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The Good Place is coming to a close and to say we’re going to miss these characters would be an understatement. Before we bid farewell to Team Cockroach – while not so secretly hoping that Michael Schur has another great idea for a show up his sleeve – we’re sending each of our four favorite humans off with a list of book recommendations. It’s our hope that these books will serve them well in The Good Place. Because, ultimately, we’re hoping that they make it there. We’ll start things off with Jason Mendoza: a well-meaning idiot with cheekbones for days.

Some situations are so specific, we invent new terms to properly communicate them with others. Take “gaslighting," for example. Ten years ago, we might have struggled to describe the type of person that psychologically manipulates someone into questioning their own sanity. Now, we just say, “That person is a gaslighter, and we should take them off our Christmas card list.” There. Easy peasy. 

Similarly specific situations are all around us, and book lovers suffer as much as the next. So, we’ve taken a stab at coining a few terms that might help you better communicate in the future.  

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you know what that means. A long weekend filled with family and food. But after the Thursday afternoon festivities have wrapped and turkey for breakfast stops sounding like a great idea, you’ll be left wondering how to fill the time. Why not share your love of reading and bond over a new favorite television show all at the same time? It’s the gift that keeps on giving because you know your parents are going to want to hop into a group text and ask when The Handmaid’s Tale is coming back. Who knew a conversation about Gilead could be so much fun?

Almost everybody at some point in their life has had to pull the plug on a friendship. Maybe the person was a toxic presence or perhaps trouble just followed them wherever they went or maybe the people just grew apart. Whatever the reason may be, sometimes it is necessary to just cut the ties and run. We wanted to take a closer look at some of the literary friendships which should have been ended long before the story played out.

It’s National Philanthropy Day and while our bookish brains are automatically programmed to think about our loves First Book, a literary non-profit dedicated to providing books and quality education to young people in need, and Little Free Library, the non-profit behind all those bookish mailboxes in your neighborhood, we’re also thinking about the quirky philanthropists we see in pop culture. Philanthropists like Tahani Al-Jamil, who loves throwing parties for those in need, even in The Good Place. And Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek, who’s always looking to lend her image to a cause – in the hopes that it will encourage a higher turnout at whatever her philanthropic cause du jour happens to be. So, let’s celebrate with our favorite fictional philanthropists. Maybe we can sway them toward some literary causes while we’re at it!

These reads are small in size but BIG in character. Give the gift of an unexpected read in a stocking!