cover image The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

A. J. Jacobs, , read by the author. . Simon & Schuster Audio, $29.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7435-9874-3

In these outrageous and thought-provoking vignettes, Jacobs uses his own life to explore a host of social and personal issues: he outsources every aspect of his life to a team in Bangalore, India; he practices “Radical Honesty” and attempts to speak nothing but the truth for a month; to understand fame, he poses as a celebrity at the Academy Awards; he submits to his wife's every whim. While the audiobook—which is wholly enjoyable—may have been significantly stronger if professionally narrated, Jacobs's reading is true to his text, and there's something undeniably appealing about listening to the author describe the bizarre situations into which he again and again chooses to place himself. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, July 6). (Oct.)