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The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
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Average Rating:  out of 405 Reviews
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Price: $25.00
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Sale: $6.20
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Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780743291477
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: A. J. Jacobs
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Publisher: Simon & Schuster
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Edition: 1
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Dewey Decimal Number: 220
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Publication Date: 2007-10-09
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Reading Level: 400
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Description: Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: Make no mistake: A.J. Jacobs is not a religious man. He describes himself as Jewish "in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant." Yet his latest work, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, is an insightful and hilarious journey for readers of all faiths. Though no fatted calves were harmed in the making of this book, Jacobs chronicles 12 months living a remarkably strict Biblical life full of charity, chastity, and facial hair as impressive as anything found in The Lord of the Rings. Through it all, he manages to brilliantly keep things light, while avoiding the sinful eye of judgment. --Dave Callanan Amazon.com
Subtitled: "One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible," Jacobs, or A.J., as his two-year-old son calls him, does just that. It is likely that no one but A.J. Jacobs could have accomplished such a feat. After all, his last book, The Know-It-All, chronicles his reading of the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, from A to Z. No one but a smart, witty, self-deprecating, nitpicky kinda guy would undertake two such daunting tasks, and complete them with grace, no pun intended. Jacobs, a New York Jewish agnostic, decides to follow the laws and rules of the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, for one year. (He actually adds some bonus days and makes it a 381-day year.) He starts by growing a beard and we are with him through every itchy moment. Jacobs is borderline OCD, at least as he describes himself; obsessing over possible dangers to his son, germs, literal interpretation of Bible verses, etc. He enlists the aid of counselors along the way; Jewish rabbis, Christians of every stripe, friends and neighbors. In an open-minded way he also visits with atheists, Evangelicals Concerned (a gay group), Jerry Falwell, snake handlers, Red Letter Christians--those who adhere to the red letters in the Bible, those words spoken by Jesus Himself, and even takes a trip to Israel and meets Samaritans. Through it all, he keeps a healthy skepticism, but continues to pray and is open to the flowering of real faith. Jacobs is a knowledge junky, to be sure. He enjoys the lore he picks up along the way as much as any other aspect of his experiment. One of the ongoing schticks is his meeting with the shatnez tester, Mr. Berkowitz. He is the one who determines whether or not your clothes are made of mixed fibers, in keeping with the Biblical injunction not to wear wool and linen together. The two become friends and prayer partners, in only one of the unexpected results of this year. In the end, he says, "I'm now a reverent agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there's a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred." Not a bad outcome. --Valerie Ryan
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Because I know A.J. looks at this every day. |
Date: 2008-12-04 |
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Details: I enjoyed this book. I learned more from the book than I thought I would. If there is room in a Christmas stocking for a book make it this one. I hope he writes a follow up, it would be interesting to see how many of the changes he made permanent. I will be checking to see what he writes next. |
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Review Summary: The best book I've read in years... |
Date: 2008-12-01 |
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Details: This book is bar none the best book I've read in years. It's humor and insight make it an indispensable addition to any thinking person's library. Jacobs' memoir and the challenge he heaps upon himself has inspired me to challenge myself in my spiritual education. I've recommended it to all of my friends and am giving out many copies for Christmas. Kudos to Mr. Jacobs. |
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Review Summary: A Book Enjoyed by a Student Forced to Read Must Be Good... |
Date: 2008-11-30 |
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Details: I loved this book. I am not a religious person. I am neither Christian or Jewish but I loved this book. I am a student at a Christian University and "The Year of Living Biblically" was a required read for my class "Understanding the Bible". My sister and I read the book together other Thanksgiving and kept the entire house awake laughing at Jacob's witty comments (most notably about Starbucks). I love this book. Read it. Gift it. Love it. |
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Review Summary: More Interesting Work From The King Of Kitsch. |
Date: 2008-11-28 |
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Details: When I think of A.J. Jacobs, the guy who did "Supersize Me" comes to mind. It's all kitsch. Like he goes on his research quest for the next novel by picking a thing lots of people want to do, but don't do them, and he runs with it. It's a little on the tired side, but I don't mind because now I can live vicariously through him without actually reading the encyclopedia covers to covers or going to Heaven by really really trying. Now that I know what the costume looks like, I'll just sneak in.
