A couple of friends gave me and my husband The History of Beer in America by Bill Yenne, which tells about America's beer brewing legacy, starting with the colonies and corn-based beer.

The best part of the gift was that it came with a tin bucket of 18 beers of varying recipes collected from American history. It definitely added sensory elements to the reading. I've always approved of hands-on learning.

The book continues on a tour of famous breweries and taverns, even the in-house breweries of our first presidents. George Washington loved his dark porter beer.

With German immigrants came amber and lighter lager. The coffee table book shows letters and poems begging for this beer. And then industry begins. It was fun to see where many of the better-known beer companies originated.

Now I need a history of liquor book.

My friend Walter stole a book from The Library, a downtown pub in Austin, because of its title The Walter Syndrome.

He read it simply because it contained his name. He said the book touched on the trend of naming sons "Walter" in the 30s. Reviews of the book indicate the author Richard Neely crammed as many 30s nouns into the book as possible in this historical mystery thriller.

I made fun of my friend, but then if I came across a book title with my name in it, I'd at least skim the pages. In fact, I like googling the meaning of my name and seeing how different regions and people across the globe make different associations with my name.

From older Americans, I get, "Oh, Tara, like from Gone with the Wind?"

From younger Americans, it's Tara Reid. From Indians it's either "star" or the Hindu goddess Tara. For the Irish, it's the hill of Tara.

I just think it's amusing how interested we're so interested in ourselves we would judge a book by its cover, at least if it had our name on it.