This is a look at the books read per year, based on statistics from 2024, using metric sources from various different sites. Sources will be listed at the end of this article. Sources are primarily compiled up to March of 2025.

Ever wondered how your reading habits stack up against the rest of the world? Whether you’re a voracious bookworm or an occasional reader, the numbers might surprise you. Here’s a comprehensive look at the average number of books read per year—broken down by country, age, gender, and race—plus tips for tracking your own stats and making sense of your reading life.

A look at statistics in reading (and well, why not, have a beer with it too!).

By Country: Top 10 Countries

Based on surveys and aggregated data from 2024–2025, the average number of books read per person annually in the top 10 countries is as follows. Let’s start with a global snapshot. Here’s how the top 10 book-loving countries compare in average books read per person per year:

By Race/Ethnicity (U.S. Data)

• White Americans: Spend the most time reading, with higher daily averages than other groups.

• Asian Americans: Average about 17.4 minutes of reading per day.

• Hispanic Americans: Average only 6 minutes of reading per day.

• Black Americans: Data shows lower reading proficiency scores compared to White Americans, with disparities persisting post-pandemic.

While time spent reading does not directly equate to books finished, these differences in daily reading time and literacy performance suggest White and Asian Americans read more books on average per year than Black and Hispanic Americans.

By Age Bracket (U.S. Data)

• 18–29 years: 83% read at least one book per year, the highest among all age groups.

• 30–49 years: 73% read at least one book per year.

• 50–64 years: 70% read at least one book per year.

• 65+ years: 67% read at least one book per year.

Millennials (roughly corresponding to the 18–34 age group) are noted as the generation reading the most books, with high library usage and a preference for both print and digital formats.

By Gender (U.S. Data)

• Women: Consistently read more books than men. In recent surveys, 77% of women reported reading at least one book in the previous year, compared to 68% of men.

• Fiction Reading: The gap is even wider for fiction; in 2022, 46.9% of women read fiction compared to just 27.7% of men, a persistent 19-point difference over the last decade.

Overall: The gender gap in reading is widening, especially among younger generations, with women leading in both quantity and frequency of book reading.

Summary Table: U.S. Book Reading Percentages by Demographic

Key Insights

• The United States leads the world in average books read per year, followed closely by India and the United Kingdom.

Women, younger adults, and White/Asian Americans are the most active book readers in the U.S.

• The gender gap in reading persists and is growing, especially among younger generations.

Millennials are the most avid readers by age group.

Sources

A list of sources used to compile the above data and information:

• Average Books Read Per Year by Country 2025
• Ranked: Countries That Reads The Most Books, 2024
• Average daily time spent reading per capita in the United States from 2018 to 2023, by ethnicity (by hours)
• Exploring Reading Habits Across Demographics: A Data-Driven Analysis
• Share of adults who have read a book in any format in the last 12 months in the United States in 2019 and 2021, by age group
• The Men-Women Split in Reading is Real—and Persists Amid Historical Rate Declines

Some Other Literature Based Articles

• Literature and Libations: A Beer and Book Guide
• Philosophy and Craft Beer: A Confluence of Thought and Taste

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The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road

I read this just a few years after high school, after the birth of my second child, and what now feels like forever ago (but was really just 15 years ago). I remember absolutely loving it. A bleak, dystopic novel of just… going forward. Always moving forward. Always going. One foot in front of the other.

And I do find myself like Cormac McCarthy. I loved No Country for Old Men, and All the Pretty Horses. But, on re-reading this just before going to Atlantic City for the AC Beer and Music Fest, I found myself…. having conflicting thoughts on it. At first, it felt like I was re-reading a favorite old book, but further I went through it (and its a super quick read), I found myself… not caring. Not loving it anymore. Some of it is the style, I know a lot of people are put off by the writing style of the book, the bleak isolated speech, the poor punctuation, grammar, the screenplay like dialogue but without directions, etc. And on my first read, it worked, I liked it, and at the start of re-reading it – I too liked it, but then it grew tiresome on me. And I think, all the more because it all just feels ‘pointless’.

When I looked up my GoodReads initial rating of it, I gave it ***** (5 out of 5). Crazy. But that was definitely in my phase of “Everything is either 5 stars or 1 star” mindset of looking at things. Not so much due to naïvety of thinking everything was either a classic or not, but just for simplicity sake when using the app. I tended to be the same with Untappd and other similar rating apps. Also in the fifteen years since, I think I got a bit more nuanced in my own thoughts, appreciation, and love for reading. I’ve been a voracious reader ever since middle school, and I typically for the last half dozen years have been reading about a hundred books per year. So I’ve certainly grown some since my initial reading of this.

I think some of my biggest take-aways is also a thing of growth in myself as a person, because the entirety of the book feels like a “why bother” now. With how absolutely bleak it is, it feels just pointless. Existentially pointless. For all intents and purposes humanity is done for. And thats ultimately the point of the novel, to drive home just how bleak it is, but that the Man keeps pushing onward, even when his wife couldn’t, even when his Son doesn’t think he can,  you ‘have to’. But I even question the point of thinking ‘you have to’ in a world like this. What do you live for? Its not really tackled in the book outside of the “because you have to’ omnipresence behind each page. Its not even directly stated. Characters don’t state things like that in the book. The Man just has the vague sense of ‘you must always keep moving no matter how bleak and horrible and terrible it is’, but its never explicitly said – not that it HAS to be explicitly said, I can draw inferences, but, a discussion, some character, some growth, some introspection, something would be interesting or nice or at least add substance to this. I can draw the inference of ‘you must always keep moving’ by page 10, so the remaining 276 pages are like a footnote to the initial thought.

I feel like my review will come off as extremely harsh, and probably far harsher than I even intend it to be. There is still a part of me that enjoys this work – but I think its for the overarch of it, not for the actual writing, prose, or the book itself. Its my interest and intrigue in the genre, its the way the story gets my mind to drift and think of how I would write a similar dystopic novel; so my interest and enjoyment of this (on the re-read) is more based on how I vaguely feel as a ‘whole’ to the entire process, to what I feel deep down, and not so much to the writing itself. I want to still really enjoy it, I want to dive deep into the book, but I’m afraid its not deep, its a shallow dive into a pond that looks deep from up high. Maybe thats where my frustration grows, and why I give a scathing review here. I genuinely think I’m being a bit too harsh on Cormac McCarthy here, and for his fans and lovers, I apologize for that. Maybe its just in re-reading this and what I remembered and feeling let down as an older man. Maybe its reading too many other book reviews and my critique level is so much higher than it was before. Maybe I’ve grown away from him. I still have No Country for Old Men on my “to re-read” list for the year. So who knows when we get to that, and if my opinions will change.

Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy in 1973 (photo courtesy of Wikipedia).

Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American writer who authored twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western and postapocalyptic genres. His works often include graphic depictions of violence, and his writing style is characterised by a sparse use of punctuation and attribution. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novelists.^[1][2][3]

McCarthy was born in Providence, Rhode Island, although he was raised primarily in Tennessee. In 1951, he enrolled in the University of Tennessee, but dropped out to join the U.S. Air Force. His debut novel, The Orchard Keeper, was published in 1965. Awarded literary grants, McCarthy was able to travel to southern Europe, where he wrote his second novel, Outer Dark (1968). Suttree (1979), like his other early novels, received generally positive reviews, but was not a commercial success. A MacArthur Fellowship enabled him to travel to the American Southwest, where he researched and wrote his fifth novel, Blood Meridian (1985). Although it initially garnered a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it has since been regarded as his magnum opus, with some labeling it the Great American Novel.

