Books read in 2024: No. 45 -- Showdown at Yellow Butte

by Louis L'Amour

Started: Oct. 23

Finished: Oct. 26

Notes: Having just finished a non-fiction book about Spaghetti Westerns, I find myself in the mood for some Western fiction. Thus I turn to the master, Louis L'Amour. Actually, though I've read a half dozen or so of his Westerns and a handful of this other fiction, I've never been all that big a fan of L'Amours, though I do consider his autobiographical Education of A Wandering Man to be among my favorite books. In fairness to L'Amour, I've never been much of a fan of Western fiction, though I do love the movie genre. Something about Western fiction often feels fake to me, full of a machismo and bravado that just doesn't ring true. But that's just me. Still, every so often I give L'Amour another chance to win me over.

Mini review: A former army officer who has become a mercenary is hired by a company to drive some squatters off land in New Mexico, but the mercenary begins to wonder if he is on the wrong side. There's plenty of action here and not a lot of depth, so that made this novel a fun and easy read, making me somewhat re-evaluate my earlier thoughts on L'Amour's fiction. Also, this book definitely made me think of Gunsmoke and other older Western TV shows from the '50s and '60s. I only had two problems with this book: 1.) There were too many characters to keep track of, in my opinion, and 2.) There were potential actions scenes which were not portrayed but told to the reader "off screen," though this might have been because of limitations the original publisher set for this book and might not be the author's fault. Either way, this was still a pretty good read, and Western fans could do worse.

Beer of the Week: Czechvar Original

Beer score: 8.0

Company: Czechvar
ABV: 5.0
IBU: 22

Sometimes sold under the name "Budvar" this is one of three beers in the world that at one place or another had had the name of "Budweiser." Yes, for those of you who might not know, the beer in the U.S. known as Budweiser is not the only, for the original, brew with that name. In fact, the name was taken from two other beers in Europe. This particular beer is sold under the name "Czechvar" in North America for legal purposes, but uses different names in the rest of the world.

And this particular beer is what premium American beers only dream they could be.

Very refreshing and light looking, pours with a golden sheen with a big, white head while giving off scents of grains and maybe a little butter.

Goes down silky smooth with more of those grains in the taste, along with hints of citrus and perhaps caramel.

If you see it, purchase it. It's worth having.

Books read in 2024: No. 44 -- 10,000 Ways to Die

by Alex Cox

Started: Oct. 4

Finished: Oct. 23

Notes: Written by a film director, this book is apparently an extensive look into the Spaghetti Western movie genre, a genre which happens to be one of my favorites (at least when done well). There have been several editions of this book over the last few decades, but I believe the copy I have is the most recent edition from a decade or so back.

Mini review: I've been in the middle of a move, so I've not had a lot of decent reading time of late. That being said, this book was perfect for such a situation. The author covers the Spaghetti Westerns pretty well, in my opinion, providing posts for a few dozen (or thereabouts) movies of the genre, mainly the better known films and a handful of others. Extensive? Exhaustive? Maybe, maybe not, depending on what one is seeking from such a book. I felt this one did a nice balance, and besides, there were thousands of Spaghetti Westerns back in the day, honestly many of them not very good, so it would be practically impossible for one book to cover every single one of them. Major actors and directors were covered well, in my opinion, but there is also plenty of information about other crew members, from the musicians to producers and more. This book reminded me of a number of films I have not seen in years, and happily so, while also bringing to my attention a few films of which I was not familiar. For instance, did you know there was a Spaghetti Western musical back in the '60s? Me neither. This one is worth checking out for fans of the genre. I would like to add, however, that I did disagree with the author's opinions on a number of points, especially his seeming distaste for Eastwood as an actor and director.

Beer of the Week: Yuengling Flight

Beer score: 3.0

Company: Yuengling
ABV: 4.2
IBU: 7

Pours a very light golden color, which is what you might expect from most light beers, which this is. Has plenty of head, which is not unusual for a light beer, yet there's not a lot of carbonation in the drinking here. In fact, this beer is almost flat.

