B Is for Beer by Tom Robbins

B Is for Beer Reviews

• 
  Amanda

  I see you. Yes, you. The Tom Robbins fan. Quit making that face. Yank out the wedgie. Relax, man! This two-star rating bears no reflection on YOU. I’m not giving YOU two stars. I’m not even giving Tom Robbins two stars. It’s just that B is for Beer is terribly disappointing. I mean, you see the cover, right? Look at it! Look how totally awesome and retro it looks, right? You see the Simpson-esque largesse of the stein, with a hoard of dance-happy (overly long-armed) adults surrounding? They’re living the good life, gazing up at the cup which runneth over, celebrating the rush of good energy that races through any crowd of joyful imbibers.
  
  Such promise! Such hope! Can such pure, overwhelming joy really emanate from these 125 pages? When I finish reading this book, will I feel as gleeful as the people on the cover?
  
  Meh.
  
  The fact of the matter is, B is for Beer is sort of a textbook. And a boring one. It’s hard to make beer production interesting, because, let’s face facts, science and agriculture are fascinating, but not as fascinating as, say, sex. Or murders. Or time travel. (Wait, unless it’s sex with a time-traveling scientist, dragging you with him across space and time as he attempts to outrun the contract on his head!) I digress...
  
  So, yeah, B is for Beer is sorta textbooky. Even the arrival of a Beer Fairy doesn’t do much to make the adventure wilder or more brewski-like. And it doesn’t help that the protagonist is a 6-year-old girl. We’re meant to believe that this 6-year-old girl is quite cute, quite smart, and quite curious, but frankly, I don’t even buy into the fact that she’s a 6-year-old girl, let alone a cute, smart, and curious 6-year-old girl.
  
  I’m bored.
  
  Let us then quell my boredom and discuss two points which I found to be lovely, uplifting, scenic points. 1. Costa Rica. 6-year-old Gracie’s uncle moves to Costa Rica. Did you know that Costa Rica has free health care, has a zillion national parks, and has no military? Sign me up! I wanna move to Costa Rica!!! 2. Sappy quotes. As Gracie and the Beer Fairy part ways after rescuing a young ingenue from impending doom, the fairy says to Gracie, “I want you to promise me that you’ll always be this brave, that when exploiters disguised as public servants offer you protection from puffed-up dangers, you’ll turn your back and skip away. Promise me you won’t be afraid of travel, of people different than yourself, of spiders, bats, bullies, dentists, attorneys, peer pressure, bad taste, social disapproval, insecurity, Sugar Elves... That you won’t quake before old men with titles, and most especially, that you’ll never be afraid to love, not even when there’s a chance you aren’t being loved in return.” Oh. My. God. You tugged my heart strings and jerked my tears, Tom Robbins! I don’t care if it’s cliche. I shall hold my hand over my heart, cry one round, salty tear, and toast life with a cold one.
  
  Adieu.
  
  
• 
  Dave Schaafsma

  I read Tom Robbins decades ago for the madcap humor, the quips, the absurdity. The sheer wacky invention. B is for Beer has much less of all that—well, it is short, so it has less of everything, I guess—than I might have liked. I read that it was written as a kind of challenge—betcha can’t write a book about beer for children!--and it really isn’t. It’s a book for the Robbins fan club, grandpas and grandmas, most of them imagining reading it to their grandkids, maybe, but they really wouldn’t. It’s written with the help of Google, I am guessing, a series of lighthearted lectures about the history and making of beer filled with oodles of factoids.
  
  "No, pumpkin, beer isn't extracted from grasshoppers. Nor hop toads, either. A hop is some funky vegetable that even vegans won't eat. Farmers dry the flowers of this plant and call them 'hops.' I should mention that only the female hop plants are used in making beer, which may be why men are so attracted to it. It's a mating instinct."
  
  Okay, that’s pretty good, for a way for framing information, and I did laugh a couple times, but you can already tell I wanted to like it more than I did. It’s kind of a “children’s book for adults” in that it is narrated by Gracie.
  
  6 year old Gracie has an indifferent mommy, a grumpy daddy, a kind of hip philosopher Uncle Moe; at one point she drinks a whole can of beer, gets sick and meets a beer fairy who tells her the same kind of things about beer her uncle did. And stuff about Costa Rica—which has no military!—to which said uncle moves.
  
  This gives you a glimpse into Robbins’ wit:
  
  “As you are surely aware, our planet is turning on its axis around and around in space. It turns slowly, however, making one complete rotation only every twenty-four hours; and that's a good thing -- isn't it? -- because if our world turned as fast as Gracie's room appeared to be turning, the sun would be either rising or setting every fifteen minutes, astronomers would be as woozy as rodeo clowns, and it'd be nearly impossible to keep our meatballs from rolling out of our spaghetti.”
  