McCarthy first experienced widespread success with All the Pretty Horses (1992), for which he received both the National Book Award^[4] and the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was followed by The Crossing (1994) and Cities of the Plain (1998), completing The Border Trilogy. His 2005 novel No Country for Old Men received mixed reviews. His 2006 novel The Road won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction.

Many of McCarthy’s works have been adapted into film. The 2007 film adaptation of No Country for Old Men was a critical and commercial success, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The films All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and Child of God were also adapted from his works of the same names, and Outer Dark was turned into a 15-minute short. McCarthy had a play adapted into a 2011 film, The Sunset Limited.

McCarthy worked with the Santa Fe Institute, a multidisciplinary research center, where he published the essay “The Kekulé Problem” (2017), which explores the human unconscious and the origin of language. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2012.^[5] His final novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, were published on October 25, 2022, and December 6, 2022, respectively.^[6]

Cormac McCarthy – Wikipedia Article

Book Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Back of cover blurb, as per GoodReads:

A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

The Road – GoodReads Back of Cover Blurb

A Need for Meditation, Solemn Reflection, and Tranquility

There are thousands of reasons to hike. And perhaps one of the biggest reasons is for a sense of alone-ness. A sense of being by one’s self, alone, in the woods, to reflect, to meditate, to be lost in one’s own head. This was my aim today. In the morning we said farewell to Bartley Francis Kaminski, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Palmyra. You can read his obituary here: Bartley Francis Kaminski (1977 – 2021). And you can read my farewell to Bart here on the blog: Farewell to Bartley Kaminski.

I’m not a big fan of funerals (who is?); but they are a necessary ‘part of the process’. Unfortunately in my life, I’ve been to far too many of them. I’ve been pall bearer more than I’ve been a groomsmen. I’ve been to more funerals than I have weddings. I think back to various family members and friends, Mike Drobenak’s, my Great Grandma’s, my Aunt Janet’s, my Grammy’s; last year in February I had two uncles (a Great Uncle on my dad’s side and my mom’s brother in law) both pass away a week apart – and this was before COVID / coronavirus hit.

I grew up with the Hummelstown Cemetery being my backyard (my parent’s backyard connects to it). I walked through it to get to my elementary school every day for school. To say death has been a portion, or thought, or part of my life, might be an understatement. But I also feel like this could be said for so many. Its one of the main leading thoughts for most people. Its one of the driving forces behind all of our decisions. Todd May’s work ‘Death’ is such an extremely good piece of work about death, that is should be read by everyone. Its both philosophical and laymen. Its technical yet beautiful. You can read my book review here on the blog about it: Book Review: Death (Todd May).

So after the conclusion of the ceremony and listening to the bagpipes playing ‘Amazing Grace’ coming to an end, I made my way to my car, and sat for a bit. Needing tranquility, needing to lose myself, I called up my AllTrails app and looked for something close by. I had brought clothes to change into knowing I would need to hike, my hike boots were already in the car, and my current stack of reading books were in the car (my current stack of reading books always travel wherever I go, no matter what).

Governor Dick

I have been to the Tower at Governor Dick easily a dozen or more times in my life. I’ve gone when I was a small child with my parents, I’ve taken my daughters and my ex-wife, I’ve taken my dog Leela, and I’ve gone with Ming. There’s a ton of different routes and paths and trails all leading up to The Tower.

The Tower has gone through some changes over the years, they’ve fully enclosed the top to stop people from rappelling and climbing the walls of the Tower itself as if they were Batman or someone trying to break in or out of a prison. But the climb inside is and has always been the same (to my memory anyway). Claustrophobic, metallic, dusty, dirty, and most likely urine soaked on a platform or too. (Pretty sure that was the case today.)

The view at the top isn’t the most exceptional, but in the Manheim, Mt. Gretna area, its a nice and beautiful view. But its just what I needed for self reflection, meditation, and tranquility. A nice little breeze in the air, a beautiful view, direct sun, and I sat there with my back against the wall, reading, meditating, enjoying the breeze, enjoying the freedom, the sun, the peace, the tranquility, and the aloofness, the alone spirit of it all, letting my thoughts of life, Bart, death, and everything else just wash the stress out of me.

Hiking to The Tower

There is many paths and routes to get to the Tower, and you can start at various spots. Most people now usually start at the Conservancy Building (not 100% of the name of it), but its a lovely little spot where you can go inside (I believe it has re-opened ‘after’ COVID) where kids can go inside and do all manners of activities, as well as get to touch different animal pelts, see pictures, videos, brochures, animal bones, etc, etc, etc.

I took a different route this time. The map from AllTrails shows you the route I was hiking: Governor Dick Tower Trail (map). (Sorry, the screen shot isn’t working due to the way they have the map setup as a changeable feature, it turns it full grey in the screenshot. You can see the route I take when I post my route picture in just a bit.) Usually I can screenshot the AllTrails map, but for some reason, they have it on their website as a changeable piece, and so when you screenshot it, it just turns into a grey block. So, unfortunately, that won’t work for me to screenshot and post here. But from MapMyRun, I do have a copy of my hike, and thats practically the same as the AllTrails one.

Governor Dick Tower Trail

Hike: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Manheim, Pennsylvania)
Location: Governor Dick Park (Route 117 Start Point)
Near: Manheim, Pennsylvania
Length: 2.1 Miles (as per AllTrails)
Elevation Gain: 364 Feet (as per AllTrails) (not counting climbing the Tower)
Route Type: Out and Back
AllTrails Map: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Clarence Schock Park at Governor Dick)
AllTrails Description: Governor Dick Tower Trail is a 2.1 mile out and back trail located near Manheim, Pennsylvania that features a great forest setting. The trail is rated as moderate and is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and nature trips.

Hiking Governor Dick Tower Trail

For this trail to the Tower, you start at a little pull – off along Route 117. Only one other car in the lot which is always nice, lets you know its going to be at least seemingly a relatively empty trail. (My preference anyway.) I arrived around 12:35 – 12:40PM after Bart’s services. Changed and put on my hiking boots and got my backpack loaded up with my books and some waters and Mountain Dews and started on the trail.

And, immediately regretted not having any bugs pray with. The gnats were absolutely… H – O – R – R – I – B – L – E ! Just the absolute worst. Like thick clouds of them the whole way to the Tower. I could swing my hand in front of me, open palm, and I was guaranteed to catch at least three or four of them, and smack another ten to fifteen out of the way. The trail started off as a stone slope upwards towards The Tower. The slope isn’t at too bad of an incline, so its a nice, moderate, relatively easy trail and path up.

Despite the gnats, it didn’t take me very long, maybe 35 minutes at most to reach The Observation Tower. Once there, I climbed up the old metal rungs of the ladder on the upward bound side and made my way to the top. At the top was a couple, sitting, enjoying the view, just holding hands, and I made my way around to the opposite side and sat with my back to the wall of the Tower ladder entrance / exit. I doffed my backpack and pulled out my books. For the next hour or so, I sat here, reading, meditating, thinking of Bart, of life, and of so much more that has been going on with myself, and my family, and just life really in general. In what might possibly have been the craziest years of my entire life – and this is saying something – I just stopped, sat there, read, meditated, and enjoyed the cool breeze at the top of the Tower. The gnats were gone, having left me alone, the sun was hot and shining directly on me, and I felt a very deep, inner sense, full resonating sense, of peace. For once.

