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The Year Of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

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About this Book

Hardcover

400 Pages, 6.4 x 9.5 x 1.2 in

March 2, 2009

Simon & Schuster


0743291476
9780743291477

From the Publisher

From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history''s most influential book with new eyes.

Jacobs''s quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife''s chagrin.

Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah''s Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain.Jacobs''s extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

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From the Critics

"Throughout his journey, Jacobs comes across as a generous and thoughtful (and yes, slightly neurotic) participant observer, lacing his story with absurdly funny cultural commentary as well as nuanced insights into the impossible task of biblical literalism." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred)

From The Community

4

Reviews from the Community23 Reviews

  • JB

    JB

    Interesting but not inspiring 3

    6 weeks ago

    This is a really interesting take on the pursuit of religion and finding a true calling. The attempt to live from the bible is noble, but, when taken this literally, seems a bit ridiculous. There are parts of the book that are laugh-out-loud funny, but there are also parts of the book that are just plain annoying, although that may be due to the quirkiness of the author, who fully admits to having plenty of social problems. This book is not for someone who is seeking inspiration for a… read more

  • gwen fernandes

    gwen fernandes

    Humorous 3

    This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Trade Paperback)

    7 months ago

    This book was pretty good. I found it alittle boring at times, mainly because I am not a religious person, so reading parts from the bible weren't that exciting to me. However, the fact that someone actually took the bible to the most literal sense and tried to live their life that way is pretty fascinating and courageous I would think, especially in this day and age!!!! It also had some humorous parts to it. Overall not a bad book to read.

  • Kabuki Face

    Kabuki Face

    • 7 people found this helpful

    Thought-Provoking 4

    9 months ago

    The Year of Living Biblically is the second experimental memoir by Jacobs. Even though the idea behind the book is very similar to his encyclopedia quest - to conduct a study and record the observations - the final result is absolutely different. It does carry Jacobs’s quirky humor and sarcasm, but the monologue behind those is much more serious and personal. Maybe it is so because of the subject matter, but I found The Year of Living Biblically to be more deep. Jacobs is doing it again. He… read more

  • Erin Pierce

    Erin Pierce

    Educational! 4

    This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Trade Paperback)

    8 months ago

    This book was a great read! I am not a very religious person, so I have very little knowledge of the Bible. It was very enlightening while being humourous as well. It was an adventure following A.J. Jacobs through his journey.

  • Edward Brain

    Edward Brain

    • 1 person found this helpful

    A Must Read!!! 5

    14 months ago

    This book is a must read if you really wnat to know some of the more obscure parts of the Bible like not wearing mixed fibres. He might have driven his wife crazy at times, but it does give a lot of understanding as to how someone should live if they truly want to follow the Bible.

    This reviewer also recommends:
  • Sheri S.

    Sheri S.

    • 3 people found this helpful

    Hilarious & Insightful 5

    This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Trade Paperback)

    10 months ago

    A.J. Jacobs set out to follow the Bible's words, as literally as possible, for an entire year. As ambitious of a task as this seems, it is not entirely uncharacteristic of Jacobs, given his previous book, “The Know-It-All”, which documents his reading of the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z. With the guidance of Rabbis, Priests, professors and friends, Jacobs sets out on his quest and ends up learning a lot about himself along the way. He explores a number of religious sects and groups… read more

  • Edward Brain

    Edward Brain

    • 1 person found this helpful

    Must Read 5

    14 months ago

    This is a must read book if you want to truly understand the bible fro a literal point of view.

    This