12-13 years ago, I bought this book from a small Amish general store near Rockville, IN:



From it, I decided to buy 5-6 lanterns in case we should ever be without power.

Here's a couple pointers regarding lanterns:

1) Kerosene will last forever (i.e., I still have 4 of the 5 gallons I bought back in 2010, and it still burns as it did when purchased);
2) Don't forget to buy a handdful of the wicks, of your lanterns do no good;
3) How you cut/taper the wicks determines how your flame and light will be (e.g., If you snip the corners to make the wick pointy, your flame will be pointy, and you'll burn the fuel more efficiently);
4) Kerosens smoke stains;
5) Kerosene has fumes while burning
6) The shallower the lantern fuel basin the better, because as yu start to deplete the basin, the wick has trouble "wicking" the kerosent all the way up to the flame, so the closer the flame is to the kerosene, the better).
7) Some lanterns are windproof, which you will want if you are using them for evening travel, trips to the outhouse, etc.

Would I personally choose to live without electricity forever?

No.  I like my cold beer too much, ...

I actually prefer a (good craft) beer at more room temperature or slightly chilled.  That garbage they call beer these days (Budweiser etc.) has to be as cold as possible to kill the taste.  I find that the taste buds are more able to detect flavors when your mouth isn't half frozen by a very cold beer.

I would imagine the biggest challenge in living without electricity (or in living with the tiny amount of electricity you could get from solar panels) is not light, it's heat. Darkness doesn't kill people, but cold sure does!