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A.J. Jacobs might look like your ordinary garden-variety journalist, but labeling him with a title as unoriginal as that would be the single best way to completely discredit his flair for writing books more hilarious and dazzling than the inside of the Liberace's closet.

It's not just about his edgy lifestyle stunts either. Jacobs is a bonafied New York Times bestselling author many times over, the editor at large at Esquire magazine, husband to  Julie, and harried dad to three free-spirited boys, Jasper, and twins Lucas and Zane.

His claim to fame - or infamy as it were - is his unmistakably committed, insanely thorough, somewhat offbeat, irreverent yet reverent submersions into immersion journalism.

Jacobs is perhaps best known for The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, published in 2004, that recounts the months he spent reading all 32 volumes - that's 44 million words - of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

His unassuming wit and sarcastic enthusiasm is infectious, like my favorite quite about  The Know-It-All from his his official biography: "It subsequently spent eight weeks on the New York Times paperback bestseller list. It was praised by Time magazine, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, USA Today, Janet Maslin in the New York Times and A.J.’s Uncle Henry on Amazon.com."

Yes, he likes to write about himself in third person ... just to see if you're paying attention. 

So it's no wonder that after poring through those musty tomes dedicated to everything from a-ak to zywiec, that Jacobs' next experiment, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, published in 2007, turned into a year-long endeavor dedicated to following the holy book's 600+ precepts, parables, teachings and laws, from the most famous to the less famous, like those that involved letting his facial hair grow unfettered and free (which he did for 361 days), blowing a trumpet made from a horn at the beginning of every month, stoning adulterers (he opted for pebbles), and enlisting a spiritual advisory board of seasoned priests, rabbis and ministers to guide him along his trying path. Jacobs even included his estranged uncle turned radical rabbi (not the Uncle Henry on Amazon.com) on his sojourn to Jerusalem.

That's what I mean about being thorough. The man leaves no stone unturned (I sense a pun here).

The Year of Living Biblically lasted on my nightstand for just two days, and once I'd read it from cover to cover, I decided I had to know more about the so-called agnostic who put himself  into "the mind-set and sandals" of his ancestors, "first, to find out if I was missing something - like a man who had never fallen in love or had never heard Beethoven - or if half of the world is deluded."

Throughout our interview, a very down-to-earth, surprisingly approachable Jacobs - no snooty divas here - told me I had the patience of Job (perhaps the best compliment I've ever received), battled pneumonia with chest-wracking coughs hearkening back to the early 19th century, and gave me more than a few insights to his topsy-turvy, always action-packed world.

CS: Has the literary world ever reacted negatively to your work? How do you deal with critics and naysayers?

AJJ: Thankfully, I’ve gotten mostly positive reviews. But sure, I’ve been trashed as well. I deal with naysayers the typical way: a healthy diet of depression, brooding and revenge fantasies. Actually, that’s less true for the second book. The Bible talks a lot about being thankful for the good things, and I think that perspective actually rubbed off on me. I made a conscious decision to focus on the good.

CS: As a self-proclaimed human guinea pig, where do you think your next experiment will lead you? Maybe you could try subsisting on what I like the call “the toddler diet” for an entire year. At the conclusion, you’ll either come out looking like Keanu Reeves in Little Buddha or like Morgan Spurlock after hitting the McDonald's drive-thru for the umpteenth time.

CS: You’ve been interviewed on the Today Show, chatted seat-to-seat with Oprah, and shared a cup of coffee with the anchors on Good Morning America. What’s the single best question any of them asked you? Do you think they actually read your books or just skimmed the dust jackets?

AJJ: I was once on a radio show in Los Angeles and it was clear that the host hadn’t read the book. But more than that, it was clear he hadn’t read the 200-word summary provided by the publicist. He had no idea what the book was about. We spent the entire ten minutes talking about the cover design. As for the best question: Maybe when John McEnroe (who had a short-lived talk show) asked if I thought about the encyclopedia while having sex with my wife. At the time, the answer, sadly, was yes.  

CS: When you’re not writing, stoning adulterers or convincing Jasper that he’s really eating a bagel and not an English muffin (I know he's very particular), and Julie’s not working on a scavenger hunt or wrangling the twins, what’s a normal dinner conversation – or any conversation - at the Jacobs home like? Do you have a regular family routine?

AJJ: We did want another child, and since our insurance covered IVF, it was kind of a no-brainer. But I got the easy part. I just had to give the shots. My poor wife had to get the shots and a whole lot more.

My only advice – and I think that Julie would back me up on this – is that, if it works, you forget about the horrible stuff. It’s like writing a book. When I was writing this one, I was so overextended, I swore I’d never write another book. But now I’m going to do it.

CS: What does the future hold for you and your family?

AJJ: The above-mentioned Yogos.

Three bar mitzvahs (probably with sports themes).

High School Musical 3.

Some group hugs.