Jan's review
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
by A.J. Jacobs
I suspect that the "I spent a year ______ing" trend is being driven by a book industry that buys not manuscripts but proposals. "What if I spend a year trying to memorize the Manhattan phone book? Will you publish my book about it?" "Sure, kid, that gimmick always moves inventory!" Etc.
Jan's review
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
Jan's review
rating:
bookshelves:
2007reads
recommended for: anyone who scoffs at the world book
first of all, since when is "i spent a year ________ing" a trendy model for a book? seems like they're all over the place now, but i don't remember seeing quite the plethora before. my friend beth spent a year following the advice of self-help gurus; a.j. jacobs read the entire encyclopedia brittanica. and then there's that me & julia cooking lady; karaoke nation; the dishwasher book; self-made man (the gal who posed as a dude); early bird (the guy who spent a year at a retirement community in boca raton); kingsolver's latest on how she ate organic; jacobs' forthcoming book, in which he apparently spends a year trying to adhere to the rules of the bible. oy! and that's just off the top of my head! what ever happened to being hired by harper's to write a 10,000 word article about your week aboard a cruise ship?
anyway, i liked jacobs' book a lot. are there flaws? yes, there are flaws. but, as i learned from the book, there are flaws even in the venerable e.b. (...more
anyway, i liked jacobs' book a lot. are there flaws? yes, there are flaws. but, as i learned from the book, there are flaws even in the venerable e.b. (...more
I suspect that the "I spent a year ______ing" trend is being driven by a book industry that buys not manuscripts but proposals. "What if I spend a year trying to memorize the Manhattan phone book? Will you publish my book about it?" "Sure, kid, that gimmick always moves inventory!" Etc.