Just before leaving and climbing back down, I saw a hummingbird buzz the cage that domes and surrounds the top of the tower. I tried to get a picture, but he flew away too quickly for me. But I did get to see him, buzzing up against the metal, and saw the beauty in his flapping wings. His energy and speed and quickness so evident. His energy reminded me of Bart. I don’t tend to look for portents and omens and all that, or to see signs and stuff, but getting to see the hummingbird did remind me of Bart, interestingly, after yesterday’s viewing and visit, Cliff Plank (current head brewer for Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg) posted on Facebook how he saw an albino squirrel and it reminded him of Bart.

Another couple came up to the top and took pictures and went back down while I was reading. I think it was a daughter in her 20s or early 30s and her father in his 40s or 50s. They both said ‘hi’ and talked about the beauty of the area around them. They have been doing a different hike in a different Pennsylvania county every week, and this was their hike for the week.

While at the top of the tower, the books I was reading were: ‘Death’ by Todd May (I had finished it weeks ago, and you can read the book review here: Book Review: Death [Todd May], but felt like re-reading some passages in the wake of Bart’s passing), ‘State and Revolution’ by Vladimir Lenin, ‘Six Walks in the Fictional Woods’ by Umberto Eco, and ‘The Bomber Mafia’ by Malcolm Gladwell. (I’ll be posting book reviews for each of these in the future.)

Return Trip to the Car

After climbing back down, I hiked back down the slope, taking a slightly different route (the one actually listed on the AllTrails map, which has you take a slightly more scenic route, rather than fully up the rock slope) on my way back to the car. The gnats were present as soon as I got to the bottom of the Tower, and perhaps in even larger numbers. Made it to my car without incident and took off my hiking boots and then drove home, stopping at my parents, getting to see my little nephew and hanging out with him for a bit before he was picked up by my sister and brother in law.

Reflections, Thoughts, and the End

This was a needed hike. My 2021 has gone horribly awry from where I wanted it to go starting in March. And has not been the year I wanted it to be – at all; to say the least. I haven’t gotten to go to breweries like I wanted, and I haven’t really hiked as much as I wanted, or as I had planned. I’ve felt more isolated this year than in past years – including COVID central 2020. This hike was much needed. It was short, it was one I’ve been to many times, and it was on a day where I needed to reflect, to meditate, and to think. It was a recharging of batteries so to speak. A realignment with all things; instead of the Buddha under the Bodhi tree, I was Ben under the Tower’s cage. Maybe not similar, or an apt analogy, but it is how I spent some of my afternoon; reflecting and thinking, about life, about Bart, about death, about the meaning to things (and the lack thereof). Thought about cancer, about my mom’s cancer battles and the fear of it coming back, of losing my Aunt Janet to cancer, of my Great Grandma’s fight against Alzheimer’s and her loss to it, and so many others that I’ve known throughout my life who passed away to some form of cancer or another.

I think of Albert Camus and his absurdism, of Sartre and his existentialism, Kierkegaard and his thoughts about life and everything. These are the moments people need to make time for more. For reflection, meditation, self thought, to examine one’s own inner thoughts and life, to be a bit more Socratic. And thinking of Bart’s service, and of his life, it made me think about how we all need and should be more like him. Outgoing, cherishing the moments with friends, loved ones, living for the moment, helping others, extolling the virtues of those we are proud of, having fun, doing things out of our comfort zones, living life to its utmost potential. Bart did this, and more.

Links

Here’s some links, both on the blog and outside of the blog to various things related to the hike.

Bart:

• Farewell to Barley Kaminski
• Bartley Francis Kaminski Obituary
• Brews and Bands for Bart

Governor Dick:

• Explore Governor Dick Trail (AllTrails)
• Governor Dick Tower Trail via Route 117 (AllTrails)

The Beer Thriller Hikes and Travelogues:

• Hike: Hawk Rock
• Hike: Rattling Run
• Rickett’s Glenn
• 1000 Steps Trail

Measure of a Well Lived Life

• Measure of a Well Lived Life by Arthur Miller (Pocket)

Be safe out there everyone, get vaccinated, love each other, live life to its fullest. Grow each day. Peace, hugs, and chugs.

-B. Kline

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Our Fast Paced Lives

I think we can all admit to this – I know I can…. our lives are too fast paced. Doesn’t seem to matter who you are, even if you consider yourself lazy or a person who is inactive, it seems all of our lives are fast paced nowadays. Even as a reader, even as someone who enjoys writing, my life seems too hectic, too fast paced, too full. Each day’s ‘to – do’ list, or list of things I want to cover, write about, explore, think about, seems to grow, or seems to never get accomplished (in full).

We, as society, need to learn how to slow things down. To calm ourselves, and to reach a level of zen and peace and calmness and stillness in our lives. Pico Iyer covers just this with his TED Talk turned book, here in “The Art of Stillness – Adventures in Going Nowhere”.

Pico Iyer

About the author:

Pico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist of Indian descent. As an acclaimed travel writer, he began his career documenting a neglected aspect of travel — the sometimes surreal disconnect between local tradition and imported global pop culture. Since then, he has written ten books, exploring also the cultural consequences of isolation, whether writing about the exiled spiritual leaders of Tibet or the embargoed society of Cuba.

Iyer’s latest focus is on yet another overlooked aspect of travel: how can it help us regain our sense of stillness and focus in a world where our devices and digital networks increasing distract us? As he says: “Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds. Nearly everybody I know does something to try to remove herself to clear her head and to have enough time and space to think. … All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world.”

Author page: Pico Iyer (Source: GoodReads)

He was born on January 1st, 1957 in the United Kingdom.

Book Review

A follow up to Pico Iyer’s essay “The Joy of Quiet,” The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug.

Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.

In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren’t New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives.

The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many—from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson—have found richness in stillness. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before.

In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world.

GoodReads Blurb on “The Art of Stillness” by Pico Iyer

In my usual “snorting around” of the Hershey Public Library, found this on a quasi – self help shelf that they have. The Hershey Library doesn’t have exactly the best cataloguing of their books on shelves, and they have some weird mix – matches and mashups / mashup shelves. They have a quasi / sort of self – help, and general book reference shelf, where its books like this, or books of stats, or books of weird oddities that the library just kinda throws up on that shelf since they don’t know where else to put it.

But in my walking around, and looking through each shelf, like I do every time I visit the library, seeing what sparks my interest, I happened upon this. Its a quick, short, simple read, and great to boost and help you get to that reading challenge for the year (mine is 110 books this year).

Any avid reader already knows the “art of stillness”, and there is definitely something to it. That peaceful calmness of just ‘being’. Ironically, I read this on a weekend (my work weekend) where I had a day of 29,000+ steps, and a day where I was going from one thing to another and getting myself a head-cold in the process, and now laying in bed ‘recovering’ and reading.

I know personally, I have my greatest peace of mind when I’m out in the woods (walking though) or just taking a long, soothing shower. Their both (my) [a] form of meditation.

I always enjoy these little TED books whenever I find them at the library. Quick to read and digest, usually with a beautiful book design, and about something practical and interesting. This is a few short essays by Pico Iyer about Leonard Cohen being ‘still’ and Thomas Merton as well as the author himself and a few others. In this day and age of high paced action, it’s definitely worth reading/considering.

There is a popular Arabic proverb that goes something like this: “Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence.” Add to this how it goes hand in hand with Douglas Adams’ idea that when the mouth opens the brain shuts off, and you understand how people function, talk, and communicate with each other nowadays. We talk to hear ourselves speak, we don’t listen, we just wait til its our turn to get our next point across, its all zip – zip – zip. Our movements, our communications, our interactions, everything is sped up and fast paced in today’s world.

