Books read in 2026: No. 12 -- The Great Divorce

by C.S. Lewis

Started: Sept. 24

Finished: Sept. 27

Notes: I'm more a fan of this author's nonfiction Christian apologetics than I am his fiction, but this short novel seems to be something of a mix of both, telling of a bus ride, potentially to Heaven, where those riding the bus have decisions to make upon the way, decisions that might decide whether they reach Glory or not. I'm sure I'll learn more as I read.

Mini review: Those who wish to study Christianity would do well to read this book, though I would not suggest doing so until after studying the religion somewhat beforehand. It's not that this book is difficult to read, quite the opposite, but some of its leanings might not seem familiar to those with only a cursory understanding of Christ and Christianity. This is not a book of the superficial, nor of superficial religion. Yes, there's a bus ride from Hell to the outlying lands of Heaven, and in those outlying lands there are sinners who are greeted by spirits and given a choice in determining their fate. All that sounds rather simple, but this is truly a novel of putting aside expectations, of asking humanity to truly study itself at its deepest parts and to do away with all that could be considered evil in any fashion. This is not a book for casual believers, who might go away from reading this only confused or even angry or upset. Complexity, time, our very thoughts, are all questioned here, but not in a destructive or negative manner. Non-believers might consider this a trite book, or they might even think of it as stupid. Or perhaps I'm wrong, putting my own impressions upon what I might think others would think. It's that kind of book, seeking to have you question everything about yourself.

Books read in 2026: No. 11 -- 20th Century Ghosts

by Joe Hill

Started: Sept. 10

Finished: Sept. 24

Notes: I've read a couple of novels and one collection of novellas from this author and generally enjoyed them. Some of his writings I found quite good, others simply okay, but nothing ever bored me or left me disgusted. All that being said, I thought I try out this collection of his short stories, especially as it came from early in his writing career about 20 years ago. Hill is mainly known as a horror writer, but he has been known to pen other works, so this could prove interesting.

Mini review: Not a lot of horror here, but there is some on the leaner side of darkness. Most of these were a little too meandering and literary for my taste, and too often I felt the stories simply ended without a real climax. The final story, "Voluntary Committal," is the longest and perhaps the best of the lot, a little long-winded but more moody than dark and somewhat similar to the works of the author's father (Stephen King). "The Cape" is also another that I might call the best of these tales, at first seeming like a tale of wonder but eventually in a flash becoming a tale of darkness. I didn't love this collection, but I didn't hate it, though I think I've determined I like Hill's longer works more than his shorter ones.

Books read in 2026: No. 10 -- The Lies of Locke Lamora

by Scott Lynch

Started: July 30

Finished: Sept. 10

Notes: Not only have I consistently heard good things about this fantasy novel, I also have to admit it's one of those that continuously pops up on my radar either online or out and about in actual book stores. Also, for some reason, I find the title intriguing, pulling me in. I've never read this author before, so here's hoping for good things.

Mini review: This one was a fun read, even if it did take me far longer to finish it than I would have expected, but that's mainly because I've been busy of late without a lot of reading time. If you lover other-world fantasy with thieves and assassins and political intrigue, this one should be for you. A nice touch was the dangerousness of magic but without magic being too overpowering to the story. I'm glad I read it.

Books read in 2026: No. 9 -- Doctor Sleep

by Stephen King

Started: June 18

Finished: July 30

Notes: As this one is a sequel to King's The Shining, I've been looking forward to reading it for some time.

Mini review: This one took me a lot longer to read because initially I found it completely predictable, leaving me to believe I have read to much Stephen King. For the first three-fourths of this book, I always knew exactly what was going to happen to every character, and it bored me to the point of not wanting to read. But then something interesting happened. King flipped the script, so to speak, and the last fourth of this novel was quite good with a decent ending. I generally feel endings are one of King's weaknesses, but here it all came together quite well. Also, it was interesting to re-visit an old character or three, to see what had happened to them years later, though some of the new characters proved themselves worthy as well.

Beer of the Week: Time for a break

I've been writing about beer on one site or another for nearly 30 years (boy, does that make me feel old), and it's time to take a break.

I'm not sure yet if I'll come back to this blog for future Beer of the Week entries, but I'm not ruling it out. Right now I have other areas on which I need to focus, and my health isn't what it used to be.

So, a break. Probably not permanent, but who knows?

Time will tell.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Pyramid Hefeweizen

Beer score: 7.8

Yet another week without trying a new beer, but as always, I have notes on some beers I tried years ago.

This one is especially hurtful because it was a quality beer from a quality company that is now closed. This particular beer went by a couple of different names, but the above is the name I last tasted it under.

It was light enough that a beer snob could sit around drink it all day. Still the flavor was probably too complicated for the non-snob group.

Poured a light orange color while giving off bready smells, maybe with a hint of fruit.

The taste has more of those bread aspects along with the fruitiness, possibly banana.

A touch of sweet going in the mouth, along with a touch of bitter on the way down. A little fizz. A little froth.

All around, a pretty good wheat beer with yeast.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Berghoff Original Lager

Beer score: 4.7

This one went through quite a few different breweries and more than one name change over the years, but the headline for this post uses the name I knew this beer under when I took these notes more than a decade ago.

When I tried it, it was being craft brewed by the Joseph Huber Brewing Co.

Poured a cloudy, light yellow cover. Gave off smells of malt liquor or some other cheap beer, but I've had worse.

The taste is bready with some corn.

Strong but too sweet for me. Nothing special but not awful.