  Not bad. So Robbins can still write, and amusingly, but most of this book is just information that will lead home brewers to own the book. But a bit sluggish, on the thicker side of stout. Bogs down, I mean. And after a series of infomercials from both Gracie’s uncle AND the beer fairy, I didn’t need sappy kid lectures about the difference between courage and liquid courage:
  
  "Courage is where you find it. Bravery that comes from a bottle-- or from book or from a sermon-- lacks the full strength and purity of bravery that comes straight from the heart."
  
  Or the warnings about liver damage and so on. I know this stuff. I have a liver. This is supposed to be a funny book, Tom.
  
  Okay, I did like this one, though:
  
  “The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion, and the tyranny of the dull mind forever threatens — but our lives are not as limited as we think they are, all things are possible, laughter is holier than piety, freedom is sweeter than fame, and in the end it’s love and love alone that really matters.”
  
  I listened to it, a couple hours time, and it was worth a few smiles. But if you have never read Robbins, start with Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Another Roadside Attraction or Still Life With Woodpecker.
  
• 
  Foteini Fp

  Φτιάχνεις καφέ και το διαβάζεις σε ένα απόγευμα. Μικρό με ξεκούραστη για τα μάτια γραμματοσειρά. Πλασάρεται με τη φράση "A children's book for grownups. A grown-up book for children" αλλά θα μου επιτρέψετε να πω ότι κατά 80% είναι ένα children's book for children. Δεν είναι ο Ρόμπινς του Τρυποκάρυδου σε καμία περίπτωση, ούτε ο Ρόμπινς των Αγριεμένων ανάπηρων. Διακρίνεις ωστόσο τον Ρόμπινς πίσω από τις παραγράφους σε μικρές, πολύ μικρές δόσεις. Από το βιβλίο κρατώ τους λόγους που οι άντρες αγαπούν την μπύρα, την γεύση που έχουν οι Κυριακές και την προτροπή προς την Gracie αλλά καταβάθος στον αναγνώστη "promise me you won't be afraid of travel, of people different than yourself, of spiders, bats, bullies, dentists, attorneys, peer pressure, bad taste, social disapproval, insecurity, Sugar Elves..."
  2.5 αστεράκια αλλά αφού δεν υπάρχει το μισό πάμε στα 3.
• 
  Ian D

  Ένα ανατρεπτικό παραμύθι για μεγάλους με θέμα την μπύρα. Και γιατί όχι;
  Τίποτα το αξιομνημόνευτο αλλά πρέπει να συγχαρούμε τον Tom Robbins για την πρωτοτυπία της κεντρικής ιδέας, τον ιδιαίτερο τρόπο γραφής και τα πονηρά χαμόγελα που είναι ικανός να μας αποσπάσει καθ' όλη τη διάρκεια του βιβλίου.
• 
  Marilena ⚓

  Αν κάποιος εινα αγενής,η μπίρα μπορεί να τον κάνει πιο αγενή.Aν κάποιος ειναι τσαπατσούλης,μπορεί να τον κάνει πιο τσαπατσούλη. Άν κάποιος ειναι κακός,μπορεί να τον κάνει πιο κακό.
  
  Η μπύρα μπορεί να κάνει αδύναμους άντρες να νομίζουν οτι ειναι πανίσχυροι και βρομόστομες γυναίκες να νομίζουν οτι ειναι διασκεδαστικές και κουλ.
• 
  Sharon

  I'd forgotten how much I love Tom Robbins. His quirky sense of humor is as refreshing as a cold ...Diet Coke --sorry, I'm not a beer drinker :) But the book is funny--and insightful.
  
  There are some great quotes here. Some of my favorites:
  
  "You know what the game of golf is, don't you? It's basketball for people who can't jump and chess for people who can't think."
  
  "Every time a person goes to the mall, she loses a little piece of her soul."
  
  There's a warning from the Beer Fairy to Gracie:
  "When considering beer as a vehicle, one had better bear in mind that it's hardly reliable transportation. It's a very old cart, in fact; a wagon pushed and pulled by forgotten forces, by agricultural spirits, the ancient spirits of grain and the land. It's a wagon, my dear, that can easily swerve and run off the road."
  
  And a little philosophy, as well:
  "...It's a vehicle, a neutral, unattached object, kind of like a knife that can be used for peeling turnips in an orphanage or for slicing off a man's ears. Many things in life are like that, including, and perhaps most especially, people's political and religious beliefs--but that's a subject for a much later day. What you need to remember now is that matters are very seldom all black or all white. They can even be both at the same time."
  
  "And did they live happily ever after? No, nobody ever does--at least not totally. But whenever Karla was blindsided by bad days, as most of us are from time to time, she'd make a point of refusing to take them too seriously, and that, dear reader, is the next best thing to everlasting happiness."
  
