Video Transcript: Books and Brews offers a new type of book club
Alex Burstein: An average night at the bar. Beer, a burger and books?
Alexis Colton: I’m an avid reader, and I’m an average beer drinker. So it’s kind of combining two of my favorite hobbies and seeing if there was anyone else out there who would enjoy doing that and making some friends who also enjoy that.
Burstein: Alexis Colton is the marketing and events manager at Talking Cursive Brewing Company, and she really likes to read.
Colton: I really appreciate with this more, you know, because it’s set in the Adirondacks.
Burstein: Once a month, Talking Cursive opens its doors for Books and Brews, a book club with a little booze.
Jess Van Valkenburg: Sometimes it helps us start the conversation a little bit more.
Burstein: Tonight, it was a thriller, “The God of the Woods.” So how’d they land on that?
Colton: It is truly a democratic process.
Burstein: There’s a monthly poll, and people seem to be latching on.
Colton: We do see a pretty consistent eight to 10 people every month.
Burstein: And while Talking Cursive has award-winning food and drinks, that’s not the only thing bringing customers back to these tables.
Valkenburg: If I have an option between a small women-owned business versus another one, I try to support those, because I know those endeavors are difficult. Plus that’s easy to do when there’s such a great product too.
Burstein: Jess Van Valkenburg is a regular at Books and Brews.
Valkenburg: I love the vibe of the place. It’s small and cozy. The owners are really nice. And I like to support women-owned businesses and they have really cool themed nights.
Burstein: And those events sometimes mean challenging societal norms.
Colton: For a long time it was like, “oh, beer is for guys.” And our book group is a testament that there’s plenty of females that like to read and drink beer.
Burstein Aa group tackling stereotypes, one chapter and one sip at a time. Alex Burstein, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Once a month, there’s a book club that’s a little different than most in Syracuse. There are books, but there’s also beer at the Talking Cursive Brewery.
“I’m an average reader, and I’m an average beer drinker, so it’s kind of combining two of my favorite hobbies and seeing if there was anyone else out there who would enjoy doing that and making some friends who also enjoy that,” said Alexis Colton, a manager at Talking Cursive.
With that idea, Colton took it upon herself to help create Books and Brews. Now, almost a year into the project, once a month members meet to drink and talk about the book of the month.
“Sometimes it helps us start the conversation a little bit more,” Jess Van Valkenburg, a regular at the event, said.
The books range in everything from fantasy to mystery. For the November meeting, it was “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore. The book was decided by a monthly poll, according to Colton.
While the group is open to all, Colton said that most months it’s majority women who attend the group.
“If I have an option between a small women-owned business vs. another one, I try to support those, because I know those endeavors are difficult. Plus, that’s easy to do when there’s such great product too,” Van Valkenburg said.
She’s enamored by more than just the books and the brews.
“I love the vibe of the place,” Van Valkenburg said. “It’s small and cozy. The owners are really nice. And I like to support women-owned businesses and they have really cool themed nights.”
While the event may often feature conversations of far off lands and fictional stories, Colton knows Books and Brews features something more than just fun times.
“For a long time it was like, ‘oh, beer is for guys.’ And our book group is a testament that there’s plenty of females that like to read and drink beer.”