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818 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
818 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
In all honesty, this was one of the most enjoyable books I have read in a while. A.J. Jacob's exploits as an agnostic diving into the world that is Bible literalism are both funny, like insisting that he carry around a stool to sit on, and eye-opening, like the fact that he must use that stool to prevent from sitting where a menstruating woman may have sat. His writing will make you be glad that you are an atheist and thank God for his love at the same time.
I had high expectations when I started reading this book. I had read some great reviews and heard wonderful things about from other people. However, I was not thrilled with this book at all. I guess I expected more of the funny experiences associated with the author's time living biblically. I felt there was less of this and much more biblical background. I do not agree that it was as "delightful and charming" as it was described to be!
Maybe a 3.5. One of the aspects I appreciated the most about this book is that since he wrote it over the course of a year, you could see how his thoughts changed "in real time." I struggled to get into this book even though I liked the concept and had heard good things, in large part because the author's voice was really grating on me; the smug judgment that is laced in much of the early writings starts to fade some as the author dives into a year of exploring, not just the Judeo-Christian religions but other cultures. He writes with more depth about his diving into Judaism, in large part because of his family's Jewish roots, but he barely wades into the waters of Christianity; maybe he was burnt out because it was nearing his end of his yearlong project or maybe, as he suggested, he felt like to explore equally would be disrespectful to his Jewish roots. I dunno. But it did make the last part of the book less interesting to read. Overall, it was entertaining (he tends toward sarcasm) and fact-filled enough (his previous project was on reading the encyclopedia from A-Z) to be interesting, and for those that like to read memoirs(ish) and topical fact-filled books, I'd recommend this.
I am very quickly falling in love with A.J. Jacob's humor, joy, honesty, and writing! Looking forward to reading more of his work!
Автор ставит перед собой задачу пожить по Хорошей Книге год, соблюдая даже странные правила, причём в начале говорит о соотношении Ветхого и Нового Заветов, и собирается поделить год сообразно, но по факту получается ремикс на "Жизнь, как квеч". "Я еврей, моя семья евреи, вот у нас Тора, вот у нас от неё Пардес, вот я это, то и вот это тоже". Как до Нового Завета доходит -- понятно, что там особо заповедей нет, в основном моральные всякие аспекты, всё, погнали по змеедержцам, евангелистам с собственным бизнесом и шоу на кабельных каналах, евангелистам с мегацерквями по типу мегамоллов, давайте встретимся с гей-евангелистом и другими фриками.
Как-то оно ээээ...
Хвала Господу, что я вообще атеист.
Как-то оно ээээ...
Хвала Господу, что я вообще атеист.
keegi vist lubas mulle, et selles raamatus saab nalja. aga mind eriti ei lõbustanud - mitte sellepärast, et ma piibli absurdsuse väljatoomist kuidagi pühaduseteotuseks peaksin, aga lihtsalt ei ajanud väga naerma, kui üks New Yorki pereisa aasta aega püüdis täita üsna suvalist komplekti igasugustest Uue ja Vana Testamendi reeglitest ja soovitustest (ise ka tunnistades, et kõiki nagunii ei saa ja ei jõua ka). mind pigem kummitas kogu aeg see, kui raskeks ta oma naise elu sellega tegi. ERITI arvestades, et selle aasta jooksul tegeles perekond ka kunstviljastamise ja kaksikute sünniga. veits paremat aega ei oleks osanud valida oma kirjandusliku eksperimendi jaoks, härra?
aga mingit pühaduseteotamist siin ausalt ei toimu ikkagi, suht suure respektiga suhtub AJ kogu sellesse värki ja üsna palju nendib, et enesetunne läks pigem paremaks kui halvemaks.
raamatuna see mu meelesr paraku üldse ei tööta, ongi lihtsalt veidi nagu päevikuvormis välja toodud, et päeval nr see hakkasin järgima seda reeglit ja sellega läks vot nii. on see siis kümnekeelelise kandle mängimine või abielurikkujate kividega loopimine või mittevaletamine. mingit erilist arengut või intriigi kogu loos ei toimu, kui vbla välja arvata see kaksikute sünd, millel pole kogu piibliteemaga mingit pistmist. ja kõige häirivam on mu jaoks lõpp, kus toimub kaksikute ümberlõikamine, mis tundub üsna võigas, aga mida AJ otsustab näha kui esivanemate traditsiooni olulist edasikandmist, ja vat selle koha peal sain aru, et usufanatism sai ta ikkagi kätte. ühesõnaga, kurva lõpuga lugu mu meelest.
