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810 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
810 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
Jacobs' search for God is charming, funny, touching, thought-provoking, and well worth reading. An excellent look at the rules and suggestions in the Bible and how they can be applied to modern life, even by an agnostic living in New York City -- and more than that, how they can be relevant and what they can mean in the here and now.
A.J Jacobs is a good writer, funny but also educational. I'm not religious, but I enjoyed this book.
I really like A.J. Jacobs. I love that he makes his living by trying out different things and writing about them.
As a fellow agnostic, I found this attempted journey into literally following the Bible fascinating.
When I was younger, I was afraid of Christians. Not for any reason but that I thought they were experts on Jesus and religion and liked to quiz other people on them. Where I got this idea, I don't know.
Now that I'm older and wiser (and having married a Christian) I know better but still don't know a whole lot about the Judeo-Christian ideal. This book was a nice foray into someone like me finding out some basic answers.
Mr. Jacobs' style is easy-going and funny. He goes above and beyond to reach his reader and share his experiences.
As a fellow agnostic, I found this attempted journey into literally following the Bible fascinating.
When I was younger, I was afraid of Christians. Not for any reason but that I thought they were experts on Jesus and religion and liked to quiz other people on them. Where I got this idea, I don't know.
Now that I'm older and wiser (and having married a Christian) I know better but still don't know a whole lot about the Judeo-Christian ideal. This book was a nice foray into someone like me finding out some basic answers.
Mr. Jacobs' style is easy-going and funny. He goes above and beyond to reach his reader and share his experiences.
A new perspective on practicing behaviors and how they can change your decisions.
This was the last installment of my beach reading for summer 2009. I liked it well enough that I've started "The Know-It-All." Jacobs approaches his task - taking biblical laws as literally as possible - honestly. My impression is that he may have started this project with an eye towards irony, but that part of him was open to the possibility that it would have a positive impact on his life.
I enjoyed reading as Jacobs took these laws seriously enough that they impacted his life in a positive way. The book favorably discovers religiosity. Jacobs takes on seemingly inane and inexplicable rules and discovers that he's paying more attention to what's important in life. His "journey" adds heft to his experience as a person. Granted, I don't think he converted from his original agnosticism, but it's clear his attitude towards life is better for his experience even if he had to put his Italian suit in mothballs for a year.
A note: I had to see a chiropractor while on vacation. I had this book with me in the lobby. On my way out, a woman asked me if she could write down the title and author. "I can tell it's a good book because you're obviously enjoying it so much," she said. I agreed. I told her I found it honest and humorous. Then she asked me if it was "bible based" and I realized that she might have the wrong impression. I encouraged her to get it though - without revealing that it's not a conversion story; it likely lacks her happy ending where Jacobs finds Jesus - thinking that even someone who has a less "Borg-ish" approach to Scripture could find value in it. It was sort of a moment from the book.
I enjoyed reading as Jacobs took these laws seriously enough that they impacted his life in a positive way. The book favorably discovers religiosity. Jacobs takes on seemingly inane and inexplicable rules and discovers that he's paying more attention to what's important in life. His "journey" adds heft to his experience as a person. Granted, I don't think he converted from his original agnosticism, but it's clear his attitude towards life is better for his experience even if he had to put his Italian suit in mothballs for a year.
A note: I had to see a chiropractor while on vacation. I had this book with me in the lobby. On my way out, a woman asked me if she could write down the title and author. "I can tell it's a good book because you're obviously enjoying it so much," she said. I agreed. I told her I found it honest and humorous. Then she asked me if it was "bible based" and I realized that she might have the wrong impression. I encouraged her to get it though - without revealing that it's not a conversion story; it likely lacks her happy ending where Jacobs finds Jesus - thinking that even someone who has a less "Borg-ish" approach to Scripture could find value in it. It was sort of a moment from the book.
I think I'd actually give this book 4.5 stars if that were possible. This memoir impressed me a lot, partly because A. J. Jacobs managed to write a book that seriously discusses the Bible, Biblical history, religion, and ethics that also manages to be honest and laugh-out-loud funny. I learned a lot about religion reading this book. Although there were times that I was a little annoyed because A. J.'s experiment seemed artificial to me, I do feel he genuinely took some life lessons and became a better and more spiritual person in spite of it.
Also worth noting -- I heard the author speak two days before finishing this book -- and he is funny in person as well.
Some quotes I really liked:
p. 172 "That's the paradox: I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but often as not, it grounds me in this world."
p. 220 "I'd always found the praising-God parts of the Bible and my prayer books awkward....It's so over the top....And why would God need to be praised in the first place? God shouldn't be insecure. He's the ultimate being. Now I can sort of see why. It's not for him. It's for us. It takes you out of yourself and your prideful little brain."
p. 316 "The Bible may not have been dictated by God, it may have had a messy and complicated birth, one filled with political agendas and outdated ideas -- but that doesn't mean the Bible can't be beautiful and sacred."
p. 328 "This year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion. It's not just moderates. Fundamentalists do it too."
p. 329 "I now believe that whether or not there's a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred. The Sabbath can be a sacred day. Prayer can be a sacred ritual. There is something transcendent, beyond the everyday. It's possible that humans created this sacredness ourselves, but that doesn't take away from its power or importance.”
Also worth noting -- I heard the author speak two days before finishing this book -- and he is funny in person as well.
Some quotes I really liked:
p. 172 "That's the paradox: I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but often as not, it grounds me in this world."
p. 220 "I'd always found the praising-God parts of the Bible and my prayer books awkward....It's so over the top....And why would God need to be praised in the first place? God shouldn't be insecure. He's the ultimate being. Now I can sort of see why. It's not for him. It's for us. It takes you out of yourself and your prideful little brain."
p. 316 "The Bible may not have been dictated by God, it may have had a messy and complicated birth, one filled with political agendas and outdated ideas -- but that doesn't mean the Bible can't be beautiful and sacred."
p. 328 "This year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion. It's not just moderates. Fundamentalists do it too."
p. 329 "I now believe that whether or not there's a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred. The Sabbath can be a sacred day. Prayer can be a sacred ritual. There is something transcendent, beyond the everyday. It's possible that humans created this sacredness ourselves, but that doesn't take away from its power or importance.”
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Although I've been wanting to read it, in the back of my mind I was a bit scepticle about whether I would like it or not. Usually when you read about someone's project of this nature you get to a point where you get bored and wonder what you were thinking in the first place. Well, that wasn't my experience with this book. At times, I found myself rooting for AJ and I was looking forward to the end of the book to see if he would change and become a believer, but I won't spoil that for you!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Spends more time dithering than I expected (after reading The Puzzler, which I loved), but all in all an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry
Not especially revealing. Useful more as a reminder of the silliness of the bible than as a dive into what it means to follow that silliness for a year.