My Life as an Experiment: One Man's Humble Quest to Improve Himself by Living as a Woman, Becoming George Washington, Telling No Lies, and Other Radical Tests

Written by A. J. Jacobs

Narrated by A. J. Jacobs

A collection of A.J. Jacobs’s hilarious adventures as a human guinea pig, including “My Outsourced Life,” “The Truth About Nakedness,” and a never-before-published essay.

One man. Ten extraordinary quests.

Bestselling author and human guinea pig A.J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington’s moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty," brushes his teeth with the world’s most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India—including reading bedtime stories to his kids.

And in a new adventure, Jacobs undergoes scientific testing to determine how he can put his wife through these and other life-altering experiments—one of which involves public nudity.

Filled with humor and wisdom, My Life as an Experiment will immerse you in eye-opening situations and change the way you think about the big issues of our time—from love and work to national politics and breakfast cereal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jul 13, 2010
• ISBN: 9781442338128

A. J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs is the author of Thanks a Thousand, It’s All Relative, Drop Dead Healthy, and the New York Times bestsellers The Know-It-All, The Year of Living Biblically, and My Life as an Experiment. He is a contributor to NPR, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in New York City with his wife and kids. Visit him at AJJacobs.com and follow him on Twitter @ajjacobs.

Reviews for My Life as an Experiment

[candice7c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book reminded me of the times when I'm at a conference and I see a colleague recycle a presentation I saw them give at another conference: I was annoyed that this book turns out to be a collection of previously-published magazine articles. Perhaps that's unfair, but that's how I felt. That being said, this was one of those books that delivered on the "laugh-out-loud" promise with more than one real-life guffaw. The bit on the man who doesn't lie is priceless. And, more seriously, the segment on George Washington's tenets for a decent and honorable life was amusing and strangely inspiring. I will probably find a copy of Washington's rules for future enjoyment.

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. Interactive, investigative journalism is my favorite. I love when people immerse themselves in the story, or try to live that life for a set period of time. AJ Jacobs is the king of doing just that. He's written two previous books: The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All, which I have yet to read, but I'm pretty sure I will. The Guinea Pig Diaries is a book of essays that could stand alone, but some call back to previous experiments. I think most were originally published as articles, but I like having them all combined here. Jacobs did some interesting experiments, like pretending to be a girl on an online dating site (filtering results for his kid's nanny), outsourcing work, daily tasks, errands - everything - to companies in India, and posing as a lesser-known celebrity at the Oscars. He does each experiment for a month. I'll admit, there were a few I wanted to try... Being brutally honest? Sounds difficult, not to mention dangerous. Focusing on being a "unitasker" instead of a multitasker.

The only one I kind of had a problem with, and therefore skimmed over, was the chapter about living by George Washington's rules. The idea itself was fine, but Jacobs couldn't keep himself from getting preachy. He spent several paragraphs praising Obama, saying he already seems like he'll be as honorable as Washington, blah blah blah. I know it's Jacobs' book, and he can say what he wants, but it alienated me, and affected the way I read the rest of the book. I think it should have at least been scaled back, if not removed completely. I'm sure the vast majority of his readership would agree with him, but he was so preachy and just wouldn't shut up about it, and it seemed a bit of a stretch to me, since this was written before Obama had been in the office for very long. But now I'm the one ranting, so I'll stop.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you always told the truth (“Does this dress make me look fat”)? What if you outsourced your entire life—including arguments with your wife—to a call centre in India? Well, wonder no more. A. J. Jacobs has vicariously performed the sort of experiments on himself that we would never have the courage to try!Jacobs has made a career out of experimenting on himself. His first book was the fruit of reading an entire encyclopedia. His second book recounted his year of Biblical fidelity. His current book, The Guinea Pig Diaries, collects a variety of different shorter experiments into one volume.This is a funny book: not the sort of “funny” you’d pick up off the humour shelf at Chapters, but genuine intelligent laugh-out-loud funny. Jacobs doesn’t pull out of character when life gets awkward—he follows his experiments through to the end (and makes appropriate apologies after).If you’ve read his earlier works, you’ll know the punishment his wife has had to endure. Jacobs listened to the emails of sympathy for his wife, and concluded this book with a month of doing absolutely everything she asked him to. That final essay alone is worth the price of admission.