Thats why books like Pico Iyer’s “The Art of Stillness” helps to get us to calm down, and to see the world in a much slower speed and pace, to have ‘adventures in going nowhere’, and to learn the ‘art of stillness’, which is as troubling as can be in times like these.

But its a skill we all need to learn – at our own peril not to.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.67 (as of 7.21.21)
My LibraryThing Rating: ***.5

As always, thank you everyone for reading. Please check out our other works – including book, beer, and hike reviews. As well as brewery reviews, hop growing, home brewing, travelogues, brewery news, and all kinds of nonsense here on The Beer Thrillers blog.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, 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!

Well, I haven’t heard anything negative or anything after the first book review, so I’m plowing forward and jumping into the second book review here for the blog (well, third overall, but second non – beer related). Going to make some changes to the book reviewing process this time around (and going forward) similar to how the beer reviews are setup. Like a scientific process if you will.

Changes to the Book Reviews

Similar to how the beer reviews on the blog here have a set style to them, where I give some background information, some lead up to the review, the information on the beer (provided by Untappd), and recently I also added a section devoted to the brewery behind the beer; I will do the same for the book reviews now on the site.

I’ll give a little prelude to the review itself, like why I chose this book, how I came about having it to read it, etc. Any contextual information, etc. Then go into a bit of a background on the author, any of his or her other works, if I’ve read him or her before, etc. Followed by the blurb of the book (provided by GoodReads or Amazon), and from there go into my actual review.

My actual reviews will follow a somewhat similar pattern, but not always be the exact same. For my beer reviews I usually broke it down into paragraphs of “appearance, aroma, taste”, where with the book reviews I might break it down into some paragraphs that might follow from one review to the next, but not always. Especially in different genres or when reviewing fiction vs. non-fiction.

The Background

So let’s get right to it; whats the background of the book and how I came to read it. Well, I finished the previous book (Wit’s End by James Geary) and was looking for a quick book to read on my bookshelf, and one in the vein of philosophy, and non-fiction, and deep thinking books. Or at least a book that would make me think, but also be a quick read. These are the ones that always make me feel smarter than I am (not a hard task by any means) because their borderline deep, and I can read them fast. So I feel good about myself.

I had picked this up at the Barnes and Nobles in Camp Hill, without reading it or really looking at it, just knowing Machiavelli and interested in reading a biography of him. Giving me a gift card to a bookstore is dangerous, and I shouldn’t be allowed in a bookstore without adult supervision. I’ll walk in with a 25$ gift card, and walk out 300$ less in my wallet. Guaranteed.

Niccolò Machiavelli has always been a figure and a person of interest for me. Little is known about him and he just has this air of mystery, enigma, and a convoluted history due to how his name is used in modern times. Could he really be as ruthless as he seems due to ‘The Prince’? Could he be as cutthroat as we’ve made him out to be? Is Machiavelli the essence of Machiavellian or Machiavellianism?

Machiavelli

What all do we know about Niccolò Machiavelli? Not a whole whole lot really. But, you know you must an interesting person to say the least, when they eponymous your name. Specifically with the way Machiavellianism or Machiavellian is used in modern times. Before going into the book in question, a little background on Machiavelli, as per his Wikipedia page:

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (/ˌmækiəˈvɛli/, also US: /ˌmɑːk-/; Italian: [nikkoˈlɔ mmakjaˈvɛlli]; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher and writer, best known for The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513.^[5] He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.^[6]

For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is of high importance to historians and scholars.^[7] He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power.

Machiavelli’s name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in The Prince.^[8] Machiavelli considered political battles, not through a lens of morality, but as though they are a board game with established rules. His experience showed him that politics have always been played with deception, treachery and crime.^[9] He also notably said that a ruler who is establishing a kingdom or a republic, and is criticized for his deeds, including violence, should be excused when the intention and the result is beneficial.^[10][11][12] Machiavelli’s Prince was much read as a manuscript long before it was published in 1532 and the reaction was mixed. Some considered it a straightforward description of the evil means used by bad rulers; others read in it evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power.^[13]

The term Machiavellian often connotes political deceit, deviousness, and realpolitik. Even though Machiavelli has become most famous for his work on principalities, scholars also give attention to the exhortations in his other works of political philosophy. While much less well known than The Prince, the Discourses on Livy (composed c. 1517) is often said to have paved the way of modern republicanism.^[14]

Niccolo Machiavelli (Wikipedia)

Machiavelli is best known for his two works – The Prince and Discourses on Livy. He also wrote (his own, and in no relation to Sun Tzu’s) The Art of War. It is assumed much of The Prince is based on the life of Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. Mario Puzo‘s last novel (slightly unfinished at his death, but finished after his death) was about the Borgia family – Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia, Cesare, Giovanni, and Machiavelli also played a small role as a side character in the novel. The book was called ‘The Family‘.

Patrick Boucheron

GoodReads doesn’t have a whole lot of information about the author Patrick Boucheron. But he does have his own Wikipedia page – Patrick Boucheron. From his Wikipedia page:

Patrick Boucheron (born 1965) is a French historian. He previously taught medieval history at the École normale supérieure and the University of Paris. He is a professor of history at the Collège de France. He is the author of 12 books and or the editor of 5 books. His 2017 book, Histoire mondiale de la France (Global History of France), compiled work by 122 historians and became an unexpected bestseller, with more than 110 000 copies sold.^[1] From 2017 to 2020, he hosted Dates in World History, a TV program of 10 episodes which explored different important dates in world history.

Patrick Boucheron (Wikipedia)

Most of his works are currently only in French, although he has two published in English (with the use of a translator). His English published works include: France in the World: A New Global History, and Machiavelli: The Man Who Taught the People What They Have to Fear.

Book Review: Machiavelli – The Man Who Taught the People What They Have to Fear

First, before going into the review, I’m going to provide the background information (basically the back of the book blurb) provided by GoodReads. Similar to the beer reviews on the blog here, where I would give the Untappd description and various other stats (ABV, IBU, style, etc.).

GoodReads blurb: “In a series of poignant vignettes, a preeminent historian makes a compelling case for Machiavelli as an unjustly maligned figure with valuable political insights that resonate as strongly today as they did in his time.

Whenever a tempestuous period in history begins, Machiavelli is summoned, because he is known as one for philosophizing in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never ceased to read him to pull ourselves out of torpors. But what do we really know about this man apart from the term invented by his detractors to refer to that political evil, Machiavellianism?

It was Machiavelli’s luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered throughout his life–that was why he had to write The Prince. If the book endeavors to dissociate political action from common morality, the question still remains today, not why, but for whom Machiavelli wrote. For princes, or for those who want to resist them? Is the art of governing to take power or to keep it? And what is “the people?” Can they govern themselves? Beyond cynical advice for the powerful, Machiavelli meditates profoundly on the idea of popular sovereignty, because the people know best who oppresses them.

With verve and a delightful erudition, Patrick Boucheron sheds light on the life and works of this unclassifiable visionary, illustrating how we can continue to use him as a guide in times of crisis.”

This is a very quick read. Each chapter is roughly two to three pages, and also includes a picture, typically a full page picture (sometimes less). There was blank spaces for segment breaks, as well as some chapters. Its only 159 pages, counting index, preface, and photo credits. Its also not the full height and width of a hardcover but obviously larger than a mass market paperback.

While I say this, it doesn’t necessarily take a way from the book and the work done; but it also leaves you feeling like its just a series of vignettes and is kind of “dumbed down” almost in a way. Like this is much more for the layman and the person who goes, “Oooh, Machiavelli, I’d like to read about him” ……which is I guess what trapped me and lured me in when I saw the book on the shelf at Barnes and Nobles. And lord help us, we all know I’m a layman, I am far from professional or any real critic or anything.

