Customer Reviews

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

In the familiar style that he perfected in "The Know It All" and "The Year of Living Biblically", Jacobs takes us through his life as a series of "experiments", from outsourcing to India such daily routines as reading bedtime stories to his young children to trying to live according to the 110 "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour" that George Washington formulated for himself as a young man. In the chapter "The Truth About Nakedness" Jacobs shares with us the full range of emotions he experienced while posing nude for a photo shoot for Esquire Magazine (his employer) in order to induce Mary Louise Parker to similarly pose (the book includes only a photo of the writer).
And his effort to become a disciplined "unitasker" by (among other matters) reciting out loud (seemingly to himself) his shopping list while in the supermarket, and the reactions of bystanding shoppers, was among the many moments of droll humor in the book.
Perhaps my personal favorite of the Jacobs experiments was "The Rationality Project", his effort to identify as rationally as possible, the "right" toothpaste from among the 40 or so on the shelf. To do so, Jacobs explains the need to remove from the decision making process the "Halo effect", the "Availability Fallacy", "Confirmation Bias", the "Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy" and other of the "irrational biases and Darwinian anachronisms" that influence all of us in making the most mundane of our choices.
And once again it is his wife Julie who, in her long-suffering style, provides the necessary dose of reality to bring his over-the-top eccentricities back down to earth.
Fans of A. J. Jacobs will once again be amply rewarded.

As another reviewer pointed out, many of the essays in this collection have already been published, so if you are a die-hard A.J. Jacobs follower you might already have seen them. That being said, I hadn't read them and was, for the most part, very happy with discovering them for the first time. I love Mr. Jacobs writing style, witty, a bit self-depricating yet letting a little intelligence shine through as well. One of my favorite things about all of his 'experiments' is that he comes away from the experience having learned something, not just a little factual tidbit but some sort of life lesson he shares with the reader, about himself or thoughts on life in general. My one complaint with this collection is that a couple of the essays have a book-reportish quality to them, in that too many articles/other sources are quoted and the material seems to just parrot back what others have already said. Still definitely worth checking out though I would recommend reading his other two, full-length books to get a true appreciation of this author!
** on a Kindle note, the pictures are not at all clear so that was disappointing but certainly not a deal breaker

A.J. Jacobs is the thinking person's Walter Mitty. Except instead of physically demanding challenges --- with perhaps one exception --- he deals in the cerebral. The editor-at-large for Esquire, who lived the examined life in THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY and read every entry in the Encyclopędia Britannica in THE KNOW-IT-ALL, collects several shorter but similarly thought-provoking pieces in THE GUINEA PIG DIARIES, where he seems too humble even to refer to himself in that regard.

Who among us hasn't wished to just dump all the minutia of everyday life into someone else's lap? Jacobs accomplishes this in his essay, "My Outsourced Life," starting off with little things, like shopping, and escalating to conducting arguments with his long-suffering wife, Julie, who deserves major props for putting up with all of these schemes. (By the way, she finally gets a measure of recompense as hubby caters to her every wish for a month in "Whipped.")

Some of Jacobs's experiments border on the dangerous, as when he resolves to spend a month being radically honest ("I Think You're Fat") or pretends to be a movie personality, crashing the Oscar Awards ("240 Minutes of Fame"). While published under the general category of humor, THE GUINEA PIG DIARIES could also be considered a philosophical treatise. In "The Rationality Project," Jacobs channels Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner of FREAKONOMICS fame when he deconstructs several behavioral theories to prove their irrationalities.

Some of the pieces seem to contradict each other. The book leads off with Jacobs masquerading as a beautiful woman as he attempts to play an online Cyrano for the family's lovely nanny. For all the anecdotes he includes regarding this well-intentioned gesture, one can imagine the creepy stuff that didn't make it into print. In another essay, the tables are turned as Jacobs becomes objectified as a condition for an article and photo shoot of "Weeds" star Mary-Louise Parker ("The Truth About Nakedness"). Both of these seem to go against his attempt to follow the tenets of our nation's first president ("What Would George Washington Do?"). Although he doesn't actually follow said behavior as he did in THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY, it's an interesting look at the mores of a more genteel period; there's something to be said about the dignity and formality with which our foreparents comported themselves.

