Happy Saturday. Here are a few things we’ve been reading, eating and trying this week to make your weekend a little better.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Beer we’re picking up
11 pumpkin beers, ranked. Pumpkin beer is either the best part of fall or a crime against hops, depending on who you ask. The Takeout tried 11 to settle it. The top three:
Saint Arnold Pumpkinator, aged in bourbon barrels, was the clear winner.
Lexington Brewing’s Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale took second.
Brooklyn Brewery Post Road Pumpkin rounded out the podium.
The ’90s classic, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, landed sixth.
Book we’re reading this weekend
Vibe by Adam Grant. You probably know him from Think Again or his TED talks. He’s an organizational psychologist at Wharton, and his new book, out this week, is about the science of chemistry: why some people click and others never do. In a new interview, he sorts friends into four types:
Associates help with practical needs.
Allies share your goals.
Pals share your interests.
Companions share your values.
His best tip: practice small disagreements, because “a relationship that can’t handle friction is not a relationship.”
Quote we keep coming back to
“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” Seneca wrote it nearly 2,000 years ago in a letter to his friend Lucilius, who was worried about troubles that hadn’t happened yet. His advice still holds: don’t be unhappy before the crisis comes, because it may never arrive. And when fear starts winning, lean the other way and “cease to harass your soul.”
Halloween math we didn’t want to know
How long it takes to walk off Halloween candy. Raiding the kids’ bags after bedtime is a time-honored tradition. We’re not judging. The American Institute for Cancer Research did the math for a 150-pound adult walking at a moderate pace:
Reese’s Pumpkin: 42 minutes
Candy corn (19 pieces): 35 minutes
Kit Kat (fun size): 18 minutes
3 Musketeers (fun size): 16 minutes
Translation: take the long way around the block on Halloween night.
Free app we’re setting up
Libby. If you have a library card, you have free audiobooks. Libby, from OverDrive, lets you borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your local library right on your phone. Link your card once, put a hold on anything that’s checked out, and you’ll get a ping when it’s ready. Loans return themselves, so there are no late fees. Set it up before your next long drive.
Recipe for Sunday night
10-minute bone broth soup. After a weekend of candy and pumpkin beer, this is the reset. Bon Appétit’s version starts with store-bought bone broth. You drizzle in eggs beaten with garlic, ginger and a splash of soy sauce, and they set into big, soft clusters. Stir in baby kale or spinach, add chili crisp if you like heat, and dunk garlic-rubbed toast. Dinner for two in about 10 minutes.
Menopause tool on our radar
Pelvic Partner. [Partner*] Menopause coverage talks about hot flashes and sleep, but rarely the pelvic floor, which often weakens as estrogen drops. Most women are told to “do your Kegels” with no way to know if they’re doing them right. Pelvic Partner vibrates when you squeeze correctly and stops when you fully relax. No app, no account, eight levels. Good Housekeeping named it Best Pelvic Floor Trainer Overall, and it’s 20% off for Menopause Awareness Month. Try it, or pass it along to someone who’d want it.
Tried something this week worth passing along? Hit reply. It might make next Saturday’s picks.
— The 1% Better Team