I was looking for a bit more background information on Machiavelli, as I feel this is always a lacking area in the common knowledge of him as a person. His philosophy is fleshed out, and has been gone over and over and over by hundreds (if not thousands or even tens of thousands) of scholars, but there’s a bit of a dearth in knowledge of who he is, and how he came to be. There is some in this, there’s a modicum of background tidbits and pieces and some juxtapositions of that with his landscape (ie. the city states of Italy).

Speaking of Italy, this is a fascinating time in the history of Italy. The city states of Italy in the late 1300s, 1400s, and 1500s is a fascinating look at politics and fighting between small governments, whilst there are these much bigger and powerful monarchies hanging around (France, England, Germany, etc.). Its like a smaller version of Risk, and is setting up the stage for how a larger game of Risk would be played with Europe come World War I (and World War II).

The underlying theme that runs current through the thirty small chapters is that Machiavelli is much aligned and isn’t the “cutthroat monster” we have been pretty much led to believe by historians and history itself, by the way his name is used eponymously and how he is portrayed in fiction and even by scholars themselves. As the cover shows, (a grafitti’d Machiavelli, with devil horns), Machiavelli is believed and portrayed as this cutthroat man who believed “the ends always justify the means” and almost a “anything goes” attitude towards princes, and kings, and those in power; as a form of keeping their power, and making sure the government they are in control of continues on.

Whilst the work does give a general rough chronological outline of his biography, the overall theme is still about the timelessness to Machiavelli. That he speaks to the future (and our present) as much as he spoke to the people of his time. Boucheron believes he speaks more to our present and our future than he actually did to the people of Italy in the 1500s. That he is a classic and timeless read that one must do regardless of what century he finds himself in.

The opening preface makes quite a bit of reference to Donald Trump, George Orwell and his 1984, and how reading classics like 1984 and The Prince in context to our current times helps us establish our thoughts and opinions of the current climate (political, and otherwise) that we find ourselves in. Using the past and future as a way to establish our own thoughts on our own present.

Machiavelli did have a lot to teach about fear, its usage, its power, its conception, its control, its psychological importance, etc. He had as much to teach us about it as he did the Princes and the rulers. And as Boucheron showcases here, he had much more to show us – the common folk, the peasants, the non – rulers – about fear than he did the Cesare Borgias and Medicis of the world. And that is why we still read (and still need to read) Machiavelli in today’s world, and in today’s context.

My LibraryThing rating: ***3/4
My GoodReads rating: ****
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.68 (as of 4.7.21)

Thank you everyone for reading my second non – beer related article here on the blog, and the second non – beer related book review. Below is a list of the other current book reviews I’ve done here on the blog (one is a beer related book). Hopefully people appreciate these non – beer related articles. Hopefully can expand this to much more, as well as start writing much more on the beer side of things as well. So there is plenty here for people to see of all types and interests. Thanks for reading and hope you have a tremendous day!

Cheers.

-B. Kline

Our other Book Reviews:

• Wit’s End (James Geary)
• For the Love of Beer (Dr. Alison E. Feeney)

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, 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!

The Start of Book Reviews

While this isn’t the first book review on The Beer Thrillers – that honor goes to “For the Love of Beer” by Dr. Alison Feeney – this is the first non – beer related book review on The Beer Thrillers. But as I said in my last post “The Beer Thrillers Moving Forward” I’ve been wanting to do this and branching out the blog a bit more in different directions. Is the blog still going to be primarily about beer and breweries? Most certainly. This is actually something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, and am finally now just pushing ahead and doing it. If people don’t like it, too bad, they can ignore the posts and stay at our blog for the beer reviews, brewery reviews, etc. I read roughly 100 – 110 books a year, and I’ve been wanting to write and combine my various interests on the blog (beer, books, hiking, gardening, sports, video games, etc.) and this seems one of many natural ways to do it.

I’ve already done this similarly with many of my travelogue articles. Most of them are hiking adventures or visits and tours with Ming or other people that include stops at breweries along the way. The travelogues seem to be some of the more popular posts (and outside of the March Madness tournament we just did, my travelogue about the 1000 Steps Trail and Levity Brewing is a top ten visited article here on The Beer Thrillers).

So why am I starting off with “Wit’s End” by James Geary? Well, frankly its because its the latest book I’ve read and finished. So, I figured I’d start with the most recent book read, and work back on some of the others, as well as the ones I am still reading and finishing. So there will certainly be no lack of book reviews, that’s for sure.

Wit’s End

Let’s tackle this book and give it a proper review. Not sure if I’m going to follow a specific way of reviewing every book similar to how I do my beer reviews (Example: Chocolate Covered Pretzel by Braxton Brewing Company) or if each book review will be something different onto itself.

Maybe its apropos that I start my first non book review here on the blog (well, first non – beer related book review) with one titled “Wit’s End”. This might just be the end to the wit here on The Beer Thrillers; or will it? Who knows, maybe this will grow the blog even further, who knows again. Shrug.

Wit’s End by James Geary is a series of essays on the various forms of wits and witticisms and how it’s used. Each is written in different styles, from poems, to a screen play, to a faux academic (scientific) journal article, etc. Different essays to discuss the different ways wit is used, created, performed, and displayed.

There is a decent bit here, and the book both reads fast and slow at times. Which might also be a bit of just my reading style, where I’ll get into the book, and read a fair bit, then lose myself and be bored of it, and start picking up the numerous other books I’m reading (usually four or five books at a time), and jump about. Damn you ADHD.

The writing style is obviously all over the place as each essay is done in different styles. And for the most part I think this works; but I also think Geary is a bit lackluster in some aspects to it. Not fully delving into the styles, or relying too much on the styles to get his point across rather than the work and words themselves. I enjoyed some of the essays, whilst others fell completely flat or were uninteresting, and this wasn’t primarily due to just the styling or the writing, but the actual work behind it. I haven’t read anything from James Geary before, but his writing prose seems both deft and also incomplete at times. There is quality writing, but there is also a lack of putting two and two together and making connections.

I love reading about creativity and intelligence, because I am often curious how it spawns, why I have the thoughts or ideas in my head and where things pop in at. As someone who is often told “Where the hell do you get your ideas from” or “why do you think the way you do”, I love trying to read about how this all works out; and sadly, this doesn’t do a real good job of explaining any of that.

I’m also not a big ‘punster’ and there is quite a fair amount of that in this, with a few essays / chapters fully devoted to it. Despite being a dad, I’m far from prone to dad jokes – which the pun is a staple of – and for that, actually puns usually bore me. I’m not angered by them, just bored of them. I don’t believe of them as the “lowest form of wit” but I also just tire of them easily.

I wish there was more substance to this, and more on ‘how wit is derived’ rather than describing various forms of wit. Because I think we can all point to something witty when we hear / see / read it; and so I rather see the inner workings, the behind the scenes, rather than the obvious and what I can clearly see in front of me.

I think this is an entertaining read, but I think it just lacks a lot of substance and could use a lot more to it. Frankly wish the general idea behind it was a bit more expansive than what we got, or maybe the scope was a bit different than what the book alluded to it being.

Similar to my beer reviews, where I gave my Untappd score, followed the global average Untappd rating, I will do the similar here but with GoodReads. GoodReads and LibraryThing are my primary forms of Book Cataloguing and recording using apps; they are basically the Untappd for the book world. I started with LibraryThing many years ago (honestly can’t even remember, but I want to say 2013 or maybe 2012. Sadly, GoodReads has surpassed it and I use that much more now (despite my not caring – and actually loathing – of Amazon). GoodReads only lets you review in full stars, where LibraryThing let you review down to the 1/4th star. So I will most likely be giving my review scores to the 1/4th star (similar to Untappd letting you review to the 1/4th bottle cap), but showing my rounded score via GoodReads, and then showing the global average GoodReads score.

