Non-Beer Book Review - The Beer Thrillers

Book Review: I Drink For a Reason (David Cross)

B. Kline — Thu, 30 May 2024 03:34:26 +0000

I Drink for a Reason by David Cross

David Cross

David Cross in 2007 (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

David Cross’s career is a tapestry of diverse comedic and dramatic endeavors, underscored by his sharp wit and distinctive voice. He first gained widespread attention in the 1990s with the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David, which he co-created and starred in alongside Bob Odenkirk. The show, known for its inventive and often surreal humor, became a cult favorite and established Cross as a significant figure in the comedy world. Mr. Show was lauded for its clever writing and ambitious sketches, earning critical acclaim and a devoted fan base that appreciated its subversive take on societal norms and pop culture.

Following the success of Mr. Show, Cross’s career continued to flourish with a mix of television, film, and stand-up comedy. Perhaps one of his most iconic roles is that of Tobias Fünke on the critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development. As the perpetually clueless, aspiring actor and “never-nude,” Cross delivered a performance that was both hilarious and endearing, further cementing his status as a versatile and talented comedian. His portrayal of Tobias became a standout in a show known for its ensemble cast, showcasing his ability to blend absurdity with a touch of humanity.

In addition to his work on television, Cross has also made a mark in the world of stand-up comedy and film. His stand-up specials, such as The Pride is Back and David Cross: Making America Great Again, are characterized by his fearless approach to controversial topics and his incisive social and political commentary. On the big screen, Cross has appeared in a variety of roles, from voice work in animated films like Kung Fu Panda to live-action comedies such as Alvin and the Chipmunks. Despite the broad range of projects he has undertaken, Cross remains consistent in his commitment to challenging the status quo and pushing the boundaries of comedy, making him a significant and enduring figure in contemporary entertainment.

The following about David Cross comes from his Wikipedia page: David Cross:

David Cross (born April 4, 1964)^[1] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013–2019). He has been described as “ one of the defining figures of cult Gen X comedy”.^[2]

Cross created, wrote, executive produced, and starred in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2010–2016); developed and had a prominent role in Freak Show (2006); appeared on Modern Family (2011–2012); and portrayed Ian Hawke in three of the live-action/animated films Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011). Cross has also done voice work for the sitcom Oliver Beene (2003–2004), and has had lead voice-over roles in Curious George (2006), Battle for Terra (2007), the Kung Fu Panda film franchise (2008–2016), Megamind (2010), and Next Gen (2018).

In 1993, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on The Ben Stiller Show. For Mr. Show with Bob and David, he gained three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and for Arrested Development, Cross was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television Series, and, along with his cast, for three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. For his stand-up specials, he was nominated for several Grammy Awards.

Wikipedia – David Cross

Book Review: I Drink For a Reason

The GoodReads blurb:

After a decade spent in isolation in the Ugandan jungles thinking about stuff, David Cross has written his first book. Known for roles on the small screen such as “never-nude” Tobias Funke on Arrested Development and the role of “David” in Mr. Show With Bob And David, as well as a hugely successful stand-up routine full of sharp-tongued rants and rages, Cross has carved out his place in American comedy. Whether deflating the pomposity of religious figures, calling out the pathetic symbiosis of pseudo-celebrity and its leaching fandom, or merely pushing the buttons of the way-too-easily offended P.C. left or the caustic, double-standard of the callous (but funnier) right, Cross has something to say about everyone, including his own ridiculous self.

Now, for the first time, Cross is weaving his media mockery, celebrity denunciation, religious commentary and sheer madness into book form, revealing the true story behind his almost existential distaste of Jim Belushi (“The Belush”), disclosing the up-to-now unpublished minutes to a meeting of Fox television network executives, and offering up a brutally grotesque run-in with Bill O’Reilly. And as if this wasn’t enough for your laughing pleasure in these troubled times, some of the pieces splinter off with additional material being created online in exclusive video and animated web content created solely for the book-a historical first (presumably)!

With a mix of personal essays, satirical fiction posing as truth, advice for rich people, information from America’s least favorite Rabbi and a top-ten list of top-ten lists, I DRINK FOR A REASON is as unique as the comedian himself, and cannot be missed.

GoodReads – I Drink For a Reason

David Cross’s I Drink For a Reason is a compelling amalgamation of sharp wit, irreverent humor, and biting social commentary. As a seasoned comedian and actor known for his work on Mr. Show and Arrested Development, Cross brings his distinctive voice to the page, offering a collection of essays, anecdotes, and rants that both entertain and provoke thought.

The book’s structure is delightfully chaotic, with each chapter serving as a standalone piece, allowing readers to dip in and out at their leisure. This format mirrors Cross’s stand-up style, where tangents and digressions often lead to some of the most insightful and hilarious moments. From lampooning Hollywood absurdities to critiquing religious fanaticism, Cross navigates a wide array of topics with a deft hand and a sharp tongue.

One of the standout features of I Drink For a Reason is Cross’s unapologetic and often self-deprecating honesty. He doesn’t shy away from sharing personal anecdotes that reveal his own vulnerabilities and flaws. This candidness, combined with his acerbic humor, creates a sense of intimacy with the reader, as if you’re sharing a late-night conversation with a particularly funny and insightful friend.

However, the book isn’t without its flaws. At times, Cross’s relentless sarcasm can feel overwhelming, and some of the jokes may fall flat or come across as too abrasive. Additionally, readers who are not already fans of Cross’s comedic style might find his humor polarizing or even off-putting. Despite these minor drawbacks, the book’s strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.

Cross’s ability to weave humor with incisive social critique is one of his greatest talents. In essays like “Why I Hate Vegans” and “An Open Letter to Larry the Cable Guy,” he dissects cultural phenomena with precision, offering perspectives that are both humorous and thought-provoking. His commentary on the absurdities of modern life, particularly in the realms of entertainment and politics, is both timely and timeless.

In conclusion, I Drink For a Reason is a must-read for fans of David Cross and those who appreciate comedy that challenges the status quo. It’s a book that invites readers to laugh, think, and perhaps see the world from a slightly skewed, yet refreshingly honest, perspective. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea—or rather, everyone’s preferred drink—those who enjoy Cross’s brand of humor will find it a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read.

My GoodReads Rating: ***
My LibraryThing Rating: ***1/2
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.34 (as of 5.29.24)

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Book Review: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (Carlo M. Cipolla)

B. Kline — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 04:00:00 +0000

(Human) Stupidity

We all see it daily, maybe even hourly. We encounter it when we’re least expecting it — as well as when we are expecting it. Perhaps it can even happen to us – or from us. Of course, I am talking about human stupidity.

We encounter it all the time in our daily lives. At work, at home, online (especially online), while driving, while out eating, while out shopping, etc, etc, etc.

Perhaps its one of those things we just accept and move on, knowing that its going to be involved in our lives and there isn’t much we can really do about it.

Thankfully Carlo M. Cipolla gave us a codified look at the Laws of Human Stupidity. Philosophy in that same sense as ‘On Bullshit’ by Harry G. Frankfurt and ‘Assholes: A Theory’ by Aaron James. This is a quick dive into the stupidity of human nature.

Audio Book

While doing inventory at work today, I opened up Libby (an audio book app that lets you borrow books from libraries to listen to). It was a super quick read, and read extremely well too. Less than an hour for the book to be read all told, and it was read with the dry wit and humor that this piece is attempting to invoke while also being true and smart and intelligent.

It was narrated by Paul Boehmer.

The Laws:

1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

Book Review – The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity – written by Carlo M. Cipolla with a forward by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (and narrated by Paul Boehmer)

GoodReads Blurb:

In the spirit of On Bullshit and Assholes: A Theory, an economist explores the five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world

Since time immemorial, a powerful dark force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world’s most powerful boardrooms to your local pub. This is the immensely powerful force of human stupidity.

Seeing the shambolic state of human affairs, and sensing the dark force at work behind it, Carlo M. Cipolla, the late, noted professor of economic history at the University of California, Berkeley, created a vitally important economic model that would allow us to detect, know, and neutralize this threat: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.

If you’ve ever found yourself despairing at the ubiquity of stupidity among even the most ‘intellectual’ of people, then this hilarious, timely, and slightly alarming little book is for you. Arm yourself in the face of baffling political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or the unbridled misery of Christmas day with the in-laws with the first and only economic model for stupidity.

“Cipolla’s subtle tongue-in-cheek humor made this book an underground classic in Italy. Today, under current worldwide political trends, it reads more like black humor. Keep in mind: reliable statistical data shows that 98% of the people seriously believe that they are far less stupid than the average.” –Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (GoodReads)

One of my favorite quotes from the book: “A stupid creature will harass you for no reason, for no advantage, without any plan or scheme and at the most improbable times and places. You have no rational way of telling if and when and how and why the stupid creature attacks. When confronted with a stupid individual you are completely at his mercy.”

This about sums up stupid people. The laws are pretty irrefutable, and there isn’t much room for negotiation on it. Again, the laws are:

1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

The first is exceptionally true. We all underestimate the number of stupid individuals among us. They are everywhere. Its like shape shifters, alien lizard people, like the Skrulls from Marvel, they are hiding in plan sight. They might even be someone you know – your best friend, your mum, your girlfriend even, who knows? Thats how insidious this “disease” [stupidity] is.

The book is pretty blunt in its language and phrasing. Theres no real political correctness, but there is no real political [in]correctness either. It just is. For example, rule number two is pretty straight forward – the stupid person is stupid because he’s not stupid; not because of any other defining characteristic. His race, his ethics, his nationality, his location, his place of birth, the way he looks, his gender, the skin color, etc, doesn’t matter. He is stupid — simply because — he is stupid.

George Carlin pretty much best sums it all up:

“Consider that the average person is stupid. Now, consider that most people are below average.”
George Carlin

I would have to look up the date for Carlin’s quote in question to see if he was inspired by Cipolla or vice versa; but they are basically cribbing off each other on this one.

Whereas Carlin is looking at things kind of more on an anecdotal, sociological side of things, more for the purposes of just humor with a bit of provocation of thought – Cipolla is doing it on kind of a philosophical, sociological, and academically / scholarly side. The economics and finance background of Cipolla lends him some credibility with the probability, the statistics, and the scholarly worldview. Whereas Carlin is making the statement and moving on with his monologue, Cipolla has science to back himself up and gives it to us.

Stupidity comes in many forms. And with that – in comes to people of all different levels; people who we would “think” are intelligent. Noble Prize Winners can do some stupid things (example – James Watson, the DNA co-discoverer, claiming that Blacks are inferior to Whites), politicians (…actually, this might not come as much of a shock to many people), leaders of all sorts – Hitler attacking Russia, people who have extreme values and allow them to cloud their normally intelligent judgments, people who express conspiracy theories long after they’ve been proven wrong; and these can be from all forms of walks of life – teachers, mentors, professionals and experts in their fields, etc, etc, etc.

“Whether the Second Basic Law is liked or not, however, its implications are frightening: the Law implies that whether you move in distinguished circles or you take refuge among the head-hunters of Polynesia, whether you lock yourself into a monastery or decide to spend the rest of your life in the company of beautiful and lascivious women, you always have to face the same percentage of stupid people—which percentage (in accordance with the First Law) will always surpass your expectations.”
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

This book borderlines on the brevity, one might even call it a pamphlet more than an actual rigorous book of academic value. But that might also be its best feature, its saving grace. For if it this was taken too far, to continue too long, it would become more on the bore, more on the tedious side, and lose much of that sharp wit, much of what makes it so poignant. On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt follows that same similar ideology.

As some might say, this book goes a long way to showcasing the “downfall of Western Society since 1945”. Might be a bit too harsh on society… but then you have to remember – the stupid walk amongst us.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
My LibraryThing Rating: ****1/2
GoodReads Average Rating: 3.88 (as of 11.20.23)

Philosophy Books We’ve Reviewed

Some philosophical works we’ve reviewed:

Some More Book Reviews

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More Information

Carlo M. Cipolla

Carlo M. Cipolla on August 15th, 1922
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

The following biography comes from Wikipedia:

Carlo M. Cipolla (15 August 1922 – 5 September 2000) was an Italian economic historian. He was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society

…

As a young man, Cipolla wanted to teach history and philosophy in an Italian high school, and therefore enrolled at the political science faculty at the University of Pavia. While a student there, thanks to professor Franco Borlandi, a specialist in medieval economic history, he discovered his passion for economic history. He graduated from Pavia in 1944. Subsequently, he studied at the University of Paris and the London School of Economics.

Cipolla obtained his first teaching post in economic history in Catania at the age of 27. This was to be the first stop in a long academic career in Italy (Venice, Turin, Pavia, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Fiesole) and abroad. In 1953 Cipolla left for the United States as a Fulbright fellow and in 1957 became a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later he obtained a full professorship.
Carlo M. Cipolla (Wikipedia)

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Book Review: 9-11 (Noam Chomsky)

B. Kline — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 23:33:00 +0000

9-11

I think for most Americans, we can all picture exactly where we were on September 11th, 2001. Same for older generations with Kennedy’s assassination, or Pearl Harbor, or big other catastrophic events. Especially if they hit home or were local.

