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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
More a series of loosely related essays than a text chronicling a singular focus, I found this less compelling than The Year of Living Biblically, but still enjoyed reading what Jacobs had to offer this time around. I am, however, somewhat worried about longevity and how far he will have to go with successive experiments. Hopefully his work does not succumb to the law of diminishing returns.
A. J. Jacobs is an excellent guinea pig - trying odd experiments (only tell the WHOLE truth for a month; outsourcing his life to assistants overseas) and writing about them in a witty, enticing way. The only downside was that a lot of these essays I had previously read, so that was a bit disappointing. But I especially liked the little codas (especially his wife's coda on the chapter about him obeying her for a month), so it was worth it for me.
I've loved all three books, but this is my favorite...the long essay/article seems to be the best format for Jacobs.
I am having trouble typing now because I jammed my left middle finger on Thanksgiving and it is currently bound to my left index finger to keep it from moving in various painful and uncomfortable ways. Since I basically do all of my typing with my two index fingers and my right pinkie I am kind of frustrated, but I don't want to be frustrated right now because I really liked this book. Also, I cannot demonstrate to all of you how many stupid mistakes I am making right now because I have this need to go back and fix all of my typos. Just take my word for it.
I think this was the perfect format for Jacobs. I haven't read The Know-it-All yet, but I did read and enjoy The Year of Living Biblically. While I liked it, I think he is more suited for essay format. I was left wanting more with each of the essays in this book, not tired and a little worn out as I was with The Year of Living Biblically. I enjoyed his descriptions of how he felt during each experiment, and the way he drew them all together and referenced them. For example, his George Washington experiment contrasted nicely with his Radical Honesty experiment and I liked the comparisons between them.
I am really jealous of A.J. Jacobs' job.
I think this was the perfect format for Jacobs. I haven't read The Know-it-All yet, but I did read and enjoy The Year of Living Biblically. While I liked it, I think he is more suited for essay format. I was left wanting more with each of the essays in this book, not tired and a little worn out as I was with The Year of Living Biblically. I enjoyed his descriptions of how he felt during each experiment, and the way he drew them all together and referenced them. For example, his George Washington experiment contrasted nicely with his Radical Honesty experiment and I liked the comparisons between them.
I am really jealous of A.J. Jacobs' job.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Funny, off-beat, and enjoyable. Plus you learn a bit along the way.
funny
Fine, not nearly as good as his other books. A lot of light sexism that hasn’t aged well.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
AJ Jacobs is a funny fellow. He takes basic ideas and concepts and wonders about what it would be like to live his life that way. Ideas such as, “What would it be like to try to live up to the stature and rules of George Washington?” or “What would it be like to outsource the major pain-in-the-butt tasks of my life the way American corporations do?” or “What would it be like to be a famous actor and walk the red carpet at the Oscars?” or “What would it be like to be a beautiful single female?” But Mr. Jacobs doesn’t stop at just wondering about it. He actually does it.
In this book Mr. Jacobs, an “editor-at-large” for Esquire magazine, actually spends an entire month “living” life according to that particular idea. Some are more straight-forward than others but all lead to humorous consequences. The humor is on the surface, but underneath there is always a subtle commentary on how we behave as human beings. The chapter on “Radical Honesty” whereby Mr. Jacobs spends an entire month being 100% honest (yes, dear, that dress does make you look fat) is funny but also eye opening as to just how many white lies we tell all the time. And the chapter on “Rational Thinking” is fascinating as we watch him struggle to behave and make decisions the way Mr. Spock would…for an entire month.
As other reviewers have noted, Mr. Jacob’s wife, who has to put up with him and is one of the best sports in history, finally gets some satisfaction due to a month of having her every whim satisfied by her husband. She also gets to write a couple of pages herself, correcting the record so to speak.
This book isn’t quite as fun as his previous two books, ([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|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327977486s/495395.jpg|2325789] and [b:The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World|28116|The Know-It-All One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World|A.J. Jacobs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388203479s/28116.jpg|197064]) probably because in each of those books he took a single idea and totally immersed himself in it…for an entire year! But nevertheless, this was a fun and quick read. I’m anxiously waiting for his next book whereby he reportedly tries to achieve bodily perfection and total health…and almost kills himself doing it.
In this book Mr. Jacobs, an “editor-at-large” for Esquire magazine, actually spends an entire month “living” life according to that particular idea. Some are more straight-forward than others but all lead to humorous consequences. The humor is on the surface, but underneath there is always a subtle commentary on how we behave as human beings. The chapter on “Radical Honesty” whereby Mr. Jacobs spends an entire month being 100% honest (yes, dear, that dress does make you look fat) is funny but also eye opening as to just how many white lies we tell all the time. And the chapter on “Rational Thinking” is fascinating as we watch him struggle to behave and make decisions the way Mr. Spock would…for an entire month.
As other reviewers have noted, Mr. Jacob’s wife, who has to put up with him and is one of the best sports in history, finally gets some satisfaction due to a month of having her every whim satisfied by her husband. She also gets to write a couple of pages herself, correcting the record so to speak.
This book isn’t quite as fun as his previous two books, ([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|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327977486s/495395.jpg|2325789] and [b:The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World|28116|The Know-It-All One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World|A.J. Jacobs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388203479s/28116.jpg|197064]) probably because in each of those books he took a single idea and totally immersed himself in it…for an entire year! But nevertheless, this was a fun and quick read. I’m anxiously waiting for his next book whereby he reportedly tries to achieve bodily perfection and total health…and almost kills himself doing it.