My GoodReads score: **3/4 (rounded – ***)
Global GoodReads Score: 3.32 (as of 4.5.20).

Thank you everyone for reading my first non – beer related article on the blog and site. Curious how reaction will be to me using my beer blog to post non – beer related things and more personal things. Who knows, maybe the blog gets expanded into all kinds of new categories in the future, and it’ll look just like one gigantic spider with tons of spider webs linking to millions of things. Or maybe in the future I’ll branch out and just have a different site for these things and move them over to there.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the branching out. What you think of me doing book reviews, etc. Don’t worry though, there will still be beer related content here on the blog, especially from the other writers, as I take a bit of a hiatus from the beer side of things personally for a bit. Thank you for joining us here at The Beer Thrillers. Be sure to stay tuned for many of the various things in the future that I have planned.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, 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!

Shoveling is just one of those activities that requires a beer. And usually I try to go heavy or darker rather than light or IPA. Sometimes I try to be thematic like when I had Snow Tracks by New Trail. And I won’t lie, I once had Julius by Tree House for a shovel day beer too…. but still, typically, I try for darker beers. Stouts, porters, barleywines, wee heavies, dunkels, schwarzbiers, etc, etc. etc. There is just something about being out in the cold and shoveling that requires a darker, usually heavier, beer. Just like mowing requires a lighter, crispier, lower ABV beer, like pilsners, or wheat beers, or hefeweizens, etc, etc.

Shrug.

This came from the mix a six I had picked up at Breski’s Beverage back for the December snow storm that hit right after we went into our second shut down of 2021. I picked it largely because of two factors: 1) I love peanut butter in beers, and 2) Shaun of the Dead reference.

Snowstorms, beers, Shaun of the Dead, and Criticism

Firstly, I find this somewhat relevant and wanted to dive a bit into this before going into the actual review. So I hope you’ll allow me this slight divergent tangent before we head into the proper beer review. And by now, I’m sure anyone familiar with this blog knows I usually go off the rails a bit, on tangents, or rants, or side-notes and side-bars, and just completely random thoughts before getting to the beer review at hand. (But I do promise I always get to the review, have no fear.) I am currently finishing up a book called “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read” by Pierre Bayard, and the final chapter is about an essay Oscar Wilde wrote about criticism, critics, and NOT reading the books you are to criticize and review and all that.

The main thrust of Oscar Wilde’s essay is actually that criticism, and critics themselves, are writing about more than whatever it is they are reviewing, and being critical of and providing criticism on. That they are actually providing more writing, more insight, and more thought on themselves than the actual product (in his case of discussion – books). I found this quite interesting as I sat down to write today’s beer review after some strenuous picture taking of a beer outside in the snow and preparing myself for some actual arduous work of shoveling.

By the way, this is probably an accurate depiction of me taking a picture of my beer in the snow, if my neighbors happened to be looking out their windows:

I think it would be great fun if there was a collection of pictures of the people trying to take the perfect pictures for Untappd and other beer related apps and sites. I know I’d be guilty of looking ‘quite the fool’ at times trying to take this perfect beer picture.

Now, lets discuss Shaun of the Dead real quick before getting into the beer review. Firstly, if you have not seen it, go about your business…. no….. I mean, drop whatever you are doing (its freaking snowing in Central PA right now anyway!) and watch this movie. You don’t need to be a horror fan or horror buff (though it will help) to appreciate it. Simon Pegg is fantastic and a great comedic genius. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and World’s End are all fantastic. And any brewery hopper or pub crawler can appreciate World’s End immensely. Simon Pegg follows that fantastic British style of comedy and he has perfected it in a way that appeals to Americans greatly.

I won’t do a full breakdown on the movie, as I don’t think there’s a full need to do that here, but let me just say, its well worth your watching it. Worst case is, you start watching it, hate it, and you’re upset at some second rate beer reviewer on the internet (aka – me) and you vengefully take it out on me in the comments section. Shrug.

Moving on….

Great Barn Brewery

Before we dive into the beer, lets quick discuss the brewery. I think I’m going to make this a more regular section of the beers I review from now on. Devote a quick little heading and few paragraphs to the brewery of the beer itself. Instead of just a passing mention or something, I think this will be more helpful to people reading and not knowing the brewery in question (as often times I don’t even know the brewery before drinking the beer). And with the added features of subheadings on my new blog, this provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the breweries behind the beers we review here on The Beer Thrillers.

I have not yet been to Great Barn’s brewery location, but as a Pennsylvania brewery, and one within a two – to – three hour drive, its certainly on my list of places to visit. (Ah, who am I kidding, any brewery I haven’t been to before, no matter the distance, is on my list of breweries to visit…..). It is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania (Bucks County). According to the Great Barn Brewery’s Untappd page – they are a micro brewery from New Hope, with 61 unique beers. As of 2.1.21 they have 14,345 ratings with a global average rating of 3.51. Their Untappd description reads: “The Great Barn Brewery is located in historic upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania in Durham Township which is best known for forging cannon balls for the American Revolution and building the boat George Washington used to cross the Delaware in 1776. The brewery sits on a family owned farm that has been growing crops for hundreds of years. Our brewery’s founder, Stephen Ferguson, has owned the land for over 40 years and built its namesake barn by hand back in 1976, exactly 200 years after America’s Declaration of Independence. Now the 40 year old barn has been converted into a brewery to preserve this historic land as a working farm and bring the real flavor of Bucks County to life. Using grain grown right on the farm, Great Barn Brewery strives to brew beer that is uncomplicated, unadulterated, close to its source, and coming from the heart. The idea of simplicity is one of our basic principles. It’s about going back to the land and honoring the ingredients that naturally grow in abundance. It encompasses a fiercely independent spirit, like our forefathers before us, that is the complete opposite of mass produced products. Our philosophy requires that everything is handcrafted with extreme care and attention from basic raw ingredients. When it comes to making beer you need two things: great ingredients and great execution. By growing our own grain and sourcing local ingredients we ensure that our product represents the best of Bucks County.” For more information on them you can also check out their Facebook page here: Great Barn Brewery Facebook.

Beer Review: Dunkel Shaun

Beer: Dunkel Shaun
Brewery: Great Barn Brewery
Style: Dunkelweizen
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)
Can Description: “A peanut butter and chocolate ale that tastes like a scrumptious creamy chocolate ice cream and peanut butter swirl. Bam! PA Preferred. Farm crafted. Brewed and packaged by Great Barn Brewery Kintnersville, Pennsylvania.”

Isn’t this just a beautiful looking beer and picture? Lovely brown – light brown – dunkel, bock, coloring. Brown to amber hue. Gorgeous off white to brown creamy foamy head with various and dispersed bubbles. Wonderful carbonation from the can. Transparent and translucent with no haze or sediment floating around.

This is a peanut butter beer straight from the smell. Much like Molly Pitcher’s Peanut Butter Porter, as soon as you crack the can you are hit with a “whooomphhh” of peanut butter aroma. Strong, heady, with some bready notes too. No smell of chocolate however.

