Tag: Michael Schur

My Favorite Non-Fiction Books of 2022

Favorite Non-Fiction 2022
My 2022 Wrap up continues and now we’re on to the Non-Fiction list. While I liked a number of works that didn’t make this list, I felt strange calling them a “favorite.” So, we have 9 instead of the nigh-obligatory 10 for the second year in a row. These are the ones that stuck with me through the year; the ones I cited in conversation; that I thought about when reading something else or watching something on TV. Yeah, there’s some overlap between this list and the audiobook list from yesterday—lately, most Non-Fiction books I work through are in audiobook format. So it makes sense, even if it makes this post seem like an echo.

As always, I only put books that I’ve read for the first time on this list. I don’t typically return to NF books (outside of looking up things for one or three points), but occasionally I do—for example, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs would get a permanent spot on this list, were it not for this rule.

(in alphabetical order by author)

Go Back to Where You Came FromGo Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American

by Wajahat Ali

My original post
I’m just going to remix some of what I said originally, this book was a great mix of memoir, social commentary, and satire—with a little sprinkling of a more general humor thrown in. The way he shifted between the genres was fairly seamless and quite effective—his own story (and that of his parents) were good illustrations of the societal ills he wanted to point to. Ali’s story is the kind that Americans love to tell and hear about success—even if his telling points to many of the flaws in our society. Through grit, determination, perseverance, and endurance, Ali pushes through all sorts of cultural, societal, legal, medical, and circumstantial challenges to arrive where he is. Because he believes in what we can be as a people, based on our (incredibly inconsistently applied and demonstrated) ideals and aspirations. It’s the kind of story we need to see, hear, and read more of.

4 Stars

Black Nerd ProblemsBlack Nerd Problems:
Essays

by William Evans & Omar Holmon

My original post
There are several strengths to this book—the first is the wide scope of the genres and ages of the pop culture they nerd out about. The second is the variety of the ways they express their appreciation (or lack thereof) for these cultural artifacts. Some of these essays are just silly, some are humorous, some touching, some sober—no two are alike in most ways. I wish I could write like this.

4 Stars

A World Without A World Without “Whom”: The Essential Guide to Language in the BuzzFeed Age

by Emmy J. Favilla

My original post
Sure, I disagreed with some of her takes—I’m less enamored with the idea of language as a ruleless entity than she is. But I found it impossible not to enjoy this—even when I thought Favilla was wrong about some particular note of grammar, I appreciated the way she thought about the idea and presented it. Mostly, I enjoyed reading about the process involved in creating and maintaining a style sheet for an entity as big and particular as Buzzfeed. The lists are the kind of thing I could read on a daily basis. As I wrote, “If you’re the kind of person who gets worked up about getting your phrasing juuuuuust right or are bothered when someone doesn’t. If you think reading tributes to commas and em dashes is a good time. Or if you’re curious about why someone would want to eliminate whom or is fine with letting the English subjunctive mood die…this is the book for you.”

(and, yes, I’m still planning on the tattoo inspired by the book)

3.5 Stars

The Stories Behind the StoriesThe Stories Behind the Stories: The Remarkable True Tales Behind Your Favorite Kid’s Books

by Danielle Higley, David Miles (Illustrator)

My original post
I don’t know if I read a better-designed book last year (or the year before). It’s a treat for the eyes. But more importantly, the content is as good—if not better. I can see the book appealing to (and being understood) younger readers curious about some of the books they’ve read or seen at a library. It also was entertaining and edifying for a, um, more seasoned reader familiar with almost all of the books. I was surprised by some of what I read, learned something about all but one of the 20+ books covered and walked away with a hankering to go back and read some of these.

4 Stars

Good TalkGood Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

by Mira Jacob

My original post
Okay, this was pretty well designed, too. This graphic memoir really hit me on several levels. The art is simple, but very effective. The story of Jacob’s life is one that needs to be told—for the sake of those who can relate to remember they’re not alone, and for the sake of those who can’t relate at all to help build some empathy. The framing device of trying to explain race in the U.S. to a biracial child trying to understand the world around him is much-needed, and probably more so all the time. This was more powerful than I expected (and had some great moments of lightness, too!)

4 Stars

The World Record Book of Racist StoriesThe World Record Book
of Racist Stories

by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar

My original post
Back at race again…this time looking at subtle and not-so-subtle, clueless and intentional, probably well-meaning and just mean, ways that one family has to deal with racism on a day-to-day basis. There’s enough silliness to make this book endurable because there are some anecdotes here that are stunningly awful. A strong follow-up to last year’s book.