I was in study hall, early morning, I was 16 at the time, and was sound asleep and woken up and my teacher put the news on. At this point the first plane had hit, and we witnessed the rest live. Not much school happened that day, and I honestly don’t remember being taught a single thing that day, or even the rest of that week or weeks. I had turned 16 on August 27th 2001, and on September 11th, 2001 – the entirety of the world changed in an instant.

Noam Chomsky

A quick biography of Noam Chomsky, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Avram Noam Chomsky^[a] (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian,^[b][c] social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called “the father of modern linguistics”,^[d] Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona and an Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is the author of more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

Born to Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B. F. Skinner.

An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay “The Responsibility of Intellectuals“. Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard Nixon‘s Enemies List. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. Chomsky began teaching at the University of Arizona in 2017.

One of the most cited scholars alive,^[20] Chomsky has influenced a broad array of academic fields. He is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. In addition to his continued scholarship, he remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism and contemporary state capitalism, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mainstream news media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements.
Noam Chomsky (Wikipedia)

For more information on Noam, you can also visit GoodReads – Noam Chomsky, as well as numerous other philosophical and literature based sites on the web. He is a renowned linguist, educator, philosopher, essayist, and political commentator.

Interviewers

Some of the interviewers for this book are:

Book Review

GoodReads Blurb:

In 9-11, Noam Chomsky comments on the September 11th attacks, the new war on terrorism, Osama bin Laden, U.S. involvement with Afghanistan, media control, and the long-term implications of America’s military attacks abroad. Informed by his deep understanding of the gravity of these issues and the global stakes, 9-11 demonstrates Chomsky’s impeccable knowledge of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and sheds light on the rapidly shifting balance of world power. Speaking out against escalating violence, Chomsky critically examines the United States’ own foreign policy record and considers what international institutions might be employed against underground networks and national states accused of terrorism. 9-11’s analysis still stands as a measure of how well the media is able to serve its role of informing the citizenry, so crucial to our democracy in times of war.
9-11 by Noam Chomsky (GoodReads)

It’s now been just over 20 years (read this in February of 2022) since the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9-11 (September 11th, 2001). So there has been some time and perspective, to how the attacks happened, what all has transpired since, and everything else surrounding the world in that time frame. I’ve aged 20 years (good god now I feel old), I’ve witnessed the “War on Terrorism” and our efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and numerous other places in the world. Saw the attack in Islamabad that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden, and how the world has changed as a whole due to all of this.

It’s amazing how well this piece of work holds up, and how Noam Chomsky’s opinions, intellect, and insights are almost prescient. Especially considering this is a collection of interviews, and not just a full on essay by Chomsky (to be fair – there is an essay at the end of the book).

It is a rushed book, and a rush series of interviews collected and edited into this volume. Which is all the more reason why this is actually an impressive work – twenty years after the fact. Chomsky certainly sheds a lot of light on events leading up to 9-11 from a non-American perspective and gives some form of indication and idea of why the attacks were not a complete and total ‘surprise’ by the world at large. He brings up salient points on how America could (before the attacks) have been considered the largest terrorist active country in the world, with regards to our actions in Beirut, Nicaragua, and elsewhere.

This isn’t an pro-American piece of work, and Chomsky doesn’t paint America in the most sympathetic light. This isn’t to be confused with him believing it was a justified attack. Far from it. Nothing justifies what happened on 9-11 and Chomsky wants to be very clear about that. But our actions in Afghanistan, radicalizing fanatical Islamic groups, our actions in Beirut, and Nicaragua, and numerous other countries over the past few decades (leading up to 2001 – 1990s, 1980s, 1970s), certainly doesn’t make us the complete victims we always believed us to be. And don’t get me wrong here – we are victims in this attack. Its an immeasurable and incomparable attack. Pure innocents and civilians died. This wasn’t a ‘war’ attack on a military unit. This was a terrorist attack on innocents.

Like I said above, Chomsky brings up a lot of good points, many of which I only learned years after September 11th, 2001. Especially since I was younger then, in my teens, and my knowledge and research base wasn’t nearly what it is today. The interviews in the book are done well and Chomsky comes off very well, and in his normal talking and writing style. There is some bad or off point questions, but I believe they’ve edited this enough that its coherent, makes sense, and stays on point and topic and creates a nice piece of work with the book.

My GoodReads Rating: ***
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.73 (as of 2.18.22)
My LibraryThing Rating: ***.5

Book Reviews

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-B. Kline

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Book Review: Thanks a Thousand – A Gratitude Journey (A.J. Jacobs)

BKline — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 03:25:46 +0000

Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by A.J. Jacobs

Gratitude

Well, first, before we get into the book, and the book review of it; lets get into gratitude. I know its something I need to work on. I honestly feel like, outside of the Dali Lama and maybe Pope Francis (and maybe even him), its just something that we all need to work on…. and I’m also laying odds that even the Dali Lama would say he needs to work on it.

Many would say its like a muscle, it needs to be worked and exercised regularly. For a good, scholarly, scientific study and article on that very notion and idea, here is: “How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain” by Greater Good Magazine and Berkeley Education.

So that brings us to why A.J. Jacobs wrote his book. He decided he wanted to show more gratitude in his life, and wanted to figure out a way to do so with his writing skills and abilities. (And the cynic in me says – and a way to get a book contract and launch a simple way to make money doing a TED Talk, book deal, and get to do some traveling and discuss his favorite thing – coffee; all at the same time.)

The Book

How this correlates is that A.J. Jacobs (the author) wanted to show his gratitude, by discussing through his book, how he learned to show gratitude for something he took for granted. In this case – coffee. And he was going to show gratitude to everyone and anyone who helped get the coffee to his cup and to his lips and down his gullet.

Since he picked coffee, that means starting at his nearby coffee shop – Joe’s Coffee – and working up (or down?) the metaphorical tree. From barista, to clerks, to the people who made the coffee cup, the coffee lid, the logo, the farmers, the owner or CEO of Joe’s Coffee, to steel mill people, etc.

A.J. Jacobs is known for doing non-fictional ‘gimmick’ type pieces of work. Those books in the vein of “I did X every day for one year” or “I traveled to Y countries in a year”. Some of his books include:

The Know-It All (a book about reading the entire Britannica Encyclopedia)
The Year of Living Biblically (as the name suggests – he lived a year according to the Bible as much as possible)
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree (a book about family genealogy)
The Guinea Pig Diaries (a book about being used as experiments)

And so – Thanks a Thousand – falls into this trope easily. I don’t want to be too cynical, but, it feels more like “here’s a gimmick, here’s something fun and interesting, here’s something that can attract mainstream attention” and “here’s something that I will enjoy writing and get to do fun things while writing”; rather than truly being about gratitude.

