The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible | 
 enlarge | Author: A. J. Jacobs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Category: Book
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Rating:  379 reviews
Sales Rank: 315835
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0743569970
Dewey Decimal Number: 220
EAN: 9780743569972
ASIN: 0743569970
Publication Date: October 9, 2007
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Amazon.com Review
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
Product Description
The bestselling author of The Know-It-All takes on history's most influential book.Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also, to obey the hundreds of less-publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers. To grow his beard. To stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal. Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally, including the Amish and the Hasidim. He discovers ancient Biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the 21st-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. Sure to charm listeners both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliffs-Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to stop listening.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 374 more reviews...
 Just What I Needed October 13, 2008
Two sad events converged in my life to lead to my decision to buy this book in the New Orleans airport. First of all, I attended my mother's funeral the day before and needed a book with some laughs. And, I did laugh out loud frequently while in the airport waiting for my flight and on the airplane on my way home.
Secondly, I have had some members of my religion verbally attack me and my family as straight on our way to hell while we try our best to be loving, conscientious members of the group. In this book, I feel swept up and included in the author's quest. He has done some things I would have enjoyed doing and he has furthered my knowledge on my spiritual quest. Though he is not a Christian, he does what our family tries to do to the best of our inadequate ability - to recognize us all as God's children and part of the kingdom. The book makes me feel as though I've been invited to the party and encourages me to continue on my quest to bring as many people in as I can during my lifetime. We can all benefit from the wisdom of various religions and all types of people. I like reading books that support me on my spiritual path. This book actually inspired me to dance as I moved forward during the days I read it. The author writes clearly and with a genuine sense of fun. To me, cheerfulness and optimism are important to convince others of our faith. In these characteristics, the author outdoes some of us who profess to have great faith. And, he walked the talk for an entire year. He has encouraged me to try harder to match my actions to my beliefs.
 Not quite there October 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found Jacob's book to be funny but lacking. I had no expectations of the book when I began reading it but by the end I couldn't help but be disappointed.
The premise of the book is worthwhile and I had no trouble filing this book under "humor." Jacobs on the other hand, seems to take both himself and this project far too seriously. The book is funny, I did laugh out loud but after a hundred pages or so the jokes became stale.
I specifically had a problem with the alter-ego Jacobs created for himself. What is the point of living a year biblically if he purposely makes the distinction that it is not actually him? I can understand that suddenly being devoutly religious would feel foreign and unnatural, but I suspect the alter-ego was to keep Jacobs' real ego intact. After every single segment of religious exposure or meditation he was quick to remind us that he wasn't a believer yet. I felt all of the special and sacred opportunities he was afforded during the year came to nothing but material to write a mediocre comedy.
I was also disappointed with the way Jacobs chose to deal with the New Testament. It seemed that he spent that part of the project seeking out extreme branches of christianity instead of determining the rules and following them. Probably because abiding by the rules in the new testament would not have been nearly as funny. Why didn't Jacobs go to his neighborhood church service? He seemed to have sought out a mainstream christian advisor but in experiencing the new testament in action Jacobs went to see snake handlers and visit mega churches.
And what is with all the OCD garbage in the book? It seemed like Jacobs was trying to validate his neuroses in respect to his son by including them and pointing out that his wife disagrees (the explanation of "helmet" is hilarious and I did laugh out loud at that).
The book is definitely worth reading, but take it with a pillar-sized grain of salt.
 Bland October 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Whatever humor is in this book is too obvious. I found the premise too internal. It was more of a biblical lesson than an experience. Had the author focused more on how the world viewed a biblical dweller, we would have learned much more about religion, people, and how the world fits together.
 Good Job October 8, 2008
The book was educational and entertaining, and wasn't meant to be, not to be funny, an abreviated encyclopedia of the Bible. Just one man's journey and experiences. As a non-Jewish agnostic, would I have liked to have seen more New Testement living? Perhaps. This is not Mr. Jacobs responsibility to me though; he can't write for each individual personnally. He can share with us his experience and hope we enjoy the ride. He wrote an insightful, well-researched, entertaining book, well worth the read. Good job I say. I enjoyed the ride.
As a self proclaimed agnostic... October 4, 2008
As a self proclaimed agnostic, I have no clue what led me to pick up this book in an airport. But I'm hooked, and I've probably learned more about the bible then some that are "religious". In a fun, nonthreatening, no fire and brimstone, low key way. I give kudos to Jacobs for taking on this task and a year out of his life, even just for a book deal...and sticking to it. I give more kudos to his poor wife for putting up with him during this year. I can't wait to read Know It All.
On a humorous aside, one of my assistants at work wanted to borrow it. He is in the process of reading the bible (new testament) and is pretty religious. I told him no because if he were to stop telling little white lies at work, we'd all be fired!! Rock on AJ, you are on my new favorites list.
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