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

by A. J. Jacobs (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (Oct 9 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743291476
ISBN-13: 978-0743291477
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.5 x 3 cm
Shipping Weight: 658 g

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #45,719 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#15 in Books > Entertainment > Humor > Religion
#35 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Criticism & Interpretation > New Testament

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Product Description

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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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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11 of 12 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 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

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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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

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

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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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!, Jan 4 2008

By	Jeremy Postal - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well done A.J.! I enjoyed every bit of your book which continually made me laugh and nod knowingly. My wife, on the other hand, gave me the dirtiest look when I told her about your 'impure' story from the delivery room...

I'm about to recommend this book to all of my pastoral interns.
Grace and Peace,
-Jer

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing interactive book!
I read this book from cover to cover in the emergency room. I am a seminary student and heard a lot of bashing when the book was extremely popular. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Caleb Hull

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Perspective
As a pastor, I'm always trying to find my own path through the thicket of rules and commandments of the Bible and I was very grateful to my friend who suggested this book. Read more

Published 7 months ago by TheRevB

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Published 8 months ago by H. Mack