Perhaps the most difficult of the projects was the concentration required to do just one thing at a time, to totally immerse oneself in the here and now ("The Unitasker"). Can anyone these days but the most devoted yogi actually focus to that extent? Not me; as I write this I'm checking my email, listening to music and drinking my coffee, with the U.S. Open on in the background.

One wonders how long Jacobs maintained some of these behaviors after completing the assignments. He has said there are some habits he acquired during his BIBLICALLY period that he tries to maintain. Does he still retain all the knowledge from reading the encyclopedia? Can he still just stop and smell the roses? Has he managed to keep that buff physique for which he worked so hard for the nude photo shoot?

Can you say "sequel"?

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

I hadn't read anything by AJ Jacobs before, although my stepmom gave me his "Year of Living Biblically" and it's been sitting on my bookshelf for 3 months waiting for me to get to it. Got to this one first for some reason. Guess this is a "summary" book of all his prior life experiments. He's pretty funny, and has some good ideas, and one assumes his wife must be just as crazy as he is to put up with him through it all. I must admit I skipped the Rationality and George Washington chapters; I started reading them and they just didn't seem that interesting; plus my library due date was rapidly approaching and I had to pick and choose. I liked the parts I did read, even laughed out loud at many of them. Have to admit the Outsourcing issue seemed like it was just as much work to explain everything to them and have them do it than if he just did it himself, but it was kitchy enough to hold my attention. I really liked the Radical Honesty chapter, wish I could really do that in my everyday life and just get away from the games, especially with family and coworkers. And guess what - liked it good enough to start reading Year of Living Biblically, it has migrated from my bookshelf to my nightstand for bedtime reading. If they make a movie out of Jacob's books, I think Steve Carrell should play him, it fits.

With this book, A. J. Jacobs became my favorite working author and I his adoring fan. Jacobs has by this point written three books and this is the third I've read. In fact, I enjoy his writing so much that, though a skinflint in other departments, I find myself unable to wait the year and a half or so before his books become paperbacks and will now simply purchase them in hardback as soon as I can, as I did for this one.

This book is not really so much an experiment as it is a collection of his pieces for "Esquire" which were self-experimental in nature. To wit:

1. "My Life as a Beautiful Woman" Jacobs masquerades online as his hot-to-trot nanny (with her permission).
2. "My Outsourced Life" Jacobs attempts to have low-paid Indians take care of as much of his family and work chores as possible.
3. "I Think You're Fat" Jacobs tries out a watered-down version of Brad Blanton's "Radical Honesty" program, whereby you simply tell everybody exactly what you're thinking and answer every question put to you as honestly as you can.
4. "240 Minutes of Fame" Jacobs, who looks eerily like Noah Taylor, pretends to be him at the Oscars - with his permission.
5. "The Rationality Project" Jacobs does what he can to make his mind and habits strictly rational and avoid cognitive biases.
6. "The Truth About Nakedness" Jacobs is maneuvered into posing nude in "Esquire."
7. "What Would George Washington Do?" Jacobs attempts to live his life by George Washington's famous 110 rules for decent behavior.
8. "The Unitasker" Jacobs attempts to do or experience one thing at a time, studiously avoiding the multitasking plague that has begun to affect all of us.
9. "Whipped" Jacobs attempts to do everything his wife tells him to do (or requests) for a month.

Basically what you're looking at here is something I've wanted to get my hands on for a while: a collection of Jacobs's pieces from "Esquire," although not exactly as they were printed therein. The author has tinkered around with them a bit and added short retrospective reflections on each one. Essentially, then, there's not much in this book that's "new." Nevertheless, this saved me the trouble of having to comb through Esquire's archives.

Always fresh and engaging, never boring for a second, Jacob's writing here is laugh-out-loud funny, but even the one piece that wasn't, "The Rationality Project," held some deep lessons for life that really got you thinking. Jacobs says of that particular project that "not counting my year of living biblically, the Rationality Project has had the most dramatic, long-lasting effect of all my experiments." For my part, that essay failed to bring so much as a smile to my face, but that was the only chapter I made a point of carefully re-reading once I finished with the book.