  
• 
  Marina SouKouz

  Χαριτωμένο. Έξυπνες ατάκες. Για να περάσεις μία ωρίτσα διαβάζοντας κατι ανάλαφρο και... δροσιστικό, μπύρα αφού. Ο θείος ήταν η αγαπημένη μου μορφή.
• 
  Çağdaş T

  Mis gibi Bira eşliğinde mis gibi kitap !
• 
  Lygeri

  " Ξέρετε τι είναι το γκολφ, έτσι δεν είναι; Κάτι σα μπάσκετ για τύπους που δε μπορούν να πηδήξουν και σκάκι για τύπους που δε μπορούν να σκεφτούν."
  
  Ένα μικρό ευχάριστο βιβλίο για να περάσετε το απόγευμα σας. Ένα παιδικό - δε θα το έλεγα ιδιαίτερα- βιβλίο για μεγάλους, που περιγράφει υπερβολικά αναλυτικά για το μέσο αναγνώστη - that's me- την παρασκευή της γνωστής σε όλους μας μπύρας!
  Ωστόσο έχει πολλά σημεία που πραγματικά σε ξαφνιάζουν και άλλα που σε κάνουν να απορείς για το αν διαβάζεις Ρόμπινς ή Γκέιμαν ( αγαπώ τον Γκέιμαν πολύ περισσότερο από τον Ρόμπινς οπότε αυτό ειναι στα υπέρ).
  
  "Όταν οι πολιτισμένοι άνθρωποι χορεύουν, επανασυνδέονται με την παλαιά, ζωώδη φύση τους. Ο χορός τους θυμίζει ότι δεν είναι μηχανικά πιόνια του σκακιού ή ριζωμένα δέντρα, αλλά ελεύθερα σαρκικά κύματα πιθανότητας..."
• 
  George K.

  Βαθμολογία: 7/10
  
  Πέρυσι τον Ιούνιο διάβασα και απόλαυσα το "Villa Incognito", ένα τρελό, παιχνιδιάρικο και απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα, που μάλλον δεν είναι και από τα πιο δυνατά βιβλία του Ρόμπινς. Το "Μπι όπως Μπίρα" είναι το πλέον αδύναμο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, αλλά διαβάζεται και αυτό ιδιαίτερα ευχάριστα. Είναι ένα παιδικό βιβλίο για μεγάλους και ένα μεγαλίστικο βιβλίο για μικρούς, το οποίο έχει να κάνει με την μπίρα. Γενικά τίποτα το φοβερό και το τρομερό, όμως ο τρόπος γραφής είναι ιδιαίτερος και με διάφορες προτάσεις εδώ και κει ο συγγραφέας καταφέρνει να αποσπάσει μερικά πονηρά χαμόγελα από τους αναγνώστες. Σίγουρα πέρασα ευχάριστα την ώρα μου και απόλαυσα κάποιες προτάσεις και σκέψεις, αλλά μέχρι εκεί.
• 
  Hamid Babayev

  Kitabı o qədər baltalayıblar ki, təəccübləndim.
  Bu qədər bəyənilməməsi üçün səbəb də görmürəm, açığı.
  125 səhifə çoxdu, hə. 30 səhifədə də özət keçmək olardı bu kitaba. Amma bu Tom Robbins'dir. O zəvzək-zəvzək danışacaq, sən də oxuyub güləcəksən, zövq alacaqsan, vaxtın xoş keçəcək. Ara yerdə o söz soxacaq, dərs verəcək, sən də öyrənəcəksən. Bəyənməmək üçün səbəb tapmıram ♥️
• 
  foteini_dl

  The main characters fo this book are a 6-year old girl,her uncle and a fairy and...beer!Well,that's quite something.
  Tom Robbins has a quirk sense of humor and in a point or two in the beginning there are Woody Allen-esque influences. His use of language is really good,too (not exceptional,but really good).Plus,he is an excellent storyteller and could easily write children's stories.
  A light,readable and funny book is what you need when it's 40 degrees out there. And -some kind of-magic.And according to Robbins,beer.Personally,I will pass on the beer thing-not a fan myself.But it would be a blast if he wrote a book named "W for Whiskey" or something like that.
• 
  Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)

  D is for Dumb, Desperate, and Disappointing Drivel!
  You know a book is really bad when it's only 125 pages long and you can't even get halfway through it.
  I gave this one a whirl just to see what ol' Tom Robbins had been doing this past couple of years. Now I know. D is for Drinking too much beer. And it's also for Dead brain cells, of which you will need a lot if you hope to enjoy this pile of Dung.
• 
  Nick Iuppa

  Not sure this is a book for beer loving grandfathers to read to their young granddaughters, an infomercial for the brewing industry, or a cautionary for newly arriving AA members, or maybe all of the above. But it sure has it's funny moments... just not enough of them. BTW, the audiobook is really well done, and the narrator does a great job of speaking for a little girl, the beer fairy and the entire brewing industry.
• 
  Nate

