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The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment Review

I am a voracious reader. My response to the quintessential question... "What would you bring if you were to be stranded on a deserted island" is... a book store. The reason I tell you this is because I've come across a great many writers and their books so I am confident when I tell you that Jacobs is a truly unique and gifted writer. Needless to say, I've read a lot of memoirs, but Jacobs' stand out because there's a rare abundance of heart and genuine humor in his writings. Although my favorite will always be The Know-It-All, I found The Year of Living Biblically to be just as thought-provoking and amusing. And of course, The Guinea Pig Diaries made me laugh so hard that I almost started to cry. Who can't love the story of A.J. acting as a surrogate dad and trying so desperately to set up his really attractive nanny with a date through online sources or his involvement in a movement called Radical Honesty, where he wasn't allowed to lie (not even the tiniest of white lies). Yes, his wife absolutely loved that one! Yes, I recommend this book and I recommend A.J. Jacobs' other books as well. Oh, and one last thing. After reading his first book, I loved it so much... I decided to email him. Even before emailing him, I knew I most likely wouldn't get any sort of response because as you know... New York Times Bestseller authors are rather busy these days, but he responded to my email the next night. What a nice guy!

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment Overview

For his first book, The Know-It-All, A. J. Jacobs read the entire Encyclopædia Britannica from cover to cover in a quest to learn everything in the world. In The Year of Living Biblically, he followed every single rule of the Bible -- from the Ten Commandments right on down to stoning adulterers.

Now comes a collection of his most hilarious and thought-provoking experiments yet. In his role as human guinea pig, Jacobs fearlessly takes on a series of life-altering challenges that provides readers with equal parts insight and humor. (And which drives A.J.'s patient wife, Julie, to the brink of insanity.)

Among the many adventures:

• He outsources his life. A.J. hires a team of people in Bangalore, India, to take care of everything in his life from answering his e-mails to arguing with his spouse.
• He spends a month practicing Radical Honesty -- a movement that encourages us to remove the filters between our brains and mouths. (To give you an idea of what happened, the name of the chapter is "I Think You're Fat.")
• He goes to the Academy Awards disguised as a movie star to understand the strange and warping effects of fame.
• He commits himself to ultimate rationality, using cutting-edge science to make the best decisions possible. It changes the way he makes choices big and small, from what to buy at the grocery store to how to talk to his kids. And his revelations will change how you make decisions, too.
• He attempts to follow George Washington's rules of life, uncovering surprising truths about leadership and politics in the twenty-first century. He also spends a lot of time bowing and doffing his hat.
• And then there's the month when he followed his wife's every whim -- foot massages, Kate Hudson movies, and all. Depending on your point of view, it's either the best or worst idea in the history of American marriage.

A mix of Bill Bryson, George Plimpton, and Malcolm Gladwell, A.J. explores the big issues of our time -- happiness, dating, morality, marriage -- by immersing himself in eye-opening situations. You'll be entertained by these stories -- some of which are new, some of which had their start in Esquire magazine. But you'll also learn to look at life in new ways.

The Guinea Pig Diaries is a book packed with both laughs and enlightenment -- and that's a promise we can make with Radical Honesty.

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Customer Reviews

Fun and quick read - L. Wright - Charlotte, NC
Some of the essays are truly laugh out loud funny. I especially loved the essay where A.J. attempts to outsource his life to India and the one where he attempts "radical honesty" - which I don't think he ever truly understood. The list of cognitive biases in the back is very helpful, although I think I've begun to over think every decision because of it! Highly recommend.

hysterical - connie loeb - memphis, tn USA
this book had me laughing out loud so often and so loudly that people stopped left and right to ask what i was reading. during the nudity posing story, i was actually crying it was so funny.

aj is an incredible talented and, obviously to me, hilarious writer. i bought 5 copies of this book to give as gifts and i will probably buy many more.

there is only one problem....he jokes about canadians getting angry over a misspelling...well, i do believe you misspelled jui jitsu aj, but i am not canadian, nor do i care that you misspelled it. :)

Hilarious - reenum - Kansas
I loved reading about all the ridiculous things Jacobs tries out. His writing is so good that the reader can't help but laugh.

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Monday, August 30, 2010