Book Review

I’ve read his “The Know-It All” book and I read his book about family genealogy, and while I must say I did find them interesting, and all, they did strike me as slightly gimmicky, even moreso now reading this, and looking over his history of books and writings. I’m not quite sure how to fully encapsulate that idea or why it is. But the word ‘gimmick’ really stands out with this, and his writings, and his oeuvre in general. Perhaps if he had other books and writings that didn’t rely on a “what if I do something for five months, every day, and write about it”, I wouldn’t think that way of him.

I don’t want to say ‘hack’ or that his writing is hacky or hack-ish. (I find his prose easy and fine to read. And I’m sure most people would say he writes better than me.) But there’s just something to these books. I think some of it, is that we have to take it with a grain of salt. He’s writing these things down post-actions or afterwards, or in a way that we are to assume he wrote some of it while the events were occurring, etc. And I have no doubt to believe he is, and I do not mean to imply in anyway that he is a liar or a cheat; but I think there’s just some level of disconnect. Thinking about him living a year “Biblically” or reading the entire Britannica Encyclopedia, or thanking over a thousand people, etc.

GoodReads Summary of ‘Thanks a Thousand’:

The idea was deceptively simple: New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs decided to thank every single person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee. The resulting journey takes him across the globe, transforms his life, and reveals secrets about how gratitude can make us all happier, more generous, and more connected.

Author A.J. Jacobs discovers that his coffee—and every other item in our lives—would not be possible without hundreds of people we usually take for granted: farmers, chemists, artists, presidents, truckers, mechanics, biologists, miners, smugglers, and goatherds.

By thanking these people face to face, Jacobs finds some much-needed brightness in his life. Gratitude does not come naturally to Jacobs—his disposition is more Larry David than Tom Hanks—but he sets off on the journey on a dare from his son. And by the end, it’s clear to him that scientific research on gratitude is true. Gratitude’s benefits are legion: It improves compassion, heals your body, and helps battle depression.

Jacobs gleans wisdom from vivid characters all over the globe, including the Minnesota miners who extract the iron that makes the steel used in coffee roasters, to the Madison Avenue marketers who captured his wandering attention for a moment, to the farmers in Colombia.

Along the way, Jacobs provides wonderful insights and useful tips, from how to focus on the hundreds of things that go right every day instead of the few that go wrong. And how our culture overemphasizes the individual over the team. And how to practice the art of “savoring meditation” and fall asleep at night. Thanks a Thousand is a reminder of the amazing interconnectedness of our world. It shows us how much we take for granted. It teaches us how gratitude can make our lives happier, kinder, and more impactful. And it will inspire us to follow our own “Gratitude Trails.”
GoodReads: Thanks a Thousand – A Gratitude Journey

There is some interesting anecdotes from the book, and you do learn a little bit about the process behind the coffee getting to your local coffee shop, but it all seems to fall so flat. So little is spent on anything in particular, and its such a quick book, that nothing feels more than skin surface deep. Even his actual comments and work about gratitude itself – the primary thrust of the work – seems to barely scratch pass the epidermis.

I feel like there could be a lot more here. And he does mention an interesting article, “I, Pencil” at one point, which basically follows a similar line as his book does – but about how a pencil is made. (Obviously, without the gimmick behind it all of being about gratitude; but more just about the capitalism and economics side of how the pencil is created.) That sounds inimically more fascinating and interesting than this. This is a hybrid creature of gratitude, capitalism / consumerism, and anecdotes of people who made it all happen, that it ends up flopping around with bird wings, human legs, lion head, and fish gills and can’t breath out of water.

My GoodReads Rating: **
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.73 (as f 11.23.21)
My LibraryThing rating: **

Thanks For Reading

Thank you for reading everyone. We’re nearing the end of November, and so far we have been maintaining our blog article per day. On top of that, we’ve had several days with multiple articles (and even got a new writer – Amy – posting as well.)

Also, be sure not to forget our “Free Beer” giveaway. So check that out here:

Small Brewery Sunday Giveaway

So be sure to hop on that and try and get yourself some free beer! (Because whats the best kind of beer? Free beer!)

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Book Review: Life’s Journey According to Mister Rogers: Things To Remember Along the Way (Fred Rogers)

BKline — Sat, 13 Nov 2021 03:12:00 +0000

Life’s Journey According to Mister Rogers – Things to Remember Along the Way (by Fred Rogers)

Who Couldn’t Use Advice From Mister Rogers?

Seriously? Who couldn’t use advice from Mister Rogers every so often. We all grew up on him. (Unless your like 15 or something reading this.) Even my oldest two daughters know him (14 and 12). He was everyone’s favorite neighbor; he was America’s neighbor. Was, and still is, one of the biggest influences on most people’s lives and they don’t even know it.

So I ask again, who couldn’t use advice from Mister Rogers now and again? Just harken back to the time as a small child, sitting there watching him come in through the door, asking us all “Won’t you be my neighbor?”. The man was simplicity, the man was gentleness, the man was kindness, the man was Buddhist lovingkindness. The man was the Uncle, the father, the neighbor, that we all wanted. He was wise like a sage and as gentle as a monk.

Too little do we think about the wisdom he espoused when we were kids; especially now as grownups. As adults with our busy lives that has us running to and fro, scurrying about like mice in the dark with no lights on. Sadly, we’ve all moved away from the little things he imparted on us – love, kindness, respect, gentleness, compassion, empathy, understanding, listening. And we’ve moved on to – busy, money, work, status, importance, etc.

I know personally I’d trade being busy, working, looking important, and status for passion, empathy, kindness, compassion, and understanding every day of the week.

Life’s Journey

Fred Roger’s wife does a good job with writing the prologue. Discussing their dynamic as a couple, saying how she needed to work at the piano, and how it was her form of creativity. You can see in her how much of his thoughts and empathy and philosophy comes through. The two clearly fed on each other for much, despite as she says, “we gave each other our space”. One of the most poignant things, is her discussing how she still hears him even though ‘he’s no longer in sight’, and then later in the book when we read his poem about not seeing people but still loving them and being with them in spirit, even when they ‘completely move on from sight’.

This book has so much to teach us about going through our own journeys through life. Mainly – how everyone’s is different. He talks about a very well educated man who left seminary school to instead become head of a department store, and how some people said he missed his calling, but was then later checked in on; but he wasn’t there at his work, so the man talked to his co-workers, and they talked about how great he was, how he changed the work culture at the department store, etc; and Rogers says to the effect – ‘and he ended up right where he needed to be’.

Book Review

GoodReads Blurb:

An inspiring collection of thoughts to take with us on the paths we travel in life.

For all the roads we choose to travel, and even those we don’t, Fred Rogers has an observation, a story, some insights to share. Whether you’re facing graduation, a new job, a new baby, marriage, any change in your life–expected or not–the wisdom that Mister Rogers offers can contribute mightily to the grace with which you handle the change.

With sections titled Who You Are Right Now, Loving and Being Loved, and Guided Drift, Fred addresses the scope of human transitions. It all comes down to knowing we’re valuable, and that we’re worthy of that value. As Fred would say, “You don’t have to be anything more than who you are right now.”

In her Foreward, Joanne Rogers shares the Fred she knew. With stories from their life together, the joys as well as the struggles, Joanne shows how Fred looked at life as a journey–with the ups and downs and in-betweens.

Known as “America’s favorite neighbor,” Fred Rogers dedicated his life to serving children through public television as creator, composer, writer, puppeteer, and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He studied at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Child Development and was ordained a Presbyterian minister, with the unique charge of working with children and families through television. Fred Rogers’ relentless commitment to all that is best in people led to an astonishing array of honors, from induction into the Television Hall of Fame to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fred Rogers passed away in February 2003.

Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), founded by the late Fred Rogers in 1971 to produce Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and related projects, continues to expand its reach through early childhood trainings, publishing, and new technologies–perpetuating the values and philosophy of its founder.
GoodReads: Life’s Journey (Fred Rogers)

Fred Rogers (photo courtesy of Wikipedia) (see link below)

Wikipedia’s quick opening summary of Mister Rogers:

Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), also known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister.^[1] He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001.
Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Rollins College in 1951. He began his television career at NBC in New York, returning to Pittsburgh in 1953 to work for children’s programming at NET (later PBS) television station WQED. He graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a bachelor’s degree in divinity in 1962 and became a Presbyterian minister in 1963. He attended the University of Pittsburgh‘s Graduate School of Child Development, where he began his 30-year collaboration with child psychologist Margaret McFarland. He also helped develop the children’s shows The Children’s Corner (1955) and Misterogers (1963). In 1968, he created Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 33 years. The program was critically acclaimed for focusing on children’s emotional and physical concerns, such as death, sibling rivalry, school enrollment, and divorce.
Rogers died of stomach cancer on February 27, 2003, at age 74. His work in children’s television has been widely lauded, and he received more than 40 honorary degrees and several awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999. Rogers influenced many writers and producers of children’s television shows, and his broadcasts have served as a source of comfort during tragic events, even after his death.
Wikipedia: Fred Rogers

This is a wonderful short, quick, incisive, and thoughtful book. Its 161 pages, counting prologue, counting acknowledgements, and with a few blank pages. Each page is a paragraph (some paragraphs / thoughts run into two pages) style thought by Fred Rogers, some short, some long. They each express an idea or thought.

You can hear his voice in each piece of this book. You can see him sitting there, taking off his shoes, or coat, coming in from the outside, and telling us these things as we sat there rapt as always as children, now as adults. And this is what we all need to hear from time to time.

Its nothing earth shattering or profound, but its the profound at the time. And coming with the weight and knowledge of Fred Rogers behind it, nothing is an empty aphorism or crappy ‘inspirational quote’ you might hear from “Becky” the girl who peeked in high school and is now trying to sell you Avon or LullaRoe.

He speaks to the children in us as adults, giving us the thoughts and wisdoms we still need, despite growing up. Some of us have moved on, to bigger and better things, some of us have floundered, some of us are still trapped, some of us are working on ourselves, some of us are working to just survive; but we are all working on our journeys. And all of our journeys are different, and that is to be celebrated. It is to be lived, and it is to be human. And that is precisely who Fred Rogers is speaking to with this book – the human progressing through their journey.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 4.44 (as of 11.12.21)
My LibraryThing Rating: ****.5

Some Other Recent Book Reviews

Thanks for Reading

As always everyone, thanks for reading. Be sure to hit the like, the follow, the subscribe, and make sure to check out our social media pages and do the same.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Book Review: Buddhism 101 (Arnie Kozak)

BKline — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 19:27:44 +0000

Buddhism 101 by Arnie Kozak, PhD

Book Reviews

In general, I’m going to start trying to do a better job of keeping up with book reviews; where as soon as I read the book and finish it, I’m pulling out the laptop or getting on my desktop computer and opening up the blog, and writing down the beer review. Because as it sits, I have a backlog of book reviews to throw up here on the blog now that I’ve added book reviews to the blog as part of the various sections.

I’m a rather prolific book reader; some might even say ‘voracious’ but thats a cliche and I tend to avoid them (or at least try to). Most years I hit 100+ books as per my GoodReads Book Challenge. This year I set myself up for 110, and I’m woefully behind. (This marks book number 74; though I have about 8 books or so that are all nearing completion). In the old days, before I let life really fully intervene and stress pile up, and everything got backlogged, as soon as I finished a book, I would be doing a quick semi-review / semi-write up thing on GoodReads and it would immediately post to GoodReads and my personal Facebook.

But it seems I am getting further and further backlogged, with articles for the blog, travelogues that are in states of half written or just started or not even written but need to be, old hikes that I did from the summer but haven’t written yet, and now book reviews. I need to get better in the habit of – book closed – or hike completed – or beer drank – and write up the review / article. Now that I have everything kind of condensed on the blog here, I think once I get caught up, my stress of it all will ease up and I’ll be better able to maintain a good steady pace of it.

It will also mean I actually get the articles written 1) on time 2) written period and 3) more written. Keeping myself to the grindstone and making sure I stay in the habit of writing frequently, on time, and as soon as completion, will only help that. Because as you further distance yourself from the event (ie. I finished a day of brewery hopping on Day 2… but start to write it on Day 5… and don’t finish it… by Day 9… I am becoming less and less inclined to write the travelogue) (or if I finish a book on Day 3… by Day 7 I am less likely to write the book review), it seems like you can push and put it off more and more.

So this is my attempt to right that ship and to get into a better habit of writing. Hopefully I can still make the reviews and everything fun to read, wordy, interesting, and with lots of information. I was discussing with a new writer for the blog (she’ll be posting here shortly) about my procrastination with articles seems to stem from all the side stuff. The categorizing, the tagging, the uploading to social media accounts, the making it more presentable, checking SEO rankings, etc, etc. The little nuts and bolts of it all. I love writing and enjoy the writing. Its doing things like copy and pasting HTML code and links, and if I’m writing a beer review with a pop culture reference, tagging things and tying it back in with its property (ie. a Simpsons beer with gifs from the show), that just bogs me down and makes me procrastinate and not write as much.

But not anymore… this is me writing (instead of righting…. see what I did there?) the ship. I just finished this book, and now I am launching into the book review. Huzzah!

The Book Review

Ok, so preamble out of the way. Lets get into my actual book review. Now I am streamlining a bit here. Whereas before I might have done a whole section on the Buddha, on Buddhism, with hundreds of links to various sources, I think I’m gonna opt for simplicity here. (I am also looking to finish Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut today, and having that book review up later tonight as well, where I might do much more of that, especially since today is Vonnegut’s birthday – he would have been 99 today – and its also Veteran’s Day).

At this point, I think most people have a general understanding of The Buddha and Buddhism. If you don’t, here’s two quick Wikipedia links:

This book is a summary of both concepts – the Buddha himself, as well as Buddhism and everything that it all entails. I feel like sometimes / gravitating closer to all the time – that these ‘summary’ style books can be very hit or miss. Either too much information is given and its not really a summary, its a full on dictionary of Event X or Person X or Subject X; or it is such a brief summary that to even get a more rudimentary knowledge of the subject you are digging through websites or running through a bibliography of books.

This is 253 pages of text, plus index and other source notes at the end, and I think it does an overwhelmingly good job of covering Buddhism. I am not an adherent, I do profess that I find it fascinating, I do try my hand at meditation and mindfulness from time to time, but in my ADHD addled brain, and my angst and anxiety, I am horrible at given schedules and times and things and am not perfect (nowhere near it) at keeping to regiments or staying on hand.

My attempts sometimes at meditation and mindfulness is like the old Atari game of pong, but with four thousand balls bouncing around and thirty different paddles. All the while Donald Duck is screaming in the background.

So I have to say I really like Buddhism and what the Buddha stands for. I have read numerous works about the Buddha, read some of the various dharma and teachings, and one of my bucket list goals in life is to trace the steps of the Buddha (as well as Jesus, as well as do the Appalachian Trail). So I have a great admiration for the philosophy / religion and the practice of it.

I am not perfect in my knowledge of Buddhism, but have what I would deem a rudimentary and basic level understanding of it. From karma to the noble truths, to the three fires, the three jewels, sangha, dharma, nirvana, etc. And I also know how Americans / Westerners have misinterpreted much of it. This book does a very good job of righting some of those wrongs. Expressing how karmic values work, and how karma itself works. As well as samsara, and the wheel, etc.

It also does a good job of delving into the aspects of it that makes it more philosophical rather than religious – and vice versa. The book also covers all the various schools, techniques, thoughts, ideas, and expressions of Buddhism and the Buddha.

It gives a great biography of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha and his family life, his path to the middle way, and everything else. It also does a good job of dispelling some rumors and even calls out the beliefs that people have that most likely didn’t happen.

This is a phenomenal starting point for anyone wanting to get a good idea about Buddha or Buddhism. Its not an academic work, its for laypeople and to help give them a clearer understanding and idea of the subject. When checking this into GoodReads I see its part of a series, others in the series include: American Government 101, Astrology 101, Accounting 101, Architecture 101, Anatomy 101, Mythology 101, Grammar 101, Investing 101, Economics 101, Art 101, Management 101, US History 101, Weather 101, Philosophy 101, Poetry 101, Religion 101, US Lit 101, etc etc (some thirty plus books in total).

I honestly only found this because it was in the ‘new non-fiction’ section at the Hershey Library. I find part of why my reading is so eclectic is due to always stopping at the ‘new non-fiction’ and ‘new fiction’ sections right in front of the door when entering. Its the greatest way to broaden one’s ideas and senses – by checking out books that you normally wouldn’t and reading subjects you normally wouldn’t.

I fully recommend this to anyone looking to get more information on the subject of The Buddha, Buddhism, meditation, and/or mindfulness. Its a good read, its quick, well laid out, informative, and written in a nice and concise and fun way.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.76
My LibraryThing Rating: ****

GoodReads Blurb:

Learn everything you need to know about Buddhism in this clear and straightforward new guide.

Buddhism was founded thousands of years ago, and has inspired millions of people with its peaceful teachings. Buddhism 101 highlights and explains the central concepts of Buddhism to the modern reader, with information on mindfulness, karma, The Four Noble Truths, the Middle Way, and more.

Whether you’re just looking to understand Buddhism or explore the philosophy in your own life and own journey to Enlightenment, this book gives you everything you need to know!
GoodReads: Buddhism 101 – From Karma to the Four Noble Truths, Your Guide to Understanding the Principles of Buddhism by Arnie Kozak

Other Book Reviews To Check Out

Thanks For Reading

Thank you for reading. And thank you to all of our veterans today, on Veteran’s Day. We appreciate your commitment, and time served, and your honor and duty to America.

Be sure to check back later, after my hike at Hawk Rock, and stop at Liquid Noise, when I should be uploading the book review of Vonnegut’s Armageddon in Retrospect on today – what would have been his 99th birthday.

(And be sure to check out our Instagram page as we are likely to be posting pictures!)

Cheers!

–

-B. Kline

Book Review: Plotted – A Literary Atlas (Andrew DeGraff)

BKline — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 02:30:00 +0000

Plotted – A Literary Atlas by Andrew DeGraff

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

A map of the Odyssey in Plotted by Andrew DeGraff

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:

A map of Watership Down from Plotted by Andrew DeGraff

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

Book Review: How To Be Interesting (in 10 Simple Steps) (Jessica Hagy)

BKline — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 03:58:23 +0000

How To Be Interesting (in 10 Simple Steps) by Jessica Hagy

I Sure Hope I’m More Interesting Now…

I sure hope that after reading this I’m more interesting, because, according to my one daughter, I needed to read this. Footnote: never take your daughters to a public library sale – firstly, it will end up costing you a hundred (+plus) dollars, and secondly, you’ll be guilt tripped or harangued into buying books similar in title to this. Much like my daughter (Lily) did at Barnes and Nobles and harassed me into picking up 1200 Words To Sound Smarter – she also harassed me into getting this, citing that I wasn’t very interesting and could use this.

So for my daughter’s sake (and I suppose my own) I hope this book has rubbed off on me and I’ve become more interesting. (I think it didn’t work though……)

‘Pop’ Books

This falls under that category of ‘self help’ pop books. Like mainstream, popular, pseudo intellectual churn them out style books. Nothing in this is incredibly deep – but sounds like it is on the surface level; like “inspirational” Facebook memes / posts / pictures. The kind of near interesting quotes or sayings that make you go “oh thats deep”… until you spend an extra thirty seconds thinking about it (which most people don’t do – they click LIKE on it, and keep scrolling) and then you realize its not deep at all. Like swan diving into a pond only to find a puddle.

