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813 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
813 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
3 points: Good - Enjoyable with noticeable weaknesses.
3.5 stars
This is an enjoyable read. Jacobs is a great writer - by turns wry and witty and at times reverential.
Yet, I have a problem with the overall topic that this book takes on. And it's not because I'm religious (I'm an atheist), and I don't think it's because I know a fair bit about Judaism and the laws of the Old Testament (part of my family is Orthodox), but, more, I think, to do with the actual activities that Jacobs engages in.
Perhaps it just strikes me as too flippant to attempt a topic like this. Or perhaps it's the lip service Jacobs gives to the various sects he comes into contact with. It strikes me as both arrogant to assume one could even take this on, and also irreverent to attempt.
I know that the short (and philosophically vacuous) pontifications he gives to agnosticism and morality struck me as incredibly obtuse. For a person who read the entire encyclopedia and read a veritable library on religion it seems odd he would never pick up a book on secular humanism or philosophy. It would have made his entire journey moot, as the reason he gives for the journey into religiosity was to teach his son morality.
Perhaps I found his journey to be silly as I was raised (partially) in a very religious house, yet am now an atheist (who also happens to believe that wonder and awe can be had in a secular worldview). I'm not entirely sure what rubbed me the wrong way about this book, but I will think on it - and update this review when I figure it out.
But after all that I would recommend this as a great, fun, fast read on an eternally interesting topic. I will definitely check out his newest book [b:Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection|8570787|Drop Dead Healthy One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1340345461s/8570787.jpg|13439499]. Recommended.
This is an enjoyable read. Jacobs is a great writer - by turns wry and witty and at times reverential.
Yet, I have a problem with the overall topic that this book takes on. And it's not because I'm religious (I'm an atheist), and I don't think it's because I know a fair bit about Judaism and the laws of the Old Testament (part of my family is Orthodox), but, more, I think, to do with the actual activities that Jacobs engages in.
Perhaps it just strikes me as too flippant to attempt a topic like this. Or perhaps it's the lip service Jacobs gives to the various sects he comes into contact with. It strikes me as both arrogant to assume one could even take this on, and also irreverent to attempt.
I know that the short (and philosophically vacuous) pontifications he gives to agnosticism and morality struck me as incredibly obtuse. For a person who read the entire encyclopedia and read a veritable library on religion it seems odd he would never pick up a book on secular humanism or philosophy. It would have made his entire journey moot, as the reason he gives for the journey into religiosity was to teach his son morality.
Perhaps I found his journey to be silly as I was raised (partially) in a very religious house, yet am now an atheist (who also happens to believe that wonder and awe can be had in a secular worldview). I'm not entirely sure what rubbed me the wrong way about this book, but I will think on it - and update this review when I figure it out.
But after all that I would recommend this as a great, fun, fast read on an eternally interesting topic. I will definitely check out his newest book [b:Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection|8570787|Drop Dead Healthy One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection|A.J. Jacobs|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1340345461s/8570787.jpg|13439499]. Recommended.
Quirky and irreverent at times but often giving insight from perspectives that I hadn’t considered before.
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
This was actually a really interesting book. He had no agenda other than seeing if he could do it and what he would learn, which was very cool. It made it very easy for me to follow his journey. I am not Christian, so it was a learning experience for me. Because he was so un-preachy about it, it allowed me to put aside my tendency to not read anything like this.
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
An excellent read. This book is really a travelogue; a glimpse into A.J. Jacobs' journey into terrain that, frankly, I often take for granted. That is not to say that everything was familiar to me - I actually learned quite a lot about both Christianity and Judaism from this book on the often-neglected side trails of Judeo-Christian culture. Jacobs' humourous self-deprecating wit manages to keep the book remarkably un-cynical and surprisingly conveys a conscientious respect for the tricky subject of Biblical literalism.
Oh, AJ, you are so silly and you always make me laugh. This book makes me think a lot, too, about my faith, religion in general, and how they are related.
Well researched and written, this book had moments of great interest. I'm not sure I fully appreciated the obsessiveness of the author, but I don't know whether you could write a book like this without being at least a little bit obsessed. I really appreciated learning more about the historical contexts of the passages discussed, and how particular communities have interpreted them throughout the ages.