BOOKS I'M TOO LAZY TO REVIEW IN FULL

The Best of Fritz Leiber
The Book of Fritz Leiber, I & II
Fritz Leiber
Mr. Leiber seems to have fairly successfully mastered the shadowy, flickering line between supernatural horror and more straightforward sci-fi, though his writing shows little trace of his friendship (apprenticeship, perhaps) to horror-master HP Lovecraft. His "best" contains very few weak points, and Leiber is able to turn a story of only a thousand words or so into a gripping narrative, usually with a very clever twist or turnabout at the end. However, his "book"s often fall flat, particularly with the inclusion of some nonfiction pieces. The longer fare in this collection doesn't quite have the same grip, making me wonder if his novels similarly lack punch.


The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Milan Kundera
My second read of this amazing book, and what a difference it made. The first attempt was sophomore year of college, and for whatever reason, it was just one of those things that passed by without really sticking. I believe I was too distracted, in the wrong mindset, not-open to the themes here, but this is truly a great book, the kind that really humbles whether you are a writer, poet, philosopher, psychologist, lover or have seen High Fidelity. The title appropriately matches the book, which is somehow melancholy and poignant while at the same time uplifting and joyous.


Running with Scissors
Augusten Burroughs
Basically: if David Sedaris wrote a childhood memoir. Similar observational humor and exploration of human quirks and foibles, with a particularly absurd cast. Most of the "zanyness" comes from the inherently wacky nature of the characters, rather than external forces or situations. There is very little gravitas, and while it's funny and cute, it's not terribly memorable either. Which is fine, though honestly a bit surprising. Some of the subject matter could be quite dark, or I should say, dark comedy—for example, if handled by Sedaris—but it only ever comes across as frivolous, and the novel seems even more like a short story than many of Sedaris' (which actually are).


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
Possibly the best "slightly neurotic child has crazy adventures that are particularly poignant to adult readers because of his youth and innocence" type book I've ever read. Extremely emotional and incredibly dark, Foer manages to be brutally funny while avoiding melodrama, even when using the most exploited event in modern history as his backdrop. While the plot is not perfect, and leaves a few holes by the end, this is hardly a plot-driven narrative, despite the fact that it's a "mystery." Any flaws here are easily forgiven; it's a wonderful book.





If you saw my post last week — ten breweries that I think have excellent label designs — you hopefully got the impression that I think good labels are important. Labels, more than just looking cool, reflect the personality of the brewery. With more and more nanobreweries opening up, I can even say: labels reflect the personality of the brewer, and give a window into his intentions and passions for that particular beer. This is also true for homebrewers, though we're generally in the same boat as a small, cash-strapped nano with two people on staff — who has the resources to hire an actual graphic designer?

Fortunately, making labels yourself can be fun, and relatively easy. A number of amazing, professional labels are made without hiring an outside design firm — labels from Night Shift Brewing, Hill Farmstead, Maine Beer Co, White Birch Brewing, and plenty of others, keep it simple, yet manage to produce some of my favorite labels in the whole industry. It's important to remember that restraint and uniformity can be very classy; and minimalism can be very eye-catching on a shelf lined with cartoonish clipart labels.

While I still have a lot of improving to do as a brewer, I figured it wasn't too early to establish an aesthetic for my "brewery." For one, I've always enjoyed messing around in Photoshop. (Kind of wish I had been a graphic design major instead of an English major. Probably would have been more useful). And even if many of these labels are for beers that are potentially years away from being finalized, eh, why not? Helps me to solidify the direction I want to go with them. And in a broader sense, solidify the direction of my "brewery," meaningless as that may seem for someone who brews 4 gallons at a time in their kitchen.

See, the type of beers I brew tend to be rustic and a little odd — without even thinking about that specific connection, my labels ended up having the same aesthetic. Many of them are old-school in spirit, though not exactly traditional. There's a tendency toward the wild and nature-inspired. And so on.

But a picture is worth a thousand words, and a beer is worth a thousand pictures, so here's a slideshow of the labels I've produced so far. I hope you enjoy!



Now, here are some tips for making your own beer labels. Don't think of this as a how-to guide, because your labels will (and should) probably not look like mine, and you will have different goals and aesthetics in mind when you're designing them. However, I can, at least, offer a few basic guidelines to get you started.