The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible by A.J. Jacobs

3.76 AVERAGE

tylerwis94's review against another edition

4.5
funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

evan_sievert's review against another edition

4.25
adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

khornstein1's review against another edition

5.0
Loved this book! I had been resistant to reading it because I thought (mistakenly), it would make fun of the Bible and talk about how silly all the Biblical rules are...I think it's the cover with A. J. Jacobs looking like a silly Moses. Anyhow, I bought this from neighbors having a tag sale so I didn't have much invested should I decide I didn't like it. As the reviewers point out, the strength of this book is the open-mindedness with which Jacobs approaches the Bible, both New Testament and Jewish Bible. To wit, while pointing out that the admonishment to not wear garments of mixed fibers seems silly, he then meets Jews who do take this literally. Rather than making fun of them, he really probes why this might have been a command back in Biblical days and what it means to us today. In fact, in the guise of a humor book, he really looks at the Bible and thinks about (and makes us think about) what indeed the Bible's language means, how literally we could take the commandments in it, and also relays how he changes as a person by following those commands. The book is also laugh out loud funny. Some of his writing interestingly reminds me of how Casey Kasem used to sound on the radio..pausing for effect, using the word, "well," like a very good-natured storyteller. Highly recommended!

applegnreads's review against another edition

4.0
I didn't think that I was going to label this theology (despite the title) but I honestly think it could fit. If nothing else, it has lots to say to us about the positive uses of cognitive disonance. So, start acting like a good person and you'll become one. Start praying and you'll become a prayer. As usual, his personality is in this book and I'm never quite sure that I like him all the time but overall I do enjoy him. It was good.

adammuly's review against another edition

4.0
This was a fun read for me. The author was far from religious, so seeing his experience interacting with Scripture in such an extreme way was at once entertaining, challenging, and intriguing. I was surprised at the thinking it sparked within me at times and pleased at some of the effects Jacobs experienced as he conducted his experiment. I would recommend the short book with confidence to anyone interested in religion, biblical studies, memoir, or just plain eccentric people from New York. And, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of thought and research Jacobs put into such a daunting task. It just might make you want to do something crazy for a year.

badseedgirl's review against another edition

4.0
A Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs was not what I was expecting. It was funny, that I was expecting, but it was also humbling and informative, and that came as a surprise to me.
As someone who has struggled with my faith throughout my life, I was completely able to appreciate the struggles Mr. Jacobs went through while trying to live all the rules of the bible for an entire year. Everyone knows (or should) the “Big 10”

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

But there are over 600 other rules and guides listed in the bible, and Mr. Jacobs tries to follow them all. Once I really started looking at the bible, I realized what a daunting task he took in hand. There were several moments to true hilarity, especially the scene with the stoning. And yes, I realized just how sick and twisted that last sentence was.

I think I may be a “red letter Christian” after reading this novel. I was intrigued enough to look into this movement more. That alone should be worth at least one star.

4 out of 5 stars.

anphina's review against another edition

5.0
emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

nderiley's review against another edition

3.0
Funny and honest, although I wish it had been a biiit funnier and that he had spent equal amounts of time on old and new testaments

jamiehandy's review against another edition

3.0
Humorous attempt to live all the rules in the bible in the most literal way possible. He starts out agnostic and ends agnostic with a little spirituality. It reminded me of the story of the man who was in prison and all he had to read was the bible. When he was freed all he could tell you was how many times the word "the" had been used and how many times the word "amen" was used, etc. . .

I was disappointed that his perusal of Christianity was a lame effort (at best). There was lots of little gems though in the reading that made me laugh and also contemplate why I pick and choose what I do.

manda_ruthie's review against another edition

3.0
Oh my gosh it's so depressing. This man lives a whole year "biblically" by pretending to "follow all the rules" but he makes only rare and perfunctory efforts to have a changed heart. He spends all this time and effort trying to "get it right" but doesn't seek a second opinion on spanking his own child even though his heart knows it's wrong. He's really actually a rude and selfish person which is hard to read about. He spends the majority of his year on the Old Testament but almost no time at all on the New Testament other than to refuse to even try to believe Jesus is his Lord. He comes out of his year as the same person who started it.