  This was a lighthearted treatise on the subject of beer, somehow told through the eyes of a 6 year-old. I laughed and learned quite a bit, and would recommend as a nice palate cleanser between novels.
• 
  Damla Cerrah

  
  Klasik Tom Robbins yazım dili, bolca altı çizilesi cümle, okurken kahkaha atma ve keşke 7473993 sayfa daha olsa diyerek hayıflanma, hepsi bu kitapta mevcut!
  Bir sonraki Robbins kitabına dek tadı yine damağımda kalacak...
• 
  Aylin

  Sevimli bir kitap. Zorluklarla karsilasinca tam da olmasi gerektigi yerde olan, vermesi gereken destegi veren, soylemesi gereken seyleri soyleyen Moe amca, Bira Perisi'nden daha masalsi bir karakter olmus. Her cocugun hayatinda, arkasini toplayacak, onu cocukluk donemi travmalarindan koruyacak bir Moe amcasi ve dogru oldugunu dusundugu seylerin pesinden gitmesi icin onu yureklendirecek bir Bira Perisi olmasi dilegiyle.
• 
  Yanper

  Ένα διασκεδαστικό παραμύθι για μικρούς και μεγάλους δοσμένο με το ιδιαίτερο χιούμορ του Tom Robbins που μάλλον είναι δύσκολο να γίνει αντιληπτό από τους μικρούς.
• 
  Cindy

  Tom Robbins is still a genius!!! The only problem with this book is in keeping with the statement on the cover (A children's book for grown-ups, a grown up book for children) it is far too short. On the satisfaction meter though, it is right up there with a cold brew on a hot afternoon, after all the chores are done. Just sit back and say "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
  
  If you haven't already bought it, and even if you have, Powells is offering signed editions, and since it is unlikely Tom is going to tour far, you might order today! I did!!
• 
  Elizabeth Vanderesch

  B is for Beer is a fairy tale about beer, two things I have great fondness for. I love the idea of fairies and magic and happily ever afters. I also love beer. That said, this book was a win-win for this reader. Yes, the humor is a forced clever in a Lake Wobegon, NPR sort of way, but that shouldn't be an issue if you are choosing to read a book called B is for Beer whose main characters are a 6 year old girl, her philosopher uncle and the Beer Fairy.
• 
  Bülent Ö.

  İçinde güzel tespitler bulunan, biraya öcü gibi bakmak yerine onu tanımamızı sağlayan güzel bir kitap.
  
  Ne öven ne yeren bir hikaye. İçip içmemek, her özgür birey gibi size kalmış. Bira, diğer bir çok şey gibi kötü insanların elinde kötü bir şeye dönüşüp iyi insanların elinde sadece bir içecek olarak kalıyor.
  
  Lakin hikaye ve dil bakımından çok etkileyici değil. Yine de Tom Robbins'in en kötü hikayesi birçoklarının en iyisinden evladır.
• 
  Laziora

  Check -
  https://www.beasty-press.com/tom-robb...
  Οι ωμές και κάπως σοκαριστικές εκφράσεις του συγγραφέα πάντως, θυμίζουν παιδικές σκέψεις. Συνεχείς γελοίες παρομοιάσεις και ειλικρίνεια που, ουσιαστικά, μας ταρακουνά ενώ θίγει καθημερινούς προβληματισμούς. Τον διακατέχει μια σαρδόνια ειρωνεία, την οποία φαίνεται πως είναι αδύνατο να την αποβάλλει.
• 
  Νικολέττα

  Το λάτρεψα!
  Γέλασα, ξανά γέλασα και πραγματικά μου έφτιαξε το κέφι σαν να είχα πιεί κι εγώ λίγο παραπάνω μπυριτσα!
  Περνάει ωραία μηνύματα και δίνει ενδιαφέρουσες υπαρκτές και μη πληροφορίες για το υγρό ψωμί.
• 
  Effie

  
  B.R.A.CE. 2017 'Ενα παιδικό βιβλίο
• 
  Ümit Mutlu

  Sevimli.
• 
  Nofreeusernames Nofreeusernames

  Pivní víla byla dost epic. Kaiser ji dal na jedničku :-D
• 
  Aslı Dağlı

  Yorumum icin -> instagram: dagli_asli
• 
  Angie Boyter

  Early report: By page 2 I was laughing hysterically but not at all sure I would say this is a one I would give to young kids!
  It continued to be a lot of fun and VERY much what I would expect from Tom Robbins, but I still am not sure if it is a book for kids. In particular, he expressed some of his philosophical points in terms that I THINK are not simple enough for kids in vocabulary and expression. But I am not very kid-savvy and would welcome input from those who are.
• 
  Caryn

  It was a cute quick read. Not amazing, but not a bad way to pass the time.