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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Another book I had to read for English. I enjoyed it; it was very funny. The thing the bothered me was the amount of times the author referenced his other two books.
This is the second book I've read by A.J. Jacobs and it doesn't disappoint. Jacobs is the type of author that I compare to the best teachers I've ever had. You're laughing and learning at the same time.
In the Guinea Pig Diaries Jacobs spends a month at a time documenting his life while conducting mini experiments. One month he aims to live his life according to George Washington's rules of civility and decent behaviour (110 rules exist) and spends another catering to his wife's every desire. He does all this while doling out interesting facts and bits of research.
The chapter entitled "Outsourced Life," is a favourite of mine. In it, Jacobs decides to use two organizations in India, to outsource his daily life tasks. The organizations set him up with two women who do everything from order flowers for his wife, to pre-interviewing sources for stories he plans on writing. Things get even more amusing when Jacobs realizes that no matter the request, these women always say yes. He tests to see if they have a breaking point by asking them to complete more and more outrageous tasks—one being asking one of the women to read a book to his son, who complies and does it over the phone (of course).
His foray into the world of radical honesty was amazing and educational, but I don't know if I would personally be brave enough to try it. His attempt at unitasking (focusing and completing tasks one at a time, instead of doing a million things at once) is something I fail at daily, but would love to achieve.
I thoroughly related too and enjoyed this book!
In the Guinea Pig Diaries Jacobs spends a month at a time documenting his life while conducting mini experiments. One month he aims to live his life according to George Washington's rules of civility and decent behaviour (110 rules exist) and spends another catering to his wife's every desire. He does all this while doling out interesting facts and bits of research.
The chapter entitled "Outsourced Life," is a favourite of mine. In it, Jacobs decides to use two organizations in India, to outsource his daily life tasks. The organizations set him up with two women who do everything from order flowers for his wife, to pre-interviewing sources for stories he plans on writing. Things get even more amusing when Jacobs realizes that no matter the request, these women always say yes. He tests to see if they have a breaking point by asking them to complete more and more outrageous tasks—one being asking one of the women to read a book to his son, who complies and does it over the phone (of course).
His foray into the world of radical honesty was amazing and educational, but I don't know if I would personally be brave enough to try it. His attempt at unitasking (focusing and completing tasks one at a time, instead of doing a million things at once) is something I fail at daily, but would love to achieve.
In one sense task-juggling makes me feel great: busy, energized, fulfilled, like I'm living three lives in the space of one. But I also know I'm scattered. I'm overloading my circuits. I know, deep down, this overstimulated, underfocused world is driving us all batty...
I thoroughly related too and enjoyed this book!
3.5 to be more exact.
This is a collection of Jacobs' writings from magazines of the various experiments he has done (similar to the Know-It-All and the Year of Living Biblically). These were obviously smaller in scale, but often just as interesting. Particular highlights were when he outsourced his entire life to India, including grocery shopping and arguments with his wife; and when he practiced radical honesty, failing to censor anything he ever said to anyone.
This book was more hit-and-miss than his previous two. There were some really interesting ideas, but he rarely went as far with them as I would have liked. So a fun read, but little of the impressive dedication and Big Ideas that made the other two seem like more than entertainment.
This is a collection of Jacobs' writings from magazines of the various experiments he has done (similar to the Know-It-All and the Year of Living Biblically). These were obviously smaller in scale, but often just as interesting. Particular highlights were when he outsourced his entire life to India, including grocery shopping and arguments with his wife; and when he practiced radical honesty, failing to censor anything he ever said to anyone.
This book was more hit-and-miss than his previous two. There were some really interesting ideas, but he rarely went as far with them as I would have liked. So a fun read, but little of the impressive dedication and Big Ideas that made the other two seem like more than entertainment.
Yet another fun Jacobs' book. I always feel smarter after reading Jacobs. I have added several books to my to-read list and picked up some life strategies. I secretly want to be one of Jacobs' expert consultants. He is an author I would love to meet. But more than that, I want to meet his wife!
The third of A.J. Jacobs life-experiment books, unlike the others which focused on one idea only, this book encompasses a variety of different experiments A.J. makes with his life.
Firstly I enjoyed this one a lot more than [b:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266569301s/495395.jpg|2325789]. There was a lot more humour in this one and it flowed much better. His last book just felt overly long whereas here each experiment is only fairly short. I also like the codas at the end as I'd previously read his outsourcing article before and it was good to get an update on it.
He has some really interesting points and things I want to look at in my own life. Whilst I don't want to be Radically Honest I believe a bit more honesty wouldn't be a bad thing and that maybe unitasking occasionally would give my brain a break.
A short but entertaining read I would recommend this one is worth reading.
Firstly I enjoyed this one a lot more than [b:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|495395|The Year of Living Biblically One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266569301s/495395.jpg|2325789]. There was a lot more humour in this one and it flowed much better. His last book just felt overly long whereas here each experiment is only fairly short. I also like the codas at the end as I'd previously read his outsourcing article before and it was good to get an update on it.
He has some really interesting points and things I want to look at in my own life. Whilst I don't want to be Radically Honest I believe a bit more honesty wouldn't be a bad thing and that maybe unitasking occasionally would give my brain a break.
A short but entertaining read I would recommend this one is worth reading.