This is a really ‘scrumptious’ beer – to steal a line from the can’s label. Its a beautiful looking beer, its clean looking, its an enjoyable beer. Before even sipping this you are hit with that wonderful aroma of peanut butter and then as you take that sip, your tongue is pummeled with the peanut butter just as your nose was. This is a very heavy peanut butter intense beer, which is fantastic and wonderful (if you like peanut butter beers – which I do – times a thousand); although here I’d like to point out that, unlike the can’s description, I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate. Nothing. Not even a little smidgen of chocolate. Which is really ultimately fine with me, because the can label (minus that description) and title of the beer never implies that there would be chocolate in it, and I never expected it until I read that description. The flavor profile doesn’t exactly match of “peanut butter and chocolate ice swirl” but thats fine with me, I wasn’t expecting it, nor wanting the chocolate, and am happy with just the peanut butter. But marketing wise, I would likely drop the ‘chocolate’ mention on the can label, or do something different if you want to incorporate it, because I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate in this. The beer is very nice, its not thick, its not cloying, it might be a slight bit on the watery and thin side, but nothing detractable and nothing that ultimately takes away from the taste. By the end of the beer, the peanut butter taste does taste as if its ‘flavor added’ rather than being natural ingredient throughout, but this isn’t really a super issue, its just something to note. I certainly enjoyed the beer, and it was well crafted and made, it has no off flavors, nothing astringent, no bad aftertaste, looked pretty, smelled great; all in all everything I look for in a well crafted beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 2.1.21)

Well, its now become 4:30PM and its looking like its time for some more shoveling as the snow keeps falling (which means the beers will now keep adding up). I might even re-watch the Royal Rumble (2021) from last night, which was an enjoyable pay-per-view if you are all interested in that. (No worries, I won’t spoil anything here.) And to be honest, this is really the only time I truly pay attention to wrestling anymore (from Rumble to Mania). But first, I’m off to do some more shoveling, and probably enjoy another beer – I’,m thinking Hummelstown Lager by Rubber Soul Brewing from here in Hummelstown.

Let me know what you’re drinking to get through this snowstorm in the comments. And as always, make sure to check out our other articles and posts here on the site, from beer reviews, to brewery reviews, to news, there’s tons of things to read. Be sure to stick around a while, and hit the subscribe and follow buttons to be notified of new posts, and follow us on our social media pages!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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

In honor of Boneshire Brew Works celebrating their fourth anniversary tonight, I’ve decided to wait a day or two to do the final of the streaming session’s beer reviews, and instead put this review up. Also, earlier I threw up a throwback post of our beer review of This is The Way (by Broken Goblet) due to today also being the premier of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, on our Facebook page. Which, do yourself a favor, and watch it. (As soon as you finish reading this review.)

In a year where everything has happened from plagues to fires to Oktoberfest being cancelled in Germany, its great to get to celebrate Boneshire Brew Works turning 4 tonight. And its great to be celebrating it with what looks like a fantastic tap list. (I have four new ones to try out on the tap list I see.) They have, what I will have to do a review of – primarily because Alan (head brewer / co-owner) said he would never make – a smoked pumpkin bear (Gourd Damnit) as well as two new English Curse variants (one with Graham Crackers and one S’mores) – as well as a variant he’s done in the past – English Curse with Hazelnut. As well as several of their regular offerings – English Curse (regular), Tried and True, Devil’s Burden. Also, a new IPA is on the tap list – Slight Miscalculations (Mango). Interested in checking that one out as well. So, definitely a lot of great beers to try, come on out tonight and check them out. They are celebrating their 4th Anniversary all weekend.

At the end of the article, I’ll put up some of the links to our other beer reviews, and some of the news articles about Boneshire Brew Works we’ve done, like their expanding into a second taproom in Harrisburg (soon-ish).

But for now, let’s dive into this brewski.

Beer: Pigtoberfest
Brewery: Boneshire Brew Works
Style: Festbier
ABV: 5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Behold the finest Festbier this side of the Rhine. Prost!

Its hard to see from the picture because of the mug club mug, but the beer looks every bit of a cross between a marzen and a festbier. Whereas marzens tend to be more amber, festbiers tend to be a bit more on the golden side of the scale. The two styles can slightly start going towards each other (some marzens could be a bit lighter, some festbiers could be a bit darker), but typically, marzens are more amber, and festbiers are more golden. This is a bit of a mixture, it has some slight darker looks to it, but mostly golden. Perhaps the mug is distorting my view of it too, so there could be some of that, it might be lighter than I’m thinking it is, or giving it credit for. There was a slight foamy, creamy head that dispersed relatively quickly.

Aroma is bready, heady, with some spices thrown in. There’s some honey notes to it, but mostly the fall spices and the bready notes come through the most. A bit of brown sugar perhaps to round things off, hard to pinpoint it exactly.

The taste is locked on for festbier. You have your honey, your dough, your fall spices, your malt, your bread, your brown sugar, all to give it the various complexities. The complexities for this work in conjunction with each other, so its great. Sometimes a beer can be too complex or have too many ingredients, and it just doesn’t work. Here, you don’t have too many ingredients, but you do have differences and complexities, and they work together and work well. There is definite notes of honey, dough, spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, brown sugar and the malt for sweetness. There is a breadyness to it from the dough and the malt, the honey and sugar and malt give it some sweetness, and the spices give it a bit of a fun, interesting kick. This is a wonderful and great fall weather beer, and will be great tonight on their anniversary, with the rainy, dreary, damp, wet, cold weather. This will taste just right and warm you up perfectly. Make sure you stop in and try it, along with the other goodies Alan has going at Boneshire Brew Works tonight.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.82 (as of 10.30.20)

Like I said above, this whole weekend Boneshire Brew Works is celebrating their 4th Anniversary of being open. So please, come on out, support local beer and breweries and local hard working families, and drink some delicious beers.

Some Boneshire Brew Works articles:

• Boneshire Brew Works Expanding With a Second Tap Room
• Beer Review: Pandemic Pills
• Beer Review: Blue Hippo
• Beer Review: Long Tongue Liar
• Beer Review: The Hog
• Beer Review: s’Mores Lazaris
• Boneshire Brew Works Celebrates Their 3rd Anniversary
• Beer Review: Iscariot
• Beer Review: Tried and True (Mango)
• Beer Review: The Dillston
• Beer Review: Sunburst
• Beer Review: AuZealand 2.0
• Beer Review: Harrishire
• Beer Review: Caucus Race 6.0
• Beer Review: Road Less Traveled
• Beer Review: Good Walk Spoiled

Maybe I’ll see you out there tonight, I’ll most likely there around 6:30-7PM. Cheers!

-B. Kline

You can also see some of our other beer reviews here:

• Beer Review: Dreams of Orgonon (Human Robot)
• Beer Review: Unicorns Stomping on Lanternflies (Saucony Creek Brewing Co)
• Beer Review: Griddle (Funk Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Up the Creek Extreme Ale (Thomas Creek Brewery)
• Beer Review: Hershey’s Chocolate Porter (Yuengling Brewery)
• Beer Review: Dropout (Rubber Soul Brewing)

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!

Ok…. first off…. let me begin by getting something off my chest: in no uncertain terms F^#& Lanternflies! Straight up. From whatever demonic level of Dante’s hell they came from, they can head right back there. F&*!& them. Hard.

Deep breath.

Sigh.

Deep breath.

Sigh.

1…. 2….. 3….. 4….. Serenity Now.

Ok. Better, lets move on!

This review is one of irony / juxtaposition / bad coincidence / happenstance / or some other kind of term that I’m lacking the knowledge of or remembering that could aptly fit. Not really in a pleasant or good way either unfortunately. This is part of the ‘recognization’ issue of psychology (to some degree). Where, once you buy a Yellow Truck (lets say)… you suddenly start to notice every other Yellow Truck on the road, where before you never noticed them, and you now start to think they are everywhere.

