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'Experimental' nonfiction
Jacobs recounts tales of being a social guinea pig
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Published: 11/15/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 11/15/2009 4:28 AM
A.J. Jacobs' ambition to be a writer was hampered by one very severe deficiency: a bizarre childhood.
"My dad wasn't an alcoholic, my mom never joined the circus, no one in my family was a spy," Jacobs said, speaking by phone from Atlanta, the current stop on his tour to promote his third book "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment."
"So I really couldn't write some kind of juicy memoir, because my childhood was pretty normal," he said. "So I had to find interesting topics and sort of just jump into the middle of them."
Jacobs took some inspiration from the late George Plimpton, whose brand of "participatory journalism" included stints at playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Colts, going a round with professional boxer Archie Moore, even playing in the percussion section of the New York Philharmonic.
Jacobs, however, choose a less strenuous path. A physical resemblance to the actor Noah Taylor, who appeared in the movie "Shine," led Jacobs to impersonate the actor at the 1997 Academy Awards celebration.
"When I found out that Noah Taylor wasn't going to attend the ceremony, I decided I would try to see what it was like to be a movie star for the night," Jacobs said. "I did interviews, signed autographs, hung out with celebrities, and everyone thought I was Noah Taylor. It was a wonderful night."
A night that Jacobs almost ruined by approaching Geoffrey Rush, who won the Best Actor award that year for portraying pianist David Helfgott; Noah Taylor played the character as an adolescent.
"I went up to Mr. Rush with my fake Australian accent, and he gave me a look like he was about to call security — a 'what is going on here' kind of look," Jacobs said. "It was a horribly awkward moment, but fortunately Mr. Rush was quite the gentlemen about the whole thing."
That incident is recounted in Jacobs' new book, "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment" (Simon & Schuster, $25.00).
Jacobs will be in Tulsa Tuesday as the latest guest of Book Smart Tulsa's visiting author series.
Jacobs, now an editor-at-large for Esquire magazine who has also worked for Entertainment Weekly, first made a splash with his book "The Know-It-All," in which he recounted his year-long endeavor to read every page of the Encyclopedia Britannica — all 44 million words of it, spread out over 32 volumes.
This was followed by "The Year of Living Biblically," where Jacobs, who describes his own religious beliefs as "I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant," spent a year trying to follow the teachings of the Bible as literally as possible.
"The Guinea Pig Diaries" is a collection of pieces about a number of shorter-term experiments in taking on characteristics and practices and identities not ordinarily those of Jacobs' own.
These included passing himself off a beautiful woman by appropriating the identity of his children's nanny and venturing out — metaphorically, at least — into the world of online dating; spending a month in which he obeyed his wife's every command and request in the hopes of being "the perfect husband"; devoting a chunk of time to living his life by the 110 rules for civil behavior codified by the father of our country George Washington.
Jacobs also spent a month following the philosophy of "radical honesty," which he describes as "the worst month of my life."
" 'Absolutely horrible' would be a fair way to put it," Jacobs said, laughing. "This is a real movement, by a psychologist named Brad Blanton, who teaches that there should be no filter between one's brain and one's mouth — that we would all be happy if everyone told the truth and was authentic all the time."
While Jacobs allowed that there might be times when such a policy could be enjoyable, there were more than enough times when it put him — and more importantly, his wife — into some excruciating social situations.
"We ran into some friends of hers, and in the course of the conversation, they suggested we should all get together for dinner," Jacobs said. "And being a follower of radical honesty, I told them no thanks, that they seemed nice and all that, but I had no interest in talking with them any further. Oddly enough, they were offended by that. And my wife wanted to strangle me."
To make matters worse, Jacobs said, as men tend to think a great deal about sex, he discovered, "there's a pretty fine line between radical honesty and creepiness, and I fear I crossed that line a couple of times."
These days, Jacobs said, "I try to practise what I call 'sustainable honesty' — more about being honest with myself about my flaws, and looking for the positive things around me."
Jacobs is currently in the midst of his next year-long endeavor — this time, it is to become "The Healthiest Person in the World."
"Although, being on this book tour makes that a challenge," he said, laughing. "Airport food is not the healthiest thing in the world."
Author to speak
A.J. Jacobs will talk about his
career — both the experiments
he’s conducted and the books
he’s written about those experiences
— at 7 p.m. Tuesday at
Congregation B’nai Emunah,
1719 S. Owasso Ave. See more
on Jacobs in this Sunday’s
Parade magazine.
James D. Watts Jr. 581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
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