How To Be Perfect

By Michael Schur

This book is a pop-read through major branches of moral philosophy-- virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, contractulism. 

Schur doesn't come to any hard and fast conclusions on how to live. Of course he can't. How could he? But he does offer suggestions that it hopes we would think though.

Try to be a good person. 

There will always be situations where you don't know the right choice. Make a choice. Own it. Apologize if you are wrong, Don't be a jerk about it. 

More than anything, we are defined by our choices and our actions. Choose. Act. Learn. Don't get stuck.

"In the words of Samuel Beckett: Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

"The best thing about Aristotle's 'constant  trying, constant searching' is what results from it: a mature yet still pliable person, brimming with experiences both old an new, who doesn't;t rely solely on familiar routines or dated information about how the world works."

"(when you fight against progress) We're actively not trying to be better, and worse, we're seeing the not-trying as a virtue. This benefits no one."

"Where do you draw the line? As the comedian John Oliver likes to say: somewhere. We draw it in different places, but we need to draw it, each of us, for ourselves."

How to deal with someone with very different (wrong?) values? Think... "I love this person. This person is causing me anguish. We treat those thoughts with equal weight. And we hope the person in question will do the same."

The Mystery of the Yellow Room

By Gaston Leroux. Published in 1907.

I going farther back in my "Locked Room Mystery" reading. The Mystery of the Yellow Room is referred to as a classic by Poirot in "The Clocks" and in "The Hollow Man" as the best detective novel ever.

The mystery is good. I'm not sure it's an honest mystery though. There is a a lot of reveal even after the murder is announced. That's cheating. 

The problem with pure detective fiction is that the detective has to somehow always be in the right place, at the right time, to meet the right people, discover their secrets, put two and two together, and then get the guilty to spill the beans. In weaker mysteries, this can be very forced and mechanical. Sometimes the author writes like they are making shit up. I respect Christie here as she was fairly good at keeping her writing fresh, avoiding the problems, while still telling a mystery.

The Yellow Room-- did an OK job of avoiding the problems. I'll forgive it because it is so old.

The Idle Traveler: The Art of Slow Travel

By Dan Kieran. With forward by Tom Hodgkinson

I have a love/hate attitude towards Tom Hodgkinson's Idler oeuvre. This and some of the other Idler books come across as very unambitious, entitled laziness. That you have the time and money to travel for weeks and that no matter how bad the day was, you can always stop by a local pub for a beer. 

And...

Most of our suffering while traveling comes from resisting what's happening. The train is late. The weather is bad. The hotel is noisy. These aren't obstacles. This is travel. Your plans are imaginary. The trip you're on is real. Chao's isn't fun, but it forces your to confirm the illusions you have about control. 

Treat travel as a practice of attention, of letting go, of embracing what you encounter rather than bending it to your will.

Eat Your Ice Cream

 By Ezekiel J. Emanuel 

I have a strong feeling that this book is a paragraph of theses, and pages of examples. I'm copying down the thesis now. When I finish the book I'll circle back and see how wrong I was.

1. Avoid self-destructive risks.
2. Cultivate family, friends and other social relationships.
3. Stay mentally sharp
4. Consume healthy food and drink.
5. Exercise well and regularly
6. Get the rest you need.

Done the full book, now more more detail...

1. Avoid self-destructive risks. Avoid excessive risks of serious injury or brain damage. Maybe give up your motorcycle. 
2. Cultivate family, friends and other social relationships. Engage and talk to people as you travel, shop and go about mundane activities. Be social.
3. Stay mentally sharp. Aging is a fact of live. You are not going to stay sharp forever. Plan for that (Will, advance care directives) Don't be a couch potato or hermit. Learn. Volunteer. Ask yourself: what can I do that would be useful and helpful to the lives of others?
4. Consume healthy food and drink. Limit eating sugars and ultra processed foods. Eat fermented foods. Ensure you get enough protein. Try fasting every now and then. Eat with people. Drink alcohol lightly or not at all. Eat high quality carb's-- fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Liquid plant oils are generally good for you. 
5. Exercise well and regularly-- 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. 10 to 15 minutes a day.
6. Get the rest you need. Figure out your sleep problems and get your 7-9 hours

Forever Strong

By Gabrielle Lyon

Exercise, eat right, always.

This Is How You Loose the Time War

Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

This is how you write great sci-fi. 

The Three Coffins

 Aka "The Hollow Man"

By John Dickson Carr

I heard of this book in "Knives Out 3: Wake Up Dead Man." In that movie, the detective mentions that this book contains a lecture on all the ways a locked room murder can happen. Of course, I had to read it.

The book was fun to read. I think I will start reading more "fair detective stories" going forward.

The book contains two Impossible murders. The first murder happens in a locked room. The murderer just vanishes. Similarly, the second murder takes place on a dead-end street where the murderer also just vanishes, leaving no footprints in the snow, or witnesses to the dirty deed.

All becomes much more explainable when you reverse the order of the murders.