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812 reviews for:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible
A.J. Jacobs
3.76 AVERAGE
812 reviews for:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible
A.J. Jacobs
3.76 AVERAGE
So far, loving this book. Interesting experiment coming from a secular Jew. Quite a challenge for him too!
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
A simultaneously very funny, well-written and thought-provoking book. A.J. Jacobs is, by his own admission, somewhat obsessive-compulsive. So when he decides to spend a year doing everything the Bible says to do and not doing everything it says not to do - and he means EVERYTHING, as literally as possible - and chronicling his activities and his feelings about them, it's quite something. There are absurd and funny moments, and lots of talk about facial hair, but there are also moments of genuine joy and heartbreak, and it turns out that revelation isn't just a book in the Christian bible. It got me thinking: If I really threw myself into something for a year, my life might change, and in all sorts of unexpected ways. What might I choose to do? What paths are out there for all of us that we have no idea of?
The premise intrigued me but the end result disappoints. Jacobs, a Jewish born secular journalist goes to the extreme to follow the Bible in as literal a way as modernity allows. Throughout his project he points out the contradictions in the Bible, and as well demonstrates how anachronistic most of it is. Yet at the end of the book, he writes that he has in fact grown more thankful and reverent - though he isn't sure to what or whom.
Reading through his (mis)adventure is basically a waste of time. Jacobs through his year of living biblically - whether deliberately or not - demonstrates how ridiculous religion is. But rather than drawing this conclusion, he sets aside some of his rationality and finds himself closer to an entity he has just spent 300+ pages basically disproving, but for no good reason other than it gives him warm fuzzies.
A waste of a year of a man's life, and the several weeks it took me to muddle through reading about it.
Reading through his (mis)adventure is basically a waste of time. Jacobs through his year of living biblically - whether deliberately or not - demonstrates how ridiculous religion is. But rather than drawing this conclusion, he sets aside some of his rationality and finds himself closer to an entity he has just spent 300+ pages basically disproving, but for no good reason other than it gives him warm fuzzies.
A waste of a year of a man's life, and the several weeks it took me to muddle through reading about it.
Nice balance between humour and respect, lots to amuse you and lots to ponder.
Interesting and I leaned a lot. I was surprised how little time was devoted to the New Testament - almost none, really. The vast majority of the book was about the Old Testament and the places where Christianity and Judaism overlap.
I started this book because I thought it would be a fun read. Which it was, he's a very funny author. But it was a lot deeper than I was expecting. Watching the way his thought process changes through his year of Biblical living is thought provoking. He also spends a lot of time talking about what's NOT in the Bible, things that are actually just traditions. Overall, a very interesting book. Definitely worth the read.
It was ok- not great- not really a page turner by any means. Parts of it were interesting and I learned some things- however AJ Jacobs only once had a moment of profound faith, and I'm not sure that's if what I expected of his journey, i wish there was more insight as to why or why not- or what does this mean as opposed to 'let's just follow it' and see where it goes- I felt like he was uninvested from the beginning.
I started this one yesterday, and there's not way I'll want to give it less than FIVE. I'm a lot like the author in my spiritual thinking, and don't I wish I had the freedom to give at try at what he is--- to live the bible literally for a year. He contemplates the rules, he has a panel of advisors, and he personally investigates different religious communities.
I didn't know about his other project, where he reads the entire Encyclopedia Britianica to try to become the smarts man in the world, but you can bet I'll be checking it out!
I didn't know about his other project, where he reads the entire Encyclopedia Britianica to try to become the smarts man in the world, but you can bet I'll be checking it out!
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced