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maxhasacoolnickname 's review for:
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.