I’d be a terrible book reviewer. I devour books, either love or hate them, and want to move on. Unless it’s book club, where there is discussion and wine, I have to move on. Too many books, not enough time. I did book reports as a kid because they had to be done, not because I loooved writing about the books. I would have preferred writing the books.
I’ve read some recently, though, that are pushing me to at least mention them here. And it’ll be brief…’cause I have a book in the other room calling out to me.
The three books by A.J. Jacobs got me through that Thanksgiving trip from hell. The Know-It-All, in which he read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica has been on my reading list for awhile, and was well worth the wait. I recommend reading this one first, as it gives you a great taste of his writing style (laid back and personable). In The Year of Living Biblically, Jacobs lives the Bible as literally as possible, from the Ten Commandments to stoning adulterers to having a slave (ok ,unpaid intern…more on this in a minute). Finally, The Guinea Pig Diaries was a collection of shorter essays describing how he immersed himself in various…ok, I’ll say it…oddball lifestyle experiments. He outsourced his life to India, took on the personality of a beautiful woman online, and sat for a nude photo. I loved these books. I loved how they encouraged me to look at my life differently, as an adventure if nothing else.
Jacobs’ slave unpaid intern, Kevin Roose, also has a book out. Not news, until you consider that he’s still a senior at Brown University, and the topic of his book. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University details the semester Roose spent (undercover) at Liberty University. The one founded by Jerry Falwell. Yeah. I couldn’t put this book down. Roose’s life at Liberty is so far removed from anything I know (yes, hi there, Boulder Liberal), yet he made it familiar. He is a fantastic writer, one with an amazing future ahead of him, and I look forward to reading more of his work. In the meantime I’ll enjoy his blog and follow him on Twitter/Facebook.
Enough writing on books, I have one waiting for me. I’ve been sneaking into it all day, and now want to dive in since the whole house is asleep. And three more I grabbed at the library this afternoon. Just not enough time for all the books in my life. Good problem to have.
I’ve been wanting to read all four of those for some time now. In my copious spare time, of course…
There was a great interview, on NPR I believe, with Jacobs where he discussed the 3rd book and the month where he did everything his wife told him to do.
Thanks for the suggestions. These sound right up my alley.
My parents live in Longmont. I’ll be out there in May. 🙂