aga mingit pühaduseteotamist siin ausalt ei toimu ikkagi, suht suure respektiga suhtub AJ kogu sellesse värki ja üsna palju nendib, et enesetunne läks pigem paremaks kui halvemaks.
raamatuna see mu meelesr paraku üldse ei tööta, ongi lihtsalt veidi nagu päevikuvormis välja toodud, et päeval nr see hakkasin järgima seda reeglit ja sellega läks vot nii. on see siis kümnekeelelise kandle mängimine või abielurikkujate kividega loopimine või mittevaletamine. mingit erilist arengut või intriigi kogu loos ei toimu, kui vbla välja arvata see kaksikute sünd, millel pole kogu piibliteemaga mingit pistmist. ja kõige häirivam on mu jaoks lõpp, kus toimub kaksikute ümberlõikamine, mis tundub üsna võigas, aga mida AJ otsustab näha kui esivanemate traditsiooni olulist edasikandmist, ja vat selle koha peal sain aru, et usufanatism sai ta ikkagi kätte. ühesõnaga, kurva lõpuga lugu mu meelest.
An interesting concept - to live as outlined in the Bible following all of the rules, literally. I thought this book was going to be a satiric and humorous commentary on Biblical literalism. It turned out to be more serious and informing than I thought it was going to be. The agenda of the book was up front - to show that those who claim to follow the Bible literally pick and choose the rules. Instead, it was a zany, crazy, and obsessive way to take a deeper look at the Biblical rules, to provide context and a better understanding of them (or not in some cases), all the while following the author on his personal spiritual quest to discover if God exists. Of course, it was full of cynicism...from visits to the Creation Museum in Kentucky to participating in a form of animal sacrifice. In the end, he proclaims himself a more reverent agnostic (but one that prays multiple times a day) and I think he powerfully concludes by quoting one of his spiritual advisers from this project - saying that you have to follow the spirit of the Bible because God didn't exist only at that one time and place.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I expected this to be amusing, but Jabobs made a great choice in writing (more or less) chronologically, giving us a feel for how he thought and changed as his experiment progressed.
A few highlights and passages that I enjoyed/stuck out from The Year of Living Biblically are as follows:
(Handing over a bottle of wine to a colleague and the ensuing conversation)
"What's this?"
"It's because you're depressed. The Bible says to bring wine to the heavy of heart."
"The Bible says that?"
"Yes. It also says that you shouldn't sing to people with a heavy heart. That'd be like rubbing vinegar in the wound."
"So you're not going to sing to me?"
"No" (pg. 70)
"I think there's something to the idea that the divine dwells more easily in text than in images. Text allows for more abstract thought, more of a separation between you and the physical world, more room for you and God to meet in the middle." (pg. 106)
"There's something relieving and paradoxically liberating about surrendering yourself to a minimal-choice lifestyle, especially as our choices multiply like cable channels." (pg. 143)
"If you roll up your sleeves, even the oddest passages - and the one about edible bugs qualifies - can be seen as a sign of God's mercy and compassion." (pg. 176)
"I find it a profound reminder of the murky instability of the future" (pg. 237 referencing his habit of tacking 'God willing' to the end of any future plans including 'See you tonight.')
(Handing over a bottle of wine to a colleague and the ensuing conversation)
"What's this?"
"It's because you're depressed. The Bible says to bring wine to the heavy of heart."
"The Bible says that?"
"Yes. It also says that you shouldn't sing to people with a heavy heart. That'd be like rubbing vinegar in the wound."
"So you're not going to sing to me?"
"No" (pg. 70)
"I think there's something to the idea that the divine dwells more easily in text than in images. Text allows for more abstract thought, more of a separation between you and the physical world, more room for you and God to meet in the middle." (pg. 106)
"There's something relieving and paradoxically liberating about surrendering yourself to a minimal-choice lifestyle, especially as our choices multiply like cable channels." (pg. 143)
"If you roll up your sleeves, even the oddest passages - and the one about edible bugs qualifies - can be seen as a sign of God's mercy and compassion." (pg. 176)
"I find it a profound reminder of the murky instability of the future" (pg. 237 referencing his habit of tacking 'God willing' to the end of any future plans including 'See you tonight.')