The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible: Amazon.ca: A. J. Jacobs: Books

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From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. What would it require for a person to live all the commandments of the Bible for an entire year? That is the question that animates this hilarious, quixotic, thought-provoking memoir from Jacobs (The Know-It-All). He didn't just keep the Bible's better-known moral laws (being honest, tithing to charity and trying to curb his lust), but also the obscure and unfathomable ones: not mixing wool with linen in his clothing; calling the days of the week by their ordinal numbers to avoid voicing the names of pagan gods; trying his hand at a 10-string harp; growing a ZZ Top beard; eating crickets; and paying the babysitter in cash at the end of each work day. (He considered some rules, such as killing magicians, too legally questionable to uphold.) In his attempts at living the Bible to the letter, Jacobs hits the road in highly entertaining fashion to meet other literalists, including Samaritans in Israel, snake handlers in Appalachia, Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., and biblical creationists in Kentucky. Throughout his journey, Jacobs comes across as a generous and thoughtful (and, yes, slightly neurotic) participant observer, lacing his story with absurdly funny cultural commentary as well as nuanced insights into the impossible task of biblical literalism. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Jacobs does projects, not just books. For The Know-It-All (2004), he read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. For the follow-up, he tried for a year to observe the Bible's 700-odd rules for righteous behavior. He let his beard grow, wore only garments made of unmixed fibers, prayed regularly, essayed biblical disciplining (short of the physical) of his two-year-old son, and practiced the purity laws: no sex for awhile after his wife menstruated; no shaking hands; lots of washing; not eating this and eating that; et cetera ad infinitum, it seems. Informally counseled throughout by a clatch of Jewish and Christian advisors, he also queried members of such strict sects as the Amish, the Samaritans, and snake-handling Pentecostals. He maintained his staff-writer chores at Esquire and his domestic responsibilities, and he became the father of twins during the long experiment, which he reports in a continuum of journal-like summaries. If he starts out sounding like an interminable Ira Glass monologue, smarmy and name-dropping, he becomes much less off-putting as the year progresses, for he develops a serious conscience about such quotidian failings as self-centeredness, lying, swearing, and disparaging others. He may not be, he may never become, a moral giant, but he certainly seems to be a nicer guy. Olson, Ray

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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4.4 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars From the Outside In, April 7 2008

By

Peter Cantelon (Morden, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Hardcover)

The book is Jacobs' journal of his attempt to follow the Bible as literally as possible. He documented more than 700 rules in the Hebrew and Christian bible. As a pastor you can imagine why I needed to read this. Jacobs starts his Biblical journey (as I started mine as reader) as a bit of a skeptic. He describes himself as a secular Jew but says "...I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant." A self-described agnostic - religion, the Bible and God had not taken up a lot of thought room in his life up to this point.

Jacob's research is very well done. He does not simply read the Bible but draws upon over a hundred Jewish and Christian resources as well as creating and regularly seeking the counsel of a spiritual advisory board made up of conservative and liberal rabbis, mainline and evangelical pastors. His bibliogrpahy is neither staunchly left or right but a mix of both and the middle. I especially appreciated a referance to Dennis Covington's fantastic book Salvation on Sand Mountain (which I have also read) and Jacobs' own visit to Appalachia. He also variously speaks to Tony Campolo, Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis), an Amish innkeeper, as well as visits Jerry Falwell's church, and several Bible study groups that cover the spectrum from conservative to liberal, etc. You get the idea.

The insights that Jacobs has into religion, the Bible, God and believers in general are quite incredible. Many of them are very affirming for me as a pastor and a Christ follower. As a believer, one cannot, no matter how hard one tries, fully put themselves into the shoes of a non-believer and see what they see or understand as they understand so the book does a great service in this sense.

Aside from the insights Jacobs' journey is incredibly humourous and at times quite poignant as well (the impact on his wife and family plays a major role). His openess and honesty are disarming and refreshing and his writing style is very approachable and easy to slip into. I won't tell you what the impact this experience had on Jacobs except to say it was definitely a perspective changer.

This book is a great read and will spark many a lively discussion (good book club material). I highly recommend it.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rules are made to be broken, Dec 29 2007

By

Keith (Scarborough) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Hardcover)

AJ has written a remarkable book that transforms himself and the reader into a diverse perspective of strict religious life in a secular world of New York City. Similar to John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me,The Year of Living Biblically doesn't just observe a culture that he isn't part of but fully becomes part of that culture. The modern day saying, rules are made to be broken, don't apply here.

The Year of Living Biblically is written in a wonderful humours and intelligent style. Working on a subject that could have many cheap shots, AJ shows the read that he is a much better person and writer then that. Practicing biblical laws in today's world can be a difficult thing to do. Some are so bizarre one has to ask; 'What were they think of?' AJ and his panel of advisor's make a good case for their original uses and why they're practiced by many today.
The hard liner fundamentalist and atheist maybe disappointed in The Year of Living Biblically. There is no silver bullet for either side. Not to give the book away, but for me the open-minded person will come away with a stronger understanding of an ancient mind set and how and why it was applied their religion.

The reader may also come away with some new habits. I now put my right shoe on then my left, then tie my left then my right shoe. Read the book to find out why.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and quite entertaining, May 5 2012

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crono_ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Paperback)

I'm nearing the end of the book but couldn't wait to post a brief review of it.

I am agnostic and on the continuum between theist and atheist, I lean more towards the atheist end. This seems similar to the authors stance as well which made this book quite easy to relate to. I appreciate his respect towards the different religious sects he discusses. He doesn't follow just one interpretation and shun or lash out against the rest. His dedication is admirable as he actually travels to meet and experience different religious followers and traditions from visiting the Amish, orthodox Jews in Israel, even snake handlers.

It was great to read his own thoughts on the bible and everything that was going on during his year. It felt quite honest.

The book is quite entertaining as well, especially his interactions with his wife, Julie, and their son, Jasper.

I received this book for Christmas and was admittedly quite reluctant to read it as I figured it would be just another book full of religious garbage that my family was trying to shove down my throat. But it is definitely not that and I am extremely glad I opened it. Some might say that God told me to open it but I highly doubt it as my religious stance has not changed because of this book. Though it's great to know there is someone else out there who shares very similar thoughts to my own.

I'm quite interested in reading other books by this author now and will do some shopping after finishing this review.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for everyone
I'm an atheist, so I probably wouldn't have been offended if AJ had been harder on and more ridiculing of all the rules he had to follow. But I'm glad he didn't. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Anne Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars HIghly Recommended
This book, without a doubt, delivers exactly what you're looking for when purchasing a memoir from a humourist. There is absolutely nothing lacking...except more pages. Read more

Published 21 months ago by S. Jager