4 Stars

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible ThingFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

by Matthew Perry

I haven’t found time to write about this book yet, so I’m having trouble boiling things down into a concise paragraph. I’ve been a huge fan of Perry’s since episode 2 of Friends (and was a decently-sized fan based on the pilot), so I was drawn to this right away, but really wanted a break from celebrity memoirs and put off getting it until I read that the book focused so much on the “Big Terrible Thing.” There’s some stuff about his acting career—highs and lows, the usual behind-the-scenes, stuff. But this book is primarily about his mental health problems, his addictions, and the many, many ways he’s hurting himself and those around him. I wouldn’t call this a “warts and all” kind of portrayal of Perry, more of a “warts (and some other things)” look at him. There’s some hope and optimism, too, but it’s tempered.

4 Stars

How to Be PerfectHow to Be Perfect:
The Correct Answer to
Every Moral Question

by Michael Schur (Writer, Narrator)
with: Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D’Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil, and Todd May

My original post
This is a solid introduction to ethics and some of the major schools of thought behind contemporary approaches (with historical precedents). The kind of thing you might get in a 100-level course in college. But told in a very approachable way that will no doubt bring a smile to the reader’s/listener’s face occasionally. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. It’s thoughtful, but accessible. And it can—should?—act as a launching pad for further reading and study for those who want to dig in.

4 Stars

E.B. White on DogsE. B. White on Dogs

edited by Martha White

This is another one I haven’t had time to write about yet. I went in assuming this would be a good read—and got that. This is a collection of essays, shorter pieces, and letters written by White about (or mentioning) dogs. There are some solid gems here—honest laughs, amusing thoughts, and devotion to these animals that humans are so strongly drawn to. Readers of this blog know that I love good writing about dogs, and that’s exactly what we get here. There are a handful of things I’m not sure were worthy of including in this book other than for the sake of completeness, but I’m not going to complain.

4 Stars

My Favorite Audiobooks of 2022

My Favorite Audiobooks of 2022
Last year I kicked off my Year-End Retrospective with a look at my favorite audiobooks, I might as well repeat that this year. How do I keep this from being just a rehash of my other year-end lists? By focusing on the audiobook experience over the content. What was it like to listen to it? How engaging was it, how did the narrator do? Was it a good match in terms of tone, content, and performance? All of these books are/were good—but the audiobooks are a bit better because of the narrator and the rest of the people involved in the production.

(in alphabetical order by author)

The LawThe Law

by Jim Butcher

My original post
Sure, I love Harry Dresden—so it’s almost a given that this novella is going to show up somewhere on my end-of-year lists. The fact that Jim Butcher did the narration himself makes this something special (thankfully, he’s still fully intending on having James Marsters do the series). Butcher’s good at this, he’s not great, but he’s good. Hearing his idea about what the characters that we know and love sound like was a lot of fun. Also, after all the epic and emotional moments that Butcher’s put his fans through lately, having something non-epic or world-changing like this is such a nice breather.

4 Stars

Black Nerd ProblemsBlack Nerd Problems:
Essays

by William Evans & Omar Holmon

My original post
Funny, insightful, thoughtful, thought-provoking, passionate (about things both important and trivial). This collection of essays about pop culture, race, and the intersection of those two things was a surprise to me—I thought I’d have a good time with it, I didn’t know I’d have a great time and be moved, too. The authors narrated this themselves—both have backgrounds in poetry jams, and the panache from that shines through. I have quoted this and referred more people to various essays in this than probably anything else this year.

4 Stars

On Eden StreetOn Eden Street

by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

My original post
This one makes the list due to the nature of the book and how well Jackson handled it. The previous book served as a transition point from the DC Smith Mysteries to the Kings Lake series—but this is the one that’s truly different. We have a bunch of new characters to deal with in addition to serving those we’ve grown accustomed to. The nature of the central character and his new boss underlines how different this is from the previous incarnation, but it’s the same books at their core. And Jackson gets both through to the listener. It’s all there in Grainger’s text, no doubt—but it’s the narration that solidifies it for the listener.

4 1/2 Stars

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive BakingA Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

by T. Kingfisher, Patricia Santomasso (Narrator)

My original post
I don’t know if I can put my finger on why this made the list, but as I was looking over the list of audiobooks I read in ’22, as soon as I saw this one, I knew it had to make the list.

Between Kingfisher’s text and Santomasso’s narration, this was just a great experience. The story is fun, the characters (particularly as embodied, or emvoiced?, by Santomasso) were endearing—as a whole, it was an immersive and pleasant time—just what you want in an audiobook.