This book will not make you more knowledgeable, nor wiser, nor intelligent. It will not make you enlightened, or help you attain some kind of nirvana. Pick out that one girl you graduated high school with, but haven’t seen in about fifteen years, she sells Avon or leggins or Mary Kay, or some other similar thing, probably has a fascination with crystals and probably knows the best ‘home remedies’ and ‘protect – alls’ against all kinds of diseases. Scroll through her page, and I’m sure you’ll encounter a lot of her ‘inspiration’ memes. Some nifty quote with a beatific nature picture in the background. Thats what this is.

Every page is one such quote, with a Venn diagram to make it look like its more than it is. Its all really just a pad filler. You can practically read this book in less than thirty minutes, all two hundred or so pages, because most pages are just one paragraph, and some are even less, and they all come with a side page of a Venn diagram that you can easily skip over.

Overall

Overall, is there any merit to the book? Ehhh…… I don’t want to say this is utter and complete garbage. But I think it needs to be realized for what it is. It is obviously not a stellar piece of writing or work, and I think it knows that, and I’m sure the author knows that. This is targeting a niche. Aimed at kids just graduating high school, looking to start out on their own, unsure of themselves, but wanting to feel better, more cool, more in.

The idea that this book could make them interesting; possibly to be the life of a party, or to stand out for a potential partner, or for getting a job, or who knows what; is very appealing. And this is hoping to tap into that – that need, that want to become more than the person is.

So I suppose on that level, it does what it sought to do. So on a technical aspect it works. But on every other merit besides that, its a complete ‘nope’ burger. A big fat failure on anything other than achieving the goal of reaching to the lowest common denominator and giving them hope of being more interesting.

(Spoiler alert: this book will not make you more interesting.)

(Double spoiler alert: in fact it will probably do the opposite when people find out you read it.)

This “just is what it is”. Its not memorable, its not illuminating, its just super quick. Need to hit your Reading Challenge for GoodReads? Then this is the perfect book for it. Its a simple, quick run through of buzz words, pop words, catch phrases, and ‘sounds smart but really isn’t’ slogans that eat up a lot of pages and makes you feel more important / smarter after you read it.

My GoodReads Rating: **
Global GoodReads Rating: 3.69 (as of 11.6.21)
My LibraryThing Rating: *.5

Thanks For Reading

As always everyone, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this book review, be sure to visit some other recent book reviews here:

We’re now done with six days of November, and even going to change the clocks in a few hours (I’m getting this in just in the nick of time, finishing this up at 11:50PM). Six days so far and we’ve hit our goal of a new article every day. So be sure to be checking in daily for more news, articles, blog posts, beer reviews, book reviews, travelogues, and more. Thanks for reading!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)

BKline — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 12:55:00 +0000

Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka

Disney Canon

Before jumping into the review of this, let’s delve a bit into the Disney Star Wars canon versus the old (now labeled Legends) Expanded Universe canon. This came out around the time of Rogue One (or soon after) and was made to work with the other similar Young Adult (and Adult and even Children’s) literature to work as a larger ‘tie-in’ with the movie. Disney’s Canon (outside of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy) is pretty vastly different than the old school Legends canon.

This is primarily due to the sequel trilogy and its involvement and change of everything fundamentally post – Endor. They have brought back some aspects of the old canon and integrated it into the new canon, but obviously tweaked, and altered from its origin. The sects and followers of the Force and Jedi is one such example. In the new canon this is represented over some different various sects, religious or not, and followers.

Fast forward to Rogue One and the kyber crystals being more used in the canon, and here we have the introduction of Baze and Chirut who are former Guardians of the Whills who looked after a kyber temple in Jedha. This is one of the few aspects of the new canon that I actually appreciate over the old, or at least as in addition to the old canon. I think there is a lot of story elements and ideas that they can go with and use this for.

Guardians of the Whills

“The Force is with me,
And I am one with the Force;
And I fear nothing,
Because all is as the Force wills it.“
―The Guardian’s Mantra
Guardians of the Whills – Wookiepedia

The above mantra is the one that Chirut repeats to himself several times throughout the movie – Rogue One, as well as he does in various other books / comics / etc that he appears in (like in the novel Guardians of the Whills).

The Guardians of the Whills, also known as the Guardians of the Kyber Temple, were a religious order that existed at least a few years before the Invasion of Naboo. The Guardians later acted as a resistance group^[1] of monks active in the Jedha City on Jedha during the Imperial Era. They traditionally handcrafted the lightbow, a complicated form of bowcaster native to Jedha, such as the one used by Chirrut Îmwe during the Battle of Scarif.^[3] The Guardians protected both the Temple of the Kyber and pilgrims who visited it.
Guardians of the Whills – Wookiepedia

For more information be sure to check out the Wookiepedia page above. Just be careful, the Wookiepedia is a massive rabbit hole (or insert Star Wars themed animal here, gundark hole? sarlaac hole? etc.) that can literally take you hours to crawl back out of. I’ve found myself doing that. Clicking one article to go to another to go to another, after another, after another. Good luck, and May the Force Be With You to see your way back out.

Book Review

Now that we got all of that out of the way, let’s dive into the book and give it an actual review.

GoodReads blurb:

Baze and Chirrut used to be Guardians of the Whills, who looked after the Kyber Temple on Jedha and all those who worshipped there. Then the Empire came and took over the planet. The temple was destroyed and the people scattered. Now Baze and Chirrut do what they can to resist the Empire and protect the people of Jedha, but it never seems to be enough. When a man named Saw Gerrera arrives with grand plans to take down the Empire, it seems like the perfect way for Baze and Chirrut to make a real difference and help the people of Jedha. But will it come at too great a cost?
Guardians of the Whills (Disney Canon – Star Wars Junior Novel) (GoodReads)

This is a ‘young adult’ novel, or a ‘junior’ novel, its relatively short, it has pictures, and pages that are just quotes at each chapters. Its a smaller square hardcover novel. The little poems or philosophies or quotes we get at each chapter add to the universe and the scant knowledge we have of the various Force followers / sects / etc. Its 234 pages and with the larger font, the smaller hardcover size, and the chapter breaks, etc, its a quick read.

One of the complaints about the movie Rogue One was that the characters come off as flat or more plot device based, or woodish and cardboard; this novel goes a long way to providing some insight, some background, and some added backstory to Baze and Chirrut. Arguably two of the more interesting characters to come out of the movie. (I mean, who doesn’t like a Force monk and his gruff buddy who’s given up his religion?)