Jacobs is a definite anti-protagonist because he's only semi-likeable. In fact, I know guys like him personally. Whiny, phobia-ridden
stick figures who work super hard trying to prove that they have nothing to prove. I might even be one of those guys, just not a stick-figure. In his case, he gets by because of all the times he made me giggle from the first book and made me think from this one. Well done, Jacobs. Near the end of the book, I found him far more endearing and thoughtful. However, I can't dislike his wife Julie enough. All she does is shoot him down and complain about the projects that put food on the table. Sitting on every chair in the house when living biblically is hard enough??? There's a difference between a tolerant wife and a supportive one. A supportive wife would've designated him his own chair to sit in for a year. She disgusts me.
I can't say that I'm interested in his family life, honestly. I know it sounds insensitive but I always just skim through the things about his wife and kid. I love all the bible and encylopedia stuff but he loses me when it comes to intimate revelations. I said revelations, get it? But seriously, folks...while I was clearly drawn into the events, ideas and issues concerning the Old Testament, I have to say that the switch to New Testament life was wholly boring. I can only chock that up to the fact that Jacobs is Jewish and his hands were pretty much tied. It all seemed like a bunch of interviews from that point on. But more on his family life - I think around the time he got in the face with the bowling pin, I finally found some good things to read where his family was concerned.
Can't wait to read about his year-long visits to every country on the globe or his year-long building of his own Egyptian pyramid or whatever he feels like doing for a year. Whatever because I'm sold on this guy's writing. But I think I'll dress up like Ghandi instead because he's got a better chance of getting IN.
Fine, fine book.
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Review Summary: The Good, The Bad, ... Pure Honesty. |
Date: 2008-11-26 |
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Details: Overall I found this book to be interesting and intellectually stimulating. I read this book in three days. The good things that I came away from this book where: I felt like I needed to improve myself. If a man who does not believe in God and doesn't have the internal drive of the Holy Spirit can have such a Biblical presence of mind and an interest and love for doing the right thing then should't I have a drive simular to but greater than his. I also feel that I need to include more importance on rituals that can improve my life and make me feel closer to God. I liked how he compared everthing to stories in the Bible. He drew wisdom from these stories. This makes me want to study my Bible more.
I feel distraught as a Christian that he couldn't bring himself to belief. There was no big bang at the end. It's like a man that lets his lawn grow wildly out of control to see what it would be like. After he mowes his lawn he decides that it didn't really look very good but he got attached to all the greenery and decided to put some plants in his lawn. Nothing large happened. At best this book was amusing and thought provoking. It was not life changing or mind altering in the way I had hoped.
He spent most of his energy on the Old Testament. His work on the new testament seemed half-hearted and weak. It was dissapointing to me... as was the build up to meeting Gill and his weak description of the encounter.
I just wish that he could have believed. It would have changed everything... not just his book but his life. Instead of putting a couple extra plants in his yard he would have became a botonist and grown a beautiful garden that bore much fruit. That is what I was hoping for.
But like other books I take what I can and leave the rest. (Like a cafeteria....) I read the book with an open mind and took away a slight change in perspective about some things that were sparked by his conversation.
This may be a sin to say but when I watched some videos of him speaking (after I read the book) I was ultimately dissapointed. Like when you see a radio host for the first time in person. He seemed like a salesman ... peddallllling his wares... not someone that had been altered by a great experience and had something new and exciting to bring to our social conversation. But that's ok. I may have set my bar a little high.
If I told you I was a Christian and didn't tell you that I would pray for you A.J. then that wouldn't make me a very good Christian now would it. It would say that I don't care if you accept Jesus Christ and ultimately I don't care what happens to you. But I am going to try to pray for you every night, that you will come to believe. I appreciate the insights I was able to take away from your book. |
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