Tag / Michael Schur

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2022: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2022, my second full year of remote working, I managed to surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 55 books, an increase of one book over last year and my second consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total with a mere three days remaining in 2022.  I read (or listened) to 19,328 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the third time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, fifteen were non-fiction and, of the remaining 40 novels, only two were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 44 e-books and three audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 37 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

A little more than half of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Adam Nedeff Kelsey McKinney Simone St. James Laura Dave
Jeff Warren Carlye Adler Matt Paxton Jordan Michael Smith
Alyssa Milano Alex Finlay Taylor Jenkins Reid Emily Ratajkowski
Samantha Downing Dave Grohl Mary Lynn Rajskub Stephanie Perkins
Michael Schur Joseph Henrich V.E. Schwab Brianna Madia
Jimmy Piersall Richard Whittingham Richard Osman Colleen Hoover
Jenette McCurdy Sally Rooney Josh Malerman Alice Sebold
Katie Mack Penn Jillette Elin Hilderbrand Nita Prose

Alex Finlay, Simone St. James, Karin Slaughter, Megan Goldin, Jeffery Deaver, and Richard Osman were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2022.

16 of the books I read were released this year, while only two of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1953.

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Book 32 (of 52) – How To Be Perfect

How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer To Every Moral Question – Michael Schur

Back in the fall of 2016, a new comedy, starring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, debuted on NBC.  This show, created by Michael Schur, tackled the afterlife and how living a “good” life was sometimes easier said than done.  In The Good Place, characters received points for every good deed they did and lost points for selfish or bad deeds throughout their life, and the resulting total would determine if they made it into the Good Place or the Bad Place.  Before writing the show, creator Michael Schur needed to take his own dive into moral philosophy in order to give the show the heft it needed to become a success.

In How To Be Perfect, Schur shares what he’s learned from philosophers like Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, amongst others, in a much more entertaining way than the original texts.  He goes deep into the Trolley Problem, which featured heavily in the show, and how the different philosophies treat it differently, and moves from easy ethical questions like “Should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?” to the more complex moral issues we face every day, like “Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people?” and “How much money should I give to charity?”  He also goes in to the importance of not just finding the answer (of course you shouldn’t punch your friend in the face) but also why.

In my younger days, my retirement plan, after I won the lottery, was to return to college and study philosophy.  Now that I’ve read this book, there’s really no reason to do so anymore.  I’ve already had my education.  And, you know, haven’t won the lottery.

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NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday and very few changes are afoot, with only 3 new shows making the cut. The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Bluff City Law, a new drama about a Memphis family’s law firm and family nonsense.  Tuesday stays static, leading off with more of The Voice, followed by This Is Us and New Amsterdam.

Wednesday is turned over to Dick Wolf, with his 3 Chicago series running back to back to back.  Comedy still reigns supreme on Thursday, with Superstore, followed by Perfect Harmony, a new Bradley Whitford comedy.  The Good Place returns for its fourth season, followed by Sunnyside, a new comedy from Michael Schur.  Law & Order: SVU finishes the night in its 21st season.  The Blacklist returns on Friday, followed by 2 hours of Dateline NBC.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

Will & Grace and Manifest will return at midseason, along with Blindspot, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Good Girls.  New shows waiting for spots on the air include Indebted, about a young couple who have to deal with their broke parents, The Keenan Show, a family comedy starring Kenan Thompson, Council of Dads, a drama about a man who overreacts to a health scare, Lincoln, a small screen adaptation of The Bone Collector, and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, about a computer coder who starts to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs.

The network has yet to make decisions on the future of Abby’s, The Enemy Within, and The Village.

Cancelled shows include A.P. Bio, I Feel Bad, Marlon, Mignight, Texas, and Trial And Error.