you do when its an extremely ugly Thursday – National Stout Day – raining, freezing cold, ugly out? …..You drink a barleywine of course! Ugh! Face Palm!

Yea, this was a fubar. I thought this was a stout, so I grabbed it, poured it without reading it, and was about to dig in for National Stout Day…. and lo and behold…. it was a barleywine! But this was certainly a delicious mistake! And gee darn, it meant I had to go and drink a stout later in the day. Oh darn… oh no…. more beer…. oh gee, oh darn!

(And of course thats just what I did, having the S’Mores LazaRIS stout from Boneshire. Which made up for this “mistake”.)

Barleywines are one of my favorite styles, and I love the high ABV of them, which can be dangerous at 11AM; but I powered through like a professional. …and drank this fast. It was so easy to drink. I wish I had a whole six pack of this because it went down so smoothly and effortlessly and easily that I need more of it!

Beer: There’s Nuttin’ Butter Than a Nice Pair of Cam Pants
Brewery: Westbrook Brewing Co.
Collaboration with: Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company
Style: Barleywine – Other
ABV: 10%
IBU: 15
Untappd Write-Up: Nutter Butter inspired barleywine with peanut butter, lactose and vanilla. Collaboration with EOBC.

Well, this was far from a mistake to drink. Only mistake was drinking it so fast. This is pure gold. Barleywines are one of my favorite styles and this is no exception, if anything, it’s raised the bar for barleywines and what they can do and be. There is just so much flavor in this.

First off, appearance is when I noticed this was no stout so I read the can… and yep…. oopsies. The coloring is a golden brown, not quite what you see in the picture above due to the flash of the camera, its golden, brown, amber-ish in hue. It had a very healthy foamy head to it that was light in color, great bubbles and retained and stayed for a while. Sipping through it was delicious.

Aroma is peanut butter strongly, like a real nutter butter candy, strong peanut butter, strong vanilla, some caramel notes. It smells sweet, like it should be sugary. You get a good whiff of the lactose vanilla and peanut butter, you get some hints of a boozyness. You can tell your gonna be in for a good smooth drink.

First sip is magical. Its simply wonderful. Its smooth, its easy, its very sweet. Not overpowering or cloying sweet, but sweet. Which is a rarity or barleywines. (At least in my experience.) It has a fantastic mouthfeel. Nice, easy sipping, smooth and enjoyable. You get some booze on the tongue but its not really there. For a 10% its hidden extremely well and barely noticeable, which can be either very dangerous, or a great thing; depending on your plans for the day. This is extremely tasty, you get the vanilla from the lactose, and you get a great peanut butter taste that just is extremely well done, its not too much, its not too overpowering, its just right. I think taste and aroma this is a lot like the Molly Pitcher Peanut Butter Porter; its got just the right amount of peanut butter.

It is to be noted, that this does include peanuts. The can specifically states that it was made with REAL NUTS. So for those with allergies should stay very clear of this beer. So be forewarned about that! (Like I have to stay clear of oyster stouts that use healthy doses of oysters.)

My Untappd Rating: ****.25 (Easily could be boosted up to a 4.5 instead.)
Global Untappd Rating: 4.12 (as of 11.8.19)

Ok, 8 days down, 8 days still good. Kicking this month’s butt so far! (Though a few days have been harder than others.) Same with drinking a new beer a day. Not hard yet. Doing pretty well on that front as well!

Today is a special day as we’re double-dropping. Pretty much simultaneously here as it looks. In just minutes (check 1PM) J. Doncevic’s review will drop. Look for it here. It should be great! I always love reading his reviews! (I’ll link it in here once its fully posted.)

Ok everyone, cheers and enjoy your Friday!

-B. Kline