3.5 Stars

The World Record Book of Racist StoriesThe World Record Book
of Racist Stories

by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar

My original post
My wife assures me that the paper version of this is well-worth reading, but I can’t imagine having the opportunity to listen to Ruffin and Lamar reading this and passing it up—the goofy voices they employ and little tunes they sing in addition to the reading adds a nice little layer to the book that you’re not going to get with the print edition.

This is a more serious, more somber, book than its predecessor was—by design. But because of that, it feels like they dialed the silliness up to help alleviate things. It can’t be an easy balancing act—discussing the horrors of everyday racism in a way that is entertaining enough that it can educate those that need it the most. Ruffin and Lamar hit that balance in both print and in audio.

4 Stars

How to Be PerfectHow to Be Perfect:
The Correct Answer to
Every Moral Question

by Michael Schur (Writer, Narrator)
with: Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D’Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil, and Todd May

My original post
Yeah, that’s a huge cast—but 95+% of the work is done by Schur. The contributions of the rest shouldn’t be overlooked, but when you think about the narration, you’re going to be thinking about the author, Mike Schur. My appreciation for Schur’s writing goes back before I knew who he was on a baseball blog that I really enjoyed. After that, I got on board with this TV writing and became a huge fan. What puts this audiobook on this list is the way that Schur is able (thanks to his own writing) to make this introduction to ethics and philosophy so accessible. It doesn’t feel dry, or head-in-the-clouds at all. Yes, I have significant issues with a lot of the thinking in this book (he rules out theism or morality given to us by a deity from the get -go), but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from it—I can’t gain an appreciation of the thinking through ethical dilemmas.

I had fun, and I think I learned something. You can’t ask for more.

4 Stars

Movies (And Other Things)Movies (And Other Things)

by Shea Serrano, Mario Toscano (Narrator)

My original post
There’s a little bit of the seriousness of Black Nerd Problems in this collection of essays about Movies (and things like it), but Serrano doesn’t spend that much time with it. Serrano’s approach to movies is a wonderful hybrid of fanboy and educated critic that can appeal to people all over that spectrum. This results in a book that’s a great combination of movie knowledge/insight, social commentary, and humor mixed throughout each of these. Even when it came to movies I’ve never seen, have no interest in seeing, or saw ages ago and don’t remember well, Serrano kept me pretty engaged and entertained. Toscano’s narration is so good, so convincing that you have to remind yourself that he’s reading Serrano’s words and isn’t speaking from the heart.

3.5 Stars

We Are Legion (We Are Bob)We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

by Dennis E. Taylor, Ray Porter (Narrator)

My original post
Stumbling across this series is one of the highlights of 2022 for me. Ray Porter doing the narration is what pushed me to give this story a shot, and I’d be happy I did if only for his narration. I can think of a handful of narrators that could’ve got this gig (based on their other work, etc.) and I’m not sure how many of them would’ve got me to come back so quickly—nothing against Taylor’s text, but it’s Porter’s skill and warmth that elevates this book (and the rest of the series) into something I can see myself revisiting often.

It’s not all about Porter, I should make clear—Taylor has a gift for SF comedy. Throw in Bob’s snark and optimism and the great premise that pretty much opens the door for Taylor to do just about anything he wants in the series for as long as he wants to, and you’ve got yourself a real winner.
3 Stars

The HobbitThe Hobbit, or
There and Back Again

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Andy Serkis (Narrator)

My original post
As soon as I read that Serkis was doing audiobook versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I knew I had to listen to them—what could be better? I mean, for the scene between Bilbo and Gollum alone, you know that The Hobbit is going to be worth the time and expense. And it was.

The rest of the book is great, too, make no mistake. Serkis knows what he’s doing with his voice—because of the nature of a lot of his acting jobs, his voice has to carry the performance that his (own and natural) face can’t. It’s a great skill that he brings to bear on an audiobook’s narration. This is just a joy to listen to.

5 Stars

Free BillyFree Billy

by Don Winslow, Ed Harris (Narrator)

My original post
Speaking of actors who can do a lot with their voice, here’s Ed Harris. There’s something so natural about his delivery of this short story that I have to wonder why he hasn’t been making audiobooks for years. It’s like Winslow’s words were written solely for him (I’ve heard three of these Audible Originals from this pair and could listen to another 20 this year). This book is a sequel to The Dawn Patrol—one of my All-Time Desert Island books. You get Ed Harris to do the narration on that, and you know I’m going to love it. People who aren’t me are likely going to enjoy it a lot, too.

(sure, there’s part of me that wishes Ray Porter had been used—his work on the audiobook for The Dawn Patrol was stellar, but why be greedy?)

5 Stars

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