But, given that these little buggers are an infestation, it goes a bit above that. Or a bit beyond that. They are definitely now everywhere in the area. Unfortunately. And detrimentally so too. So its no surprise that I’ve now begun to “see them all over the place”, sadly. I will be doing an article soon on spotted lanternflies, and ways to spot them, get rid of them, kill them, and report them. So be sure to look out for that soon.

Wednesday I had gotten the EO (early out) from work, stopped at the Hershey Public Library to pick up some books (said books in picture above) and around 2:30 sat down to enjoy a nice cold adult beverage while reading. Deciding to crack my last remaining ‘Unicorns Stomping Lanternflies’ that I had picked up from our Reading Trip back on my birthday.

Used my new Brew Barons glass I had gotten from the Brew Barons app (review forthcoming), and sat and read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between The World and Me” and Fight Club 3 by Chuck Palahniuk.

Here, I will do the review, after the beer review, stay tuned for why I say its (sadly) ironic / coincidental / unfortunate juxtaposition / or some other term that is currently alluding me but is on the tip of my tongue (I believe its a French term similar to deja vu). (I think you probably have an idea of what I’m getting at though).

Beer: Unicorns Stomping Lanternflies
Brewery: Saucony Creek Brewing Company
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: The return of Unicorns Stomping Lanterflies – crushable NEIPA with a blend of hops giving a sunny citrus shine and subtle soft sweetness brings a perfect pint of bug slaying delight.

Color is a nice yellow to golden hazy hue. It has everything that looks just like an IPA (New England variant) should have. Beautiful golden, hazy look it; a nice foamy rich creamy white head to it; dispersed bubbles, varying sizes, everything a well crafted beer should have. It looks like a beer you want to drink…. so why… not … drink it?

Lets get to the aroma before we dive in… act like we’re actually beer connoisseurs and not just drunkards or something. This smells juicy, it smells citrusy, smells slightly mango, but lots of juicy citrus hop notes. This smells like a beer you want to drink… so… why not…. drink it?

Ok… lets drink it. DAMN. This is crushable. This is juice and delicious and easy to quench a thirst. A four pack of this goes down super quick (I can give testament to that). Its perfect sipping, or quick drinking, or just a fun beer to enjoy. Great sitting out, reading and enjoying a beautiful day, or… for slaying stupid dumb lanternflies. It is a juicy New England IPA, through and through, very heavy citrus notes, heavy mango notes, heavy hop juice, but no hop bite (typical for a New England IPA). Some notes of pine, but very mellow, a little bit of grassyness (or should I just say grass? or does that make people think of weed?), some Earthy tones, and notes, but mostly, this is just a well rounded hoppy juicy drinkable / crushable brew. Its a 7.5%, which isn’t extreme, but higher than some IPAs people might be used to, though in the Harrisburg – Hershey Central PA area, it’s the same as Perpetual IPA (though with Perpetual IPA’s hop bite, I think its easier to take notice of the ABV than in a juicy New England IPA like this). They didn’t have this on tap when we were there at the Franklin Station brewery, but we did pick these up in cans, and out of can its wonderful. I imagine its just as delicious on tap.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.95 (as of 10.2.20)

Ok… now… moving past the review, to why I was saying its coincidental (in a bad way), the very next day, Thursday morning, 10.1.20 I came outside, and saw a dead lanternfly in a my rain barrel’s top (it has a closed container and then a top to collect some water in a puddle type thing for if you wish to keep a plant there), my rain barrel is right next to my grape vines, and when I looked at them… they were crawling with the little buggers everywhere. I leapt into action! I took pictures, I charted them and reported them to the Department of Agriculture, and I killed all of them that I saw. Shoes, lighters, everything. Burned them, swatted them, smashed them, stamped them. I was the Unicorn of Death reigning hellfire and brimstone upon these evil buggers.

I ended up cutting my grape vine back (something you should do every year, but this year I did it a bit more severely than I normally do), due to them. Luckily, in my front yard, where I keep my two hop arbors, I saw no lanternflies on my hops or the arbors, or just in the yard area. This is only about 20-30 feet from the grape vine where I found the lanternflies.

Here’s some pictures of my grape vine, and my smashing of said lanternflies:

For lunch before hiking I stopped at Troegs Craft Brewery in Hershey. While there enjoying a flight (Impending Descent, Master of Pumpkins, Hop Harvest, and Hop Cyclone), myself and the one server / waiter killed about four or five of them. Shawn Funk, a member of the Central PA Whalerz who works for Troegs said that the construction by the train tracks (located behind the brewery) has roused them up and brought them towards the brewery.

I spent Thursday hiking Swatara State Park, heading to Bordner’s Cabin on Bear Hole Trail, and seeing the trickling waterfall. While there, they had paperwork in quite a few places about lanternflies. On the trail, I only found two of them at one spot, and promptly stepped on both (they also were both dead already it appears). A few days before this, at the Casino in Grantville I saw a few in the parking lot as well. So they are definitely in the Dauphin County area. I have heard lots of reports that Lebanon County is completely swarmed with them. So be on the lookout!

Report any find you find (dead or alive) to the Department of Agriculture. Kill and smash and kill and smash all you see…. oh, and did I say, kill and smash? Do it. Kill. And. Smash. All. All. ALL. Of. Them.

I will most likely be putting up an article about Spotted Lanternflies in the near future, so be on the lookout for that, and certainly be on the lookout for them! Evil, destructive buggers!

In the meantime, go have a cold delicious beer, and cheers!

-B. Kline

Yes, you heard that right. The Beer Thrillers are starting up their own YouTube Channel. What a crazy world we live in right? What’s next – podcasts? Oh…. wait! But, in the meantime, be sure to check out our YouTube Channel. Some of you might have noticed the YouTube icon added to the ‘social icons’ at the top of each page starting yesterday morning. This was meant to go up yesterday morning before work when I did the work to make the channel but I unfortunately ran out of time, so it’s going up now.

You can click on any of the links in the above paragraph to get to the channel or directly here: The Beer Thrillers YouTube Channel.

There is currently no videos up yet, but we (myself and D. Scott) are filming our first video today, so hopefully editing and everything, I will be posting it Friday. We are also doing our latest podcast – So a Mexican and A Scott Walk Into a Bar… – this edition on The Umbrella Academy; tonight, so be sure to look for that in the future as well.

Some series ideas I have for our YouTube channel are:

• Beer Tastings / Beer Reviews
• Philosophy and Pints (or Pints and Philosophy / Philosophies)
• Let’s Drink and Talk Nerdy
• Beers and Bad Movies
• Books and Brews or Brews and Books
• Fan Mail
• Home Brewing

As you can see, several of the series will be combining my different interests – books, philosophy, movies, nerd culture, etc. There will also be regular series of beer tastings and reviews, and potentially videos of home brewing, once I fully get back into that. Fan Mail will be a mixed bag of things, beers sent for us to review from either fans, breweries, or home brewers; us reading e-mails, texts, etc. And who knows what else.

So please be sure to subscribe to our channel and click the ALERT bell so you get all of our notifications on our videos.

Also, be sure to check out our new Facebook group, you can find our group here: The Beer Thrillers (Group).

Thank you all, and hope you will enjoy the video channel as much as you do about the blog. Don’t worry, I will still continue to do plenty of writing. (And most of the beer review, tastings, will also appear as written blogs too.) Just expanding our horizons and activities.

Cheers Everyone!

-B. Kline

For more reading:

• Check Out our New Interview Series
• Check Out our New Facebook Group
• Changes to The Beer Thrillers