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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
A.J. Jacobs has one of the best jobs in the world. An editor at Esquire magazine, the man writes and edits essays on pop culture and social experiments. This book is a collection of articles (with follow-up notes) written over the course of a year for Esquire. He spends about a month on each, trying out various approaches to life. These approaches include living in accordance with George Washington's code of conduct (don't touch your genitals in front of people), outsourcing his life to India (apparently worth it), doing whatever his wife says (she did not get tired of it, to his disappointment), being radically honest (not easy, but showed him how his relationships could take more honesty than he thought), being a hot chick (answering emails from his nanny's suitors on a dating site), being a celebrity (impersonating the "Shine" guy at an awards ceremony in realizing how differently he was treated), being photographed nude (makes you feel powerless) and unitasking (because multitasking is really just the result of not being able to focus). The author sounds like a really friendly midwestern guy who constantly has a smile on his face. He also comes across as a horndog, since he admits his attraction to just about every woman he mentions in the book. The radical honesty piece was my favorite. When I think of radical honesty, I have exactly the same problems with it that the author brings up. How would my spouse and boss react? What about friends who ask for my opinion of their sucky art?
AJ Jacobs is my latest, though perhaps least troublesome vice.
A.J. Jacobs does it again, with shorter, month-long experiments, including radical honesty, attending the Oscars as a fake celebrity, monotasking, outsourcing all of his everyday tasks to Bangalore and attempting to live by George Washington's rules of civility
Couldn't get into this like his other books. Disappointed.
Okay, so anything AJ Jacobs writes, I am probably going to read. I loved his first two books about reading the encyclopedia and about living out the Bible. After reading those two, I kind of feel like I know him personally or something. This book is the same premise as his other two, only on a smaller scale -- like a bunch of mini-experiments. I think there are definitely parts that are more funny (and more touching) if you've read his other books, but they are by no means a pre-requisite. I love his sense of humor and his writing style, as always.
A couple of the essays stand out for me. One is when he decides to "outsource" his life, and basically hire personal assistants in India to do everything for him, from arguing with (and apologizing to) his wife, to answering his emails, to buying gifts. He even has his assistant do his worrying for him -- a concept which I found hilarious and liberating.
Another essay I liked is when he tried to stop multitasking. I loved that it made him focus more on being present in every moment, like when he was talking to his wife or playing with his kids. I tried to do the same thing today when I was stacking blocks with Ella, and he's right -- it definitely does make you appreciate those moments more, when you just pay attention, really pay attention.
But the best essay by far is the last one where he spends a month following his wife's every whim. This chapter is a special treat if you have read the other two books and have gotten to know his wife. It is sweet and funny and eye-opening all at once.
Overall it's a fun, fast read, but it does actually make you think. Also, make sure you read the end notes and appendixes (appendices?? Latin scholars, weigh in...)
A couple of the essays stand out for me. One is when he decides to "outsource" his life, and basically hire personal assistants in India to do everything for him, from arguing with (and apologizing to) his wife, to answering his emails, to buying gifts. He even has his assistant do his worrying for him -- a concept which I found hilarious and liberating.
Another essay I liked is when he tried to stop multitasking. I loved that it made him focus more on being present in every moment, like when he was talking to his wife or playing with his kids. I tried to do the same thing today when I was stacking blocks with Ella, and he's right -- it definitely does make you appreciate those moments more, when you just pay attention, really pay attention.
But the best essay by far is the last one where he spends a month following his wife's every whim. This chapter is a special treat if you have read the other two books and have gotten to know his wife. It is sweet and funny and eye-opening all at once.
Overall it's a fun, fast read, but it does actually make you think. Also, make sure you read the end notes and appendixes (appendices?? Latin scholars, weigh in...)
This week's work read. So far it's hilarious.
update 1/20/2011: Hilarious. I loved almost every experiment and now I want my own staff to outsource my daily tasks to. And the last story where he spends the month following his wife's every whim was awesome and hilarious and I learned quite a bit from it. A quick read, I highly recommend it.
Also noted, thanks A. for the recommendation. I'm really glad I liked this better than when he reads the encyclopedia. I think now I can move to the Year of Living Biblicaly.
update 1/20/2011: Hilarious. I loved almost every experiment and now I want my own staff to outsource my daily tasks to. And the last story where he spends the month following his wife's every whim was awesome and hilarious and I learned quite a bit from it. A quick read, I highly recommend it.
Also noted, thanks A. for the recommendation. I'm really glad I liked this better than when he reads the encyclopedia. I think now I can move to the Year of Living Biblicaly.
I read this out of order to 'A year of Living Heathily' and noticed something strange. In my review of that book I felt a strange connection with Jacobs and his eccentric but thoughtful take on life. My lovely wife attributed this to skillful writing, which I pooed pooed assuming I had found an author who truly 'got' me.
I think after reading Guinea Pig my wife was right.
Less polished this book perhaps shows more of Jacobs personality (we're not that similar it seems) which was oddly disappointing.
Although perhaps we do have rambling non-fiction narratives in common... Now to actually review.
Life as a Human Experiment is a nice quick read, humorous in approach and more fun than serious. Radical honestly was a stand out chapter that provided a lot of food for thought, some other experiments I felt were pursued with too much focus on forced comedy when its Jacobs' balance between jokes and insights that makes his work.
Ended up calling it at four stars (not because I felt oddly distant from Jacobs in this piece) but because after a while the structure and narrative got a little repetitive and I began to feel like I was just listening to Jacobs' thoughts on a variety of topics rather than a well-constructed experiment (the number of I statements where a giveaway)
I think after reading Guinea Pig my wife was right.
Less polished this book perhaps shows more of Jacobs personality (we're not that similar it seems) which was oddly disappointing.
Although perhaps we do have rambling non-fiction narratives in common... Now to actually review.
Life as a Human Experiment is a nice quick read, humorous in approach and more fun than serious. Radical honestly was a stand out chapter that provided a lot of food for thought, some other experiments I felt were pursued with too much focus on forced comedy when its Jacobs' balance between jokes and insights that makes his work.
Ended up calling it at four stars (not because I felt oddly distant from Jacobs in this piece) but because after a while the structure and narrative got a little repetitive and I began to feel like I was just listening to Jacobs' thoughts on a variety of topics rather than a well-constructed experiment (the number of I statements where a giveaway)
Worth reading if only for the chapters on outsourcing, multi-tasking and George Washington.
I loved "The Know It All" and "The Year of Living Biblically" so I expected to love this. I did not. I may have laughed a little bit on a couple of occasions, but overall I was bored with it.
I really liked A.J. Jacobs' previous books about living by biblical laws for a year and about reading his way through the Encyclopaedia Britannica, so this third book has been on my to-read list for AGES. It's a funny collection of essays and articles he's written about his various other experiments. This is a light read with some interesting facts, cute appearances from his wife Julie, and some amusing self-reflection. I really enjoyed it.