If you're like me, you read these reviews to decide whether or not to buy the book. Let me save you some time: buy this book!! Other reviewers go into great detail, chapter by chapter, telling way too much about the wonderful surprises you'll find in this book. Here is all you need to know: AJ Jacobs is brilliant, insightful, and most of all thoroughly hilarious. He consistently writes some of the funniest, most interesting, poignant and thought provoking books available. This book is no exception. I loved every minute of it. Your research is done....buy the book and enjoy!!!!!!

I've read A.J.'s other books, and like those, I found that this book was as informative as it was entertaining. This is an endearing formula, and one which works well for A.J. In this book he takes away some important life lessions that I think will make a lasting impact on him, and I truly hope that some of those lessions will stick with me as well.

I especially enjoyed his anti-multitasking chapter because I think most of us today could use a lession on learning the art focusing, and not be distracted by the many personal electronic devices which beg for our attention. I had always suspected that multitasking is not especially efficient, if not outright detrimental, and it was nice to read some proof of this.

I was enlightened by the George Washington chapter. GW was truly a great man, one that history has distorted somewhat, but overall he did live up to his fantastic reputation. Oddly, he started out as a bit of a jerk, so there is hope for all of us. Many of the rules he zealously applied to his behavoir can and should be followed to this day.

I can't wait for the next book by A.J.

To be a great author, it is said that you need to have a brutal childhood so that you have something interesting to write about. A.J. Jacobs finally admits, in this his third book, that he lead a perfectly happy childhood. Therefore, in order to find something captivating to comment upon he experiments on himself and logs the results. This technique and lifestyle certainly provides Jacobs quite a large amount of fodder for his witty introspective musings. He has made himself into a great author through hard work and extraordinary self-imposed experiences. Jacobs' writings come naturally, and are fun and easy to read -- much in the same stylings as Bill Bryson (another of my favorite commentators on the funny side of "real" life).

I look forward to further reflections on A.J.'s experimental life, and I'm eager to hear what his next book will be about. Will it be about living a month each as 12 different ethnicities, personalities, species, astrological signs, religions, occupations, etc? His "walk in another man's shoes" experiments are always insightful and compelling, and I'm sure whatever he chooses will be well worth the year-long wait!

This is my third A.J Jacobs book, and I could not be more pleased. Jacobs has always done weird and quirky things in the name of having something to write about. In Know it All, he decides to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. Guinea Pig Diaries is like that-only more stories compacted. He does things like outsource his life to India, try to live his life like George Washington, and do everything his wife wants for a month. Throughout each experiment, he learns not only about human nature, but his own strengths and weaknesses.

What makes this book funny is Jacobs' writing style. He is witty and self-deprecating. He is also very relatable, and honest, documenting why certain aspects were hard, what he found rewarding, and what he hoped to continue even after the experiment was over.
The only drawback I found was that because it was a bunch of mini stories, he didn't go into as much dept as he did with his other books, where to whole book was about one experiment. That being said however, I still found this one highly enjoyable and entertaining.

As you have probably guessed by the review title, this is the first book by Mr. Jacobs that I have read. The book includes chapters on several 'experiments' including radical honesty (always telling the truth no matter what), and obeying his wife's every command.

I found both the experiments and the writing to be highly entertaining. AJ Jacobs is a very funny guy, and his humor and self-deprecation both come through in this book. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments. I also enjoyed the tidbits of information included in his book, such as why a journalist should never cross the line and ask a 'real' celeb for a favor. It's always fun to get some inside information.

The only drawback for me was that at times the book seemed a little bit disjointed, such that events in the author's life were appearing out of order (though in fairness, I believe he cautioned the reader that this would happen at the beginning of the book). But for the most part, it was a light, funny read, and I'm glad I found this author. I plan to download other books by Jacobs when I need a break from more serious reading.

Lastly, I feel compelled to add that, to my knowledge, I am not related to AJ Jacobs, though I sure do wish I were. Thanksgiving would be just that much more fun.