[smokler_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you've got a rebuke to the literary mission of A.J. Jacobs, he's already heard it and put it behind him. He knows his wife is a saint. He knows he isn't as natty as Plimpton or Robert Benchley. And he knows that his work could be called market-ready fluff. I'm sure that feels like a day well spent at the office for some critic. To me it's like dissecting a rendition of "Happy Birthday." You may be perfectly right. You're also a humorless jerk.

To this reader, Jacobs' experiments are about understanding oneself, making life more interesting and showing the reader a good time. And I love them for it.

[paradiseporch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A series of essays/articles about trying various lifestyle theories for a month at a time. Probably quite entertaining singly in a magazine, but it became rather dull.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 starsA.J. Jacobs decides to put himself through a series of “experiments”, a month at a time. He will live in a different way each month. For example, one month is living rationally, examining and correcting for all his biases (at least as much as possible). Another month, he will tell the truth all the time, whatever comes into his head, he will say. Another month, he helped his nanny with online dating; that is, he mostly looked over the replies and replied back, etc (he calls this his month of living “as a beautiful woman”). He lives by George Washington’s 110 rules. He outsources his life, both his work and personal life. And more.I enjoyed this! I think I enjoyed all of these. Of course, there were bits of humour here and there. Possibly my favourite was when he did his wife’s bidding for an entire month. This was in return for all the other odd experiments she’d had to put up with. Enjoyable book!

[knfmn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't care for this book too much. The concept is interesting, one man living his life in a different way for a month at a time, but the process falls flat. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good, either. I gave it 3 stars, but would have rated it 2.5 if that had been an option. I made it through once and doubt ill ever pick this book up again.

[klburnside · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another very enjoyable book. Jacobs is so good at combining humor with meaning. There were lots of parts of the book I laughed out loud at, but also lots of parts that really made me want to be a better person. A good read.

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't familiar with A.J. Jacobs, but when this audiobook came my way I thought it sounded intriguing, so I gave it a read. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. This one is a collection of essays, not really with any central theme other than the fact that Jacobs uses himself to experiment & explore several social stigmas & lifestyles. Some of it is quite funny, while some is a bit dryer, but underlying there are some good thought-provoking statements to digest. My favorite sections were the first & last, where Jacobs explores internet dating & where he lives a month doing everything his wife asks him to do. I did find his voice on the audio a bit grating, but I dulled to that after a while. I did also enjoy this enough to want to seek out his other books.

[bostonian71 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Light and humorous, good for just before bedtime. Because this covers so many different topics, it's not quite as cohesive as Jacobs' other books. But this is worth reading just for the last essay (in which Jacobs' wife Julie actually benefits from an experiment).

[stuart10er_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nine different experiments from doing everything his wife wants for one month to only telling "radical honesty" to following George Washington's 110 rules of etiquette. Very funny book.

[bookwormteri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this book. Some of the experiments were really interesting (online dating as a chick, being a submissive husband, posing nude), while others left me flat (being George Washington). But the man knows how to write and is not afraid to make an ass of himself in the name of journalism. How his wife deals with him, well, I do not know. The wackiness of his mind is highly entertaining. Good read.

[ownedbycats · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good book by the author!

[squeakychu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was kind of like the previous book of A.J. Jacobs that I read except for the fact that it dwelt on unrelated topics. I like the style of his other book, Drop Dead Healthy, much better. At the end of The Guinea Pig Diaries, A.J. allows his wife to be in charge of a challenge and she even gets to narrate her response to that challenge. I'm not sure if that was to engage her with readers or that he simply ran out of other ideas by that time.I'm looking forward to reading A.J.'s previous books. I have a felling I'll like them better. I also found this book to be much less humorous than the previous one I read.

[puttocklibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've enjoyed all of this author's books. His experiments on himself are unique, but always enlightening, and I find his ability to portray all his failings and foibles with a positive spin make the stories he tells work.

