I'm fascinated by books about applying advice to your life. “Stunt memoir” seems to be the phrase for it – or gimmick book, or schtick lit. (This post lists lots of examples.) Part self-help book and part memoir, these are usually broken up into one chapter per principle, applying research or time-tested ideas to everyday life. Book titles are often long multi-parters where the second part refers to the adventure or lists an incongruous combination of techniques. The authors illustrate principles with struggles, successes, and epiphanies, and then eventually make their peace with the advice. Oddly enough, chapters tend to fit rather neatly into the usual three-act story structure – the storyteller's craft at work.

A year seems to be a common size for these experiments, often divided into one principle per month: long enough to test ideas and write a decent-sized book for print. I think that one principle a month looks manageable for readers, too: not so short that you won't see changes, and not so long that you'd get bored or discouraged.

Here are some examples:

• The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment
• The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle and Generally Have More Fun
• Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility: Stumbling Through Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues, One Unvirtuous Day at a Time
• MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend
• Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything – I liked this one the most. I think it's because it intersected with even more dedicated people. =)

I imagine that writing such a book is good for self-improvement even if no one else ever buys or reads it, so any sales are a bonus. I wonder what the process of writing that kind of a book is like: how to organize notes into a narrative, how to push yourself beyond what's easy.

There are lots of experiments I could run along those lines:

• Self-tracking: focusing on quantifying different things per month, bringing in research as well. Time, finance, productivity, mood, habits, fitness, food, learning, thinking, relationships, others
• Practical philosophy: paying close attention to ancient wisdom and applying that to daily life
• Behavioural economics and psychology in daily life: rationality, decision-making, etc.

Still, I want to be careful about the kinds of things that have rubbed me and other people the wrong way A month is not that long, and sometimes these books feel a little… shallow? Like someone's going through the Cliff Notes for a deep idea, trying out a few things, and then calling it a day. As if someone's just going through a checklist, crossing off different techniques. There's also that consciousness of privilege, and the self-absorption of memoirs. That said, I write about my reflections a lot on this blog, so… maybe? I tend to think of it more as “Ack, there's so much I still have to figure out; if I post my notes, maybe someone will take pity on me and share their insights (or possibly recognize something that they might find useful in theirs)” rather than “Here, learn from my life.”

So… I don't know. On one hand, I like the “I'm figuring this out too” approach compared to the didactic awesomer-than-thou feel of many self-help books. On the other hand, I'm not keen on the “My life is incomplete and unhappy; I must search outside for ways to make it better.”

What's at the core of the things I like about these kinds of books?

• Translates research or principles into everyday actions: There's a lot of good stuff buried in scientific language, abstract concepts, or even self-help books. Sometimes it's hard to imagine applying those ideas to real life, and seeing someone go through the process (recovering from mistakes and all!) can help.
• Pays attention to things we often take for granted: We do many things repeatedly and with little attention. If we look closely at them, we can get better. For example, if we think about a principle and relate it to how we want to communicate, make decisions, or use our time, we'll often find things that we can tweak and turn into new habits.
• Shares the struggles and the little celebrations: Self-help books can feel a little too pat with all their success stories. I relate a little better to stories along the lines of “Yeah, this was hard to learn, but here's how I picked myself up and tried again. Here are some things that made it a little easier for me until I got the hang of it. This is what encouraged me to keep going, and now here I am. Maybe this can help you too.”
• Connects with people who are even more dedicated to the topic: Some books sprinkle in quotes from researchers and authors. Some books include conversations with specialists. Some books delve into subcultures of people who are even more passionate about the principles and have lots of insights to share. I like the last type most of all; it's like having an excuse to meet and learn from geeks of other persuasions.

Maybe less stunt-ish, then? I'm not thinking of these as radical changes to my life (“Oh, I only have to do this a month at a time, for a year”), but more like gradual improvement. I can always try things informally, and then stitch the essays together into a book. It might not be as impressive as spending one contiguous year focused on something, packaging this up for other people's entertainment and perhaps inspiration, but we'll see where it goes. =)