In many ways this is a study of an odd – couple that have a lifelong friendship despite (or because of) their differences. Chirrut, ever the space Monk, the tidy one, the philosophical, religious, theologian, the clean, the perfunctory, and blind man of faith is juxtaposed by Baze who is gruff, uncouth, rough, harsh exterior yet with a heart of gold, a man of the streets rather than a man of learning or belief. One who has kept his faith despite all that has happened to him, and a man who has lost his faith due to all that has befallen him and his friend.

Baze and Chirrut act as a form of Robin Hood style do gooders, vigilantes on more of a mission of righting wrongs rather than killing for purpose, but as the Empire starts leaning heavier and heavier on the city, squeezing it for all of their kyber crystals; they find themselves working with Saw Guerrera and forming an alliance they rather not really be making with him.

This is a good strong character heavy and introspective novel on two different and interesting characters; especially for a junior / young adult novel. There is some actual sequences (the various little skirmishes in the streets, some other attacks, etc.), but for the most part, this is a drama that plays out in the heads and actions of our two Rogue One characters (Baze and Chirrut). And its done quite well.

Greg Rucka does a good job of getting into these characters, what makes them tick, their differences, their commonalities, their motivations, and leaves them in a good place for the start of Rogue One. This works as a wonderful set up to the movie for these characters.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global Average GoodReads Rating: 3.83 (as of 11.2.21)
My LibraryThing Rating: ****

The Beer Thrillers and Star Wars

For more Star Wars content here on The Beer Thrillers, check out the following:

So far, so good, with the November day to day posts. Two days done so far, and two completed. Yesterday we kicked it off with a Beer Review of Life Sentence by Tattered Flag. Who knows whats in store for tomorrow – the 3rd – and beyond. Be sure to check back and check in often as we kick off this month of daily posts!

(Today’s was a bit of an interesting one, I had about 90% of the article written before I had to leave for work at 9:15AM, worked 10-7PM, stopped at the local high school to vote, and then came home and finished the article. I’m sure there will be plenty more articles and days like this ahead in this November.)

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Book Review: The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart – 1200 Essential Words Every Sophisticated Person Should Be Able to Use (Robert W. Bly)

BKline — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 01:30:00 +0000

The Words You Should Know To Sound Smart by Robert W. Bly

I Be Smart One Day

We all want to sound smart don’t we? Use the best words (the bigliest words? the hugest words?). We all want to sound sophisticated, intelligent, coiffed, suave, debonair, etc….. but how often do we actually come off that way? Perhaps a book like this could help us and make us seem that way; if not actually be smarter – seem smarter. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Well… this definitely won’t do that. Spoiler alert. Sorry.

Different Purposes

There is definitely a weird ‘what is the purpose’ of this book vibe to it. Is it meant to help educate in the sense of actually giving you a better vocabulary? Is it meant to be ‘funny’ or ‘tongue in cheek’? Is it even meant to be worth the merit of the paper its printed on? Who knows…..

When I picked it up, I was shopping at Barnes and Nobles with my twelve year old daughter who pointed out that it was bargain-binned for 4$, and she says I have a good vocabulary – why not increase it. So, it was completely a ‘whim’ buy and pseudo-peer-pressure buy from my daughter.

The back blurb reads:

“So you want to debate philosophical precepts with the intelligentsia? Wax poetic with the literati? Lock academic horns with the clerisy?
You can do all that – and be the life of the every highbrow cocktail party – with this most compendious of voluminous volumes. Master this discerning list of 1,200 deliciously obscure terms and you’ll be tossing around bon mots with the best of the portentous artistes and aesthetes – not to mention impressing the perfervid hoi polloi – in no time!”
Back cover blurb

Whew…. well, there’s a word salad that is tongue in cheek and an attempt to make the book actually sound worthwhile when its completely not.

Now, here’s the GoodReads blurb (and yes, all spelling and grammar errors are on the site, I just copied and pasted):

This book is a tongue-in-cheek guide to words that any well-educated, witty person should be able to drop into cocktail conversation. The reader is encouraged to toss off words such as ?disestablishmentarianism, ? ?descant, ? and ?autodidactic? ?words that will make the user sound learned, intellectual, and wise. For those who want to improve the quality and sophistication of their speech and writing, this is the book to keep on the nightstan
GoodReads Blurb

So which is it? An attempt to make you legitimately have a better comprehension and vocabulary? Or a tongue in cheek satire / poke at the rich and hoity-toity? We may never know….

Review

So… is it any good? Firstly, I flat out nearly gave up on it numerous times. Not so much about the word selection – yes I think I have a halfway decent vocabulary, and knew most of the words (80% at least) and their meanings, but, the example sentences are atrocious and the absolute worst.

I think there is a lot of “attempt” at humor with these sentences. Every single one aimed at the 1%’ers of the world, and the way they can use the words. But, every single sentence reads the same, and its just so obnoxious, pretentious, and flat out boring, that it becomes repetitive and nauseating reading it.

Couple this with the fact that they use words that are in this book to explain other words. That’s just poor form, especially if you read the book alphabetically (since its grouped by letter, starting at A and working your way to Z), don’t be using “noveu rich” and other terms over and over and over in various sentences when you’re still in the C’s and D’s.

On top of this, some of the sentences are used are poorly constructed and just horrible sentence structure. Using the negation of the word to figure out the meaning of the word and giving an example, is just abysmally stupid.

An example of a word, that I had to pick out for this review, because it irked me so much when originally reading it:

“Euphony (YOU-fone-ee) noun
The habit of changing the pronunciation of words or the wording of phrases so they are pleasing to the ear and roll off the tongue with greater ease.
In finishing school, Alsace learned the art of EUPHONY, and she has parlayed that into a hobby of earning roles in television commercials.“
Page 51

What does this even mean? How do you read that sentence and immediately go — “Ahhh, I see, EUPHONY means the pronunciation of words and making it pleasing to the ear…” I can get where the sentence works as it reads, and it is used correctly in that sentence, but as an explanation and way to use it… it just doesn’t work and rings so horrible.

And this might not even be one of the most egregious examples.

Sigh.

I was willing to give the book a pass until I read the author blurb at the end, and thats when it sank from a 2 or 2.5 star review, immediately down to a 1 or even possibly a .5 star review.

And all it needed was one sentence about the author:

“Robert W. Bly is a professional writer and self made millionaire.”
Author Bio – Back Inside Jacket

Either that is also tongue in cheek, or its just dreck and makes me hate this all the even more. Either way, it fails, and just makes the whole enterprise even more hollow and pointless.

My GoodReads Rating: *
Global GoodReads Rating: 3.81 (as of October 17th, 2021)
My LibraryThing Rating: .5

Some other Book Reviews:

-B. Kline