[rayneofdarkness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rented this book after a friend on Goodreads boosted about it, it was a good read and funny in parts. I enjoyed the read it was a quick read.  

[mahallett · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

i guess he thought this was funny. some of it was interesting but a lot was reallyyyyyy boring.

[rmboland · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having never read any of Jacobs other books, I was unsure what to expect from this book-which in turn, worked out for the best, as it usually does. I was both pleasantly surprised, and wholly entertained-it should also be said that this book has the ability to lend some knowledge on topics you may have never come across before. Jacobs "experiments" were comedic in theory, but once completed, they really made me want to start living differently..more positively...at least a little.

[lyzzybee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(bought 14 July 2011)Known for his long experiments like reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica and living by the Bible for a year, here Jacobs presents a (short) collection of 9 shorter-term experiments. This book seems to mainly be constructed from articles he has published in Esquire, etc., with updates, but an odd point was that, although many were clearly from different dates, he refers at a couple of points to his “year of experiments”, making a whole out of something that doesn’t seem to have been that. Hm. Some were interesting, like outsourcing his life to India, and he learns from being as rational as possible for a month: I also liked his last experiment of doing everything his wife asked for a month, and there were some laugh out loud moments. But it did seem a bit piecemeal and cobbled together, and left me wanting more.

[herdingcats_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this book, AJ describes 9 different experiments that he did to write about either for Esquire or for this book. I enjoyed the chapters on outsourcing his life to India, and radical honesty. My very favorite was when he spent a month doing everything his wife told him to. I want my husband to read that chapter. I would also love to be able to outsource parts of my life. The book is well-written, funny, and thought provoking. The rationality project and acting like George Washington were quite interesting as were his attempts to unitask.I highly recommend this book - and I especially highly recommend the last chapter to my husband.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A.J. Jacobs engages in a series of little social experiments, including adopting a set of etiquette instructions favored by George Washington, attempting to follow a philosophy called "radical honesty" in which you're supposed to tell people exactly what you think of them at all times, and posing as a woman for an online dating service in an attempt to find a date for a female friend. Generally, Jacobs' writing is light, humorous, and fun, and while there may not exactly be lots of heavy-hitting insights here, he does try to find something useful and interesting to take away from each experiment.My only complaint is that for some reason, the chapters are not in chronological order, which leads to the bizarre effect of the author appearing to have a weirdly fluctuating number of children.

[acqwoods · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Since I really enjoyed AJ Jacobs' previous books, The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically, I was really looking forward to The Guinea Pig Diaries. Unfortunately it didn't live up to all of my expectations. Unlike the previous books, this is a compilation of shorter experiences and experiments Jacobs has undertaken over the years. I missed the depth Jacobs reached in his other books, which took a year or more. That said, I still enjoyed The Guinea Pig Diaries, whose chapters ranged from the cringe inducing (his experiment with Radical Honesty), to the thought provoking (a piece on nude photos) and all the way to the humorous (his month doing everything his wife asked). If you haven't read his other books yet, I'd recommend those first. If you have, check this out from the library but don't spend your hard earned cash.

[silenceiseverything · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So, I’m totally going to admit this. The only reason I even knew about The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is because it’s scheduled to become a pilot entitled My Life as an Experiment starring Paget Brewster (whom I’ve decided to support in every endeavor considering she got kicked out of hit show for no discernible reason). After hearing about the pilot, I decided to read The Guinea Pig Diaries to see if I should be going into the show with the thought that it’s going to get cancelled early, just to avoid surprise down the road. Well, I read it, and I’m still iffy on the whole “maybe it’s going to get cancelled if it does, indeed, get picked up” thing. I was laughing out loud throughout the first couple of experiments that the author chose to do, especially the one about him posing as a woman online. He then proceeds to do more outlandish experiments like being radically honest (I’m sure many marriages would crumble if married couples did this) and spending a whole month doing everything his wife wants him to do (ditto). At first, this was all very funny. But then it started to wear a bit on the thin side. With the exception of the one where he’s basically whipped, I didn’t find the last half of the book as entertaining as the first half. I found experiments 7 and 8 particularly boring. All in all, I think that most of The Guinea Pig Diaries was pretty funny and most of the experiments were all wonderfully wacky. Still, Jacob's wife is definitely a saint for putting up with everything she says or does being fodder for his books. That would severely piss me off. Oh, and I think the chance of My Life as an Experiment being a pretty good show are 50-50. The book is sometimes hilarious, but the show is being produced by Jack Black who is painfully unfunny. So, I guess we’ll see.

[nevusmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What would life be like if you were able to outsource all your correspondence? If you only told the truth at ALL times? This book made me smile. I really, really enjoyed reading about his experiments. For a man to find out what it is like being a woman on a dating website was REALLY eye-opening. The radical honesty experiment was eye-opening to me. I didn't realize how many little fibs I tell throughout the day, just in social interactions. Hmmmm.

[sandydog1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'Certainly as good as Jacobs' previous efforts. I particularly enjoyed the section on outsourcing his life, which may or may not have, have spawned a Sub-Continent industry. The chapter on "Radical Honesty" was equally entertaining.

[alliebadger · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love A.J. Jacobs. He writes with humor, candor, and honesty and it genuinely is really fun to read. I laugh out loud several times whenever I read him and always feel like I'm learning something too. I want more!

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having loved "The Year of Living Biblically" by the same author, I had to buy this book. And although it is funny, it's definitely not as good as that book.This book is actually a collection of essays involving different experiments, like what would George Washington do or outsourcing your life to India. And while there are some genuinely funny parts and I found myself laughing out loud more than once, this book feels like A.J. Jacobs lite. There's just not as much meat to this book.Some of the ideas ran their course in this book, but some really could have used more exploration (perhaps a book of their own) - particularly outsourcing his life to India, which I found to be the funniest part of the entire book. Still, it's a good book if you like Jacobs' early work, and it tides me over while I wait for (hopefully) another book devoted to a wacky experiment.

[karieh_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve read both of A.J. Jacobs’ previous books and loved them both. He strikes the perfect balance between sarcastic/self-deprecating humor and an earnest desire to learn about things completely unfamiliar to him.“The Year of Living Biblically”, while hysterically funny, really affected me (as I think it did him). It was a very genuine effort to try walking in other people’s shoes – people who had very deeply held beliefs that he did not share…at least at the beginning of the experiment. However, he treated the subject of religion with great respect – and ended the process as a “reverent agnostic”. He seems to take all of his experiments seriously…and at the end of each summarizes what he’s learned from them.“My Life as an Experiment” was different in that it detailed several month long experiments instead of one year-long one. I still enjoyed it a great deal, laughing out loud several times. Like during “The Rationality Project”:“Probably 90 percent of our life decisions are powered by the twin engines of inertia and laziness. Psychologists call it the Mere Exposure Effect. The basic idea is, I like Crest because I am accustomed to Crest. That’s not good enough. I need a fully rational toothpaste. I need, first, to expand my dental hygiene horizons. I go to the drugstore and buy a sample platter of forty tubes of toothpaste. (The cashier doesn’t even bat an eye; I guess when your customers buy bungee cords and vats of K-Y Jelly in preparation for a Friday night, this isn’t a big deal.”But beyond the humor, I took ideas from this book. For instance, he points out that “we are all predisposed to notice and remember all the bad stuff…because the frustrating episodes are more emotionally charged and we remember them better.” He starts commenting on the positive things out loud – the better to change one’s negative perception. I like that – I’m going to start trying that.I hope, hope, hope this third book of Jacobs’ is far from the last – they are in themselves, a very positive experience. (Unless one is sitting on a plane next to a stranger, trying unsuccessfully to laugh hysterically without disturbing others. I've tried that experiment while reading one of his books. It doesn’t work.)

[irunsjh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book a lot. I wish I was creative and brave enough to come up with and do some of the crazy things that A.J. Jacobs put himself through. I like to see the life lessons he learns by doing each one. He has a funny way of recounting some pretty outrageous stunts.

[harpervalley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can't get enough of this author. Smart, funny and someone that I enjoy spending time with. Not sure if I am more fond of him or his wife Julie, but I look forward to the next book.