How to be Perfect cover art

How to be Perfect

The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question – by the creator of the Netflix hit THE GOOD PLACE

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to be Perfect

By: Mike Schur
Narrated by: Michael Schur
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.48

Buy Now for $26.48

About this listen

 * From the writer and executive producer of the award-winning Netflix series The Good Place that made moral philosophy fun: a foolproof guide to making the correct moral decision in every situation you ever encounter, anywhere on earth, forever *

How can we live a more ethical life?

This question has plagued people for thousands of years, but it's never been tougher to answer than it is now, thanks to challenges great and small that flood our day-to-day lives and threaten to overwhelm us with impossible decisions and complicated results with unintended consequences.

Plus, being anything close to an 'ethical person' requires daily thought and introspection and hard work; we have to think about how we can be good not, you know, once a month, but literally all the time.

To make it a little less overwhelming, this fascinating, accessible and funny book by one of our generation's best writers and adept minds in television comedy, Michael Schur, boils down the whole confusing morass with real life dilemmas (from 'should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?' to 'can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people?'), so that we know how to deal with ethical dilemmas. Much as Chidi used humour and philosophy to make Eleanor a less selfish person, Schur takes us on a journey through the 2,500-year discussion of ethics, sketching a roadmap for how we ought to act along the way.

By the time the book is done, we'll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. OK, not quite. Instead, we'll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day

With contributions from Professor Todd May of Clemson University, who served as an advisor on The Good Place, this is a brilliant, clever and hugely entertaining book about one of the most important topics in the world.

'The problem is, if all you care about in the world is the velvet rope, you will always be unhappy, no matter which side you're on.' - Tahani Al-Jamil, The Good Place

(P) 2022 Simon & Schuster Audio©2022 Michael Schur Performing Arts Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Stand-up Shows Funny Morality

Critic Reviews

When I was asked to write a blurb about Mike Schur's book on ethics, I thought: no sweat, I'll just skim a few chapters, make something up, and then lie about having read it. After reading a chapter or two, I realized I had missed the point of the book. So I read the whole thing, and I can honestly say it's brilliant. How to be Perfect takes the delightful, funny lessons of The Good Place, and applies them to everyday life
As someone who worries that a deep dive into morality will ruin my fun and problematic life, I was certain this book wouldn't be for me. Boy, was I wrong! It's so brilliant and funny and warmly written you don't realize you're becoming a better person just by reading it
Have you ever wanted a friend to explain ethics so that you could understand the subject completely with minimal effort on your part? Well, meet your friend Mike Schur. This book will help guide you through the thorniest moral conundrums with clarity and hilarity, and it will greatly up your chances of ending up in...the Good Place
How to be Perfect is a kind, thoughtful, incredibly funny reflection on what it is to be a good human being. As a human being myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am certain that other human beings will enjoy it as well
Read How to Be Perfect and laugh while you learn how to be a better person. And imagine what a great passive-aggressive gift this book would make! Hand it to someone and say 'I saw this and thought of you.' Then they say 'Oh, did you read this?' and you smile and say 'I don't need to'
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and ridiculously silly, How to be Perfect is a great read for anyone who loved The Good Place - or anyone who wants to be a good person. And as a bonus, once you've read the book, you become perfect
An enjoyably boisterous guide to the moral life. If you want to become morally better and don't mind being entertained in the process, you've picked up the right book
An absolute breeze to read; funny and enlightening and revealing
It's not only very funny [...] but there is real meat to the work too
Enormously enjoyable, useful and readable
All stars
Most relevant
Thanks to Michawl Schur, I am now an entirely perfect person on this planet.

Thank you Mr. Schur

I'm now clearly perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great follow up extension from The Good Place.
Aware, open, and exploring in sufficient detail to provide listeners with several "hmm" moments that make you consider your place in this world. Despite the author's clear bias towards delicious pineapple on pizza, he doesn't belittle anyone who takes the small but important step to consider life from different viewpoints.
While other philosophical discussions can leave one with "moral exhaustion" (Schur, 2022), this one is interesting and light enough to navigate you through the various concepts, like a competent trolley driver who is fastidious about brake maintenance.

The pineapple on top a moral philosophical pizza

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So easy to kick back and listen to. Constantly laughing about references and side notes, and reminiscing stories everyone can relate to. 1000% first book anyone should read if they’re curious about philosophy. 1000% first book to recommend for anyone you’re trying to get interested in philosophy.

Easy. Funny. Relatable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I learned I can break a few rules here and there and that I'm a happiness pump.

I also now understand what all those people mean when they talk about "Moral Exhaustion"

This topic was fascinating and only because of this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good book, by a good guy, who created The Good Place, to teach us how to be good people - loved it

The Good Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.