The smell is weak. Maybe a little grassy, maybe a little yeasty, but not much.

The taste is also pretty weak, though not awful. Somewhat very and fairly smooth, but any flavor is almost nonexistent. Perhaps a little bread-like taste, but otherwise it tastes like a cheap light beer but without the usual carbonation.

Meh, nothing here excites me, but if you're looking for a smooth light beer, you could do worse.

Beer of the Week: Fraoch Heather Ale

Beer score: 5.5

Company: Williams Bros. Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.0
IBU: 12

Heather ale is a Scottish brew made from heather flowers and Scottish malts.

This brew had a slight vinegar scent when I poured it, but there's not much of that in the tasting. Over all, the smell is very faint, slightly sweet with perhaps hints of honey.

Has an interesting mixed flavor of sweet and bitter with a flowery taste. There's more of that honey along with some herbal and flowery flavoring.

Not a superb brew, but not a bad one. Non beer snobs will probably find this most unusual.

Worth tasting for its uniqueness, but I don't think it's worth being a regular drinking beer.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Dixie Crimson Voodoo Ale

Beer score: 4.1

Another beer that's no longer with us, mainly because the Dixie Brewery which made this drink went out of business due to a hurricane. Fortunately another brewery took Dixie's recipes, so some of the Dixie beers live on. Unfortunately, this wasn't one that made the cut.

Anyway, I had this one a few times back in the day. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful, and I always hate to see a beer go away.

This beer had a decent bitterness with a little too much of a burnt sourness. The bottle called this a red ale, but it didn't taste much like one.

Books read in 2024: No. 43 -- Player's Handbook (2024): Dungeons & Dragons

by Wizards of the Coast

Started: Oct. 1

Finished: Oct. 4

Notes: This is the latest edition of the Player's Handbook for D&D. The publisher has been adamant that this is not a new edition, that it is fully compatible with 5e, though fans often refer to this particular version as 5.5e. I'll check it out and see what I think. Funny enough, I didn't care for the original 5e Player's Handbook a decade ago, but I've been playing the game for 10 years now and mostly enjoy it, though I do have my quibbles.

Mini review: Many of the changes are relatively minor, such as the Vicious Mockery cantrip doing d6 instead of d4 damage, but probably the biggest changes are in how the classes work, though I will agree this version of D&D is compatible to 5e. Do I think this is an approvement? Over all, only slightly so, for some things are done better but others feel like change was done simply for the sake of change. Will I transition to this latest version of the game? Possibly, but it'll depend on my gaming companions. My guess will be we will mix 5e and this 5.5e to accomplish what we want. I will say I feel most of the changes here were done to give players' characters a power boost, and not really for any improvement to story telling or role play, but that's just my opinion.

Books read in 2024: No. 42 -- No One Here Gets Out Alive

by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman

Started: Sept. 10

Finished: Oct. 1

Notes: For years I've had an idea for a short story which would feature Jim Morrison, the late singer of The Doors, but I've never felt I knew enough about the man to attempt my tale. I'm not sure I'll actually ever write the story, but this biography should at least provide me with the info to make the attempt.

Mini review: I wouldn't say Morrison was necessarily a tortured soul, but I would say he was a troubled soul. And could be a bit of an asshole. This book covered his early life to the appropriate degree, giving the right amount of information without going overboard on unimportant details, and it covered Jim's years with The Doors to an excellent degree, but I felt it flew through Jim's death rather quickly and without a lot of detail. In some fairness, the way this book reads, there weren't a lot of details, and Jim's death is something of a mystery even to this day, with some folks at the time suggesting Morrison had faked his own death. Personally, I think it unlikely he faked his death, though I wouldn't say it's necessarily impossible. A decent enough book, and fans of The Doors would likely find this one interesting.