The former entertainment weekly columnist and current Esquire editor writes about a year of different experiments, such as always telling the truth, or living by George Washington's code of honor.
I loved Know-it-all and Year of living biblically but had never read any of Jacobs's articles. I enjoyed the shorter pieces more than the longer books. The projects were as well researched and the author has a great sense of humor with the depictions of his undertakings.
funny
lighthearted
This book was more scattered than A.J.'s previous books, probably because it lacked the unifying theme of reading through the Encyclopedia Britannica or living according to the Bible or even improving his physical health. It was still certainly intriguing - and amusing watching him contort himself for our entertainment - but didn't seem to flow as well as the others.
A.J. describes himself straightforwardly as "addicted to these experiments" adding that as a writer he was "cursed with a relatively uneventful upbringing" and since "my ordinary life doesn't merit a book" he inserts himself into these sometimes ridiculous situations to "see what happens." You can call it "immersion" or "participatory journalism," but the key, A.J. claims, is to be "interested in the topic" and to "keep the good parts and not descend into insanity."
He explores the dangers of multi-tasking, the benefits of outsourcing, the perils and perqs of fame, and the vulnerability of nudity. He emulates George Washington for a month by adhering to his 110 "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and conversation," spending time with several professional George Washington interpreters. He poses as a woman - his nanny, actually, and with her permission - on an online dating site. And he spends a month responding to his wife's every whim. Which she totally deserved after all the other experiments she's put up with over the years.
His experiments also included a trial of "Radical Honesty" where you not only tell the absolute truth, but you also completely remove the filter between your brain and your mouth, saying everything you're thinking. While the constant confrontations Radical Honesty prompts can be cathartic, A.J. also admits that they are relentless. By the end of the month, he's decided to maintain what he calls "Sustainable Radical Honesty," particularly about his own flaws and mistakes and in relationships, while mostly ditching the aspects concerning other people's flaws. He also states "I've come to appreciate the filter between the brain and mouth. Words can be dangerous. Once they're out in the atmosphere, they can become self-fulfilling prophecies."
I was fascinated by the chapter on the brain's many biases against rationality. He starts out: "My brain is deeply flawed. And no offense, but so is yours. Your brain is not rational. It's packed with dozens of misleading biases. It's home to an alarming number of false assumptions and warped memories. It processes data all wrong and makes terrible decisions." Whew! Tell me how you really feel! But seriously, statements like "Probably 90 percent of our life decisions are powered by the twin engines of inertia and laziness" catch my attention. He highlights several of the most common biases, such as the Lake Wobegon Effect (where all the children are above average), the Availability Fallacy, Unit Bias, Source Amnesia, the Halo Effect, Confirmation Bias, the Mere Exposure Effect, and a half dozen others and then goes about consciously trying to work against them. He states in his conclusion that, outside of his year of living biblically, this month of "the Rationality Project has had the most dramatic, long-lasting effect of all my experiments." It certainly made me think about how I think, gather, and process information.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
A.J. describes himself straightforwardly as "addicted to these experiments" adding that as a writer he was "cursed with a relatively uneventful upbringing" and since "my ordinary life doesn't merit a book" he inserts himself into these sometimes ridiculous situations to "see what happens." You can call it "immersion" or "participatory journalism," but the key, A.J. claims, is to be "interested in the topic" and to "keep the good parts and not descend into insanity."
He explores the dangers of multi-tasking, the benefits of outsourcing, the perils and perqs of fame, and the vulnerability of nudity. He emulates George Washington for a month by adhering to his 110 "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and conversation," spending time with several professional George Washington interpreters. He poses as a woman - his nanny, actually, and with her permission - on an online dating site. And he spends a month responding to his wife's every whim. Which she totally deserved after all the other experiments she's put up with over the years.
His experiments also included a trial of "Radical Honesty" where you not only tell the absolute truth, but you also completely remove the filter between your brain and your mouth, saying everything you're thinking. While the constant confrontations Radical Honesty prompts can be cathartic, A.J. also admits that they are relentless. By the end of the month, he's decided to maintain what he calls "Sustainable Radical Honesty," particularly about his own flaws and mistakes and in relationships, while mostly ditching the aspects concerning other people's flaws. He also states "I've come to appreciate the filter between the brain and mouth. Words can be dangerous. Once they're out in the atmosphere, they can become self-fulfilling prophecies."
I was fascinated by the chapter on the brain's many biases against rationality. He starts out: "My brain is deeply flawed. And no offense, but so is yours. Your brain is not rational. It's packed with dozens of misleading biases. It's home to an alarming number of false assumptions and warped memories. It processes data all wrong and makes terrible decisions." Whew! Tell me how you really feel! But seriously, statements like "Probably 90 percent of our life decisions are powered by the twin engines of inertia and laziness" catch my attention. He highlights several of the most common biases, such as the Lake Wobegon Effect (where all the children are above average), the Availability Fallacy, Unit Bias, Source Amnesia, the Halo Effect, Confirmation Bias, the Mere Exposure Effect, and a half dozen others and then goes about consciously trying to work against them. He states in his conclusion that, outside of his year of living biblically, this month of "the Rationality Project has had the most dramatic, long-lasting effect of all my experiments." It certainly made me think about how I think, gather, and process information.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.