How To Be Perfect

"From the creator of The Good Place and the co-creator of Parks and Recreation, a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,500 years of deep thinking from around the world"--

The Good Place is a fantasy-comedy TV show about the afterlife. Eleanor dies and finds herself in the Good Place, which she understands must be mistake, since she has been anything but good. In the surprise twist ending to Season One, it is revealed that this is really the Bad Place, but the demon who planned it was frustrated, because the characters didn’t torture each other mentally as planned, but managed to learn how to live together. In ,i>The Good Place and Philosophy, twenty-one philosophers analyze different aspects of the ethical and metaphysical issues raised in the show, including: ● Indefinitely long punishment can only be justified as a method of ultimately improving vicious characters, not as retribution. ● Can individuals retain their identity after hundreds of reboots? ● Comparing Hinduism with The Good Place, we can conclude that Hinduism gets things five percent correct. ● Looking at all the events in the show, it follows that humans don’t have free will, and so people are being punished and rewarded unjustly. ● Is it a problem that the show depicts torture as hilarious? This problem can be resolved by considering the limited perspective of humans, compared with the eternal perspective of the demons. ● The Good Place implies that even demons can develop morally. ● The only way to explain how the characters remain the same people after death is to suppose that their actual bodies are transported to the afterlife. ● Since Chidi knows all the moral theories but can never decide what to do, it must follow that there is something missing in all these theories. ● The show depicts an afterlife which is bureaucratic, therefore unchangeable, therefore deeply unjust. ● Eleanor acts on instinct, without thinking, whereas Chidi tries to think everything through and never gets around to acting; together these two characters can truly act morally. ● The Good Place shows us that authenticity means living for others. ● The Good Place is based on Sartre’s play No Exit, with its famous line “Hell is other people,” but in fact both No Exit and The Good Place inform us that human relationships can redeem us. ● In The Good Place, everything the humans do is impermanent since it can be rebooted, so humans cannot accomplish anything good. ● Kant’s moral precepts are supposed to be universal, but The Good Place shows us it can be right to lie to demons. ● The show raises the question whether we can ever be good except by being part of a virtuous community.

Recover. Rinse. Repeat. Dana Bowman can’t escape the lure of perfectionism, trying to be a flawless wife, mother, and person in recovery. When Dana experiences a short-lived relapse during the Christmas holiday, she has the startling realization that recovery is more than just giving up alcohol. In this funny and revealing follow-up to her best-selling book Bottled, Dana reflects on how we live in a society of excess, always pushing ourselves to do and be better. However, it doesn’t take her long to realize that self-care and getting over herself is the key to happiness.

The bestselling author of The Mummy Bloggers is back with another page-turning, rip-roaring story about mums, phones and the cult of self-improvement. In the rolling green hills of Australia's hippest hinterland, a new guru is blogging about her breakfast. ELLE CAMPBELL is back, holed up in an exclusive retreat where women pay thousands to mimic her extreme lifestyle, or die trying. But who's bankrolling Elle's new empire? And why are her two tiny sons suddenly absent from her glossy public image? ABI BLACK just wants to marry her true love under a tree in the garden on New Year's Eve. But her ex-husband is building a financial cult in the shed, Elle is looming and her teenage daughter's YouTube channel is gaining followers for all the wrong reasons. The wedding might have to wait. FRANCES GRAHAM has a colicky newborn, an absent husband and a WhatsApp mothers' group that's giving her anxiety. But she's certain that if she can just be more like those fitmums on Instagram, things can only get better. And surely, if she can scrape enough money together to make it to Elle's retreat, everything in her life will be just . . . perfect. Through a world of fake gurus, green smoothies and bad influencers, How to Be Perfect follows Elle, Abi and Frankie into the cult of self-improvement that's taking over your phone . . . and your breakfast.

Create the home--and life--you've always wanted with the help of popular blogger and author of Cozy Minimalist Home Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) as she helps you free yourself to take risks and find beauty in imperfection. Myquillyn Smith is all about embracing reality--especially when it comes to decorating a home bursting with kids, pets, and all the unpredictable messes of life. In The Nesting Place, Myquillyn shares the secrets of decorating for real people--and it has nothing to do with creating a flawless look to wow your guests and everything to do with making peace with the natural imperfection and joy of daily living. Drawing on her years of experience creating beauty in her 13 different homes and countless seasons of life, Myquillyn will show you how to think differently about the true purpose of your home, and simply and creatively tailor it to reflect you and your unique style--without breaking the bank. Full of simple steps, practical advice, and beautiful, full-color photos, The Nesting Place gives you the tools you need to: Cultivate a home that works for you and your family Transform your home into a place that's inviting and warm for family and friends Discover your own personal style There is beauty in embracing the lived-in, loved-on, and just-about-used-up aspects of our homes and our daily lives--let Myquillyn show you how. Praise for The Nesting Place: "This book made me look at every room in my house differently, with a new lens of creativity and beauty and possibility. It inspired me to reclaim my home as sacred space, ripe with opportunities to celebrate and create memories and moments." --Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect and I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet "This highly personal account about embracing imperfection and finding contentment in your home is like sitting down with a good friend and talking about the stuff that really matters. The Nesting Place is full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart." --Sherry Petersik, home blogger; bestselling author of Young House Love

Required reading for humans.

In search of perfection, Milo Crinkley earnestly tries to follow the loony instructions he finds in a library books--and learns that there are more important things in life than being perfect. "Manes' style (is) reminiscent of Daniel Pinkwater's topped with a dash of Kurt Vonnegut . . . awfully funny".--Booklist.

Human perfection, attainable in 99 easy steps in this quirky illustrated edition of Padgett's most beloved poem.