That Just Happened!

Jacobs, A.J. The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment.  (Simon & Schuster (2010).

On a mission to understand the mysteries of modern life – from love to work to fame – I became a human guinea pig. I immersed myself in a series of radical lifestyle experiments. I changed the way I thought, talked and looked. I followed old wisdom and new science. I saw the world from the eyes of a woman. I followed the wisdom of George Washington. I outsourced my life. I engaged, I’m afraid to say, in public nudity. (Not all at the same time).

These experiments wreaked havoc on my life, and drove both my wife and me to the brink of insanity, but also gave me fascinating insights.

From the Author’s Website

I really enjoyed The Year of Living Biblically    and really looked forward to reading this one.  I think Jacobs has such a great sense of humour (although his wife surpasses him…she has to put up with it, after all) and it really lends itself to these crazy experiments.  This book sees Jacobs; discovering what George Washington would do, trying to uni-task, practicing Radical Honesty, standing in for a celebrity, outsourcing his life, trying to be more rational, experiencing life as a beautiful woman, being naked, and finally doing something for his wife and becoming her slave for a whole month.  In each experiment Jacobs learns some things, both good and bad, and talks about how they changed his life (in a small or big way). 

I always feel like I could live vicariously through him and I often think to myself, “thank goodness he did that, so I can learn the lesson without actually having to doit”.  For example, perhaps it’s the unadventurous side of me, or maybe it’s the pathological liar in me, but I don’t think I would ever want to practice Radical Honesty.  Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, and my life is just easier when I can tell little white lies.  I have strived to tell the truth at all times, but after reading about Jacobs’ experience with it, I realize sometimes it’s just better not to.

His writing is funny and honest and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to live according to George Washington’s code.  I’ll also tell you there was one really glaring spelling mistake I had difficulty reading past.  I would say this was a Put on Your TBR List.