Book Recommendations for Jason Mendoza from The Good Place
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.
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For Your Consideration: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson by Tres Dean
This illustrated book of essays has something for everyone. But more importantly, it has everything for Jason. In fact, we’re truly surprised that Janet hasn’t created a similar book for Jason already. The Rock is such a personality match for him: loveable, yet predictable; larger than life, yet wildly approachable. We know that Jason would absolutely love reading about how The Rock became the person he is today. And we cannot wait to see how he takes The Rock’s infinite wisdom into his daily life. Plus, there are illustrations, which feel super necessary for Jason’s attention span.
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Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Books a Million
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
This may be more of a recommendation for Jason’s strangely Zen alter ego Jianyu – or a recommendation for a Jason Mendoza who doesn’t think that all motorcycles spontaneously combust. But hey! It’s never too late to learn…about motorcycles. We know that Jason will have a million questions going into this book. Why isn’t Pamela Anderson painted on the motorcycle? When is the motorcycle going to explode? What even is the Metaphysics of Quality? Is it magic? (Chidi, help!) No matter what Jason takes away from this book, one thing is for certain: it’s going to be an incredible conversation starter.
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Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Books a Million | Target
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Jason is always talking about how the 300 years he’s been tortured and revived and cared for in The Bad and Medium Places have been “One of the craziest years of his life.” Clearly, he has no concept of time – or perspective. (“One of”?) Which is why we’re recommending this memoir by Patti Smith, from a period in her life that she might also call “One of the craziest.” Just Kids shares the same laidback attitude toward life that Jason has: just go with the flow and see what happens. (So, Chidi’s nightmare.) We can totally see Jason nodding and saying “Oh dip” as he reads about each and every one of Patti Smith’s adventures.
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Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Books a Million | Target
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York by Kim Smith
It’s never explicitly come up in the show, we know in our gut that Jason Mendoza is a Home Alone fan. We truly cannot picture a moment when he hasn’t pulled off the aftershave moment from the original movie. Why else do we have mirrors? We’re offering Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as a welcome reprieve from some of the wordier books we’ve recommended. It’s beautifully illustrated (thank you, Kim Smith!) and it’s the perfect balance of 90s nostalgia and a reminder of what Earth is like. Or what Earth could be like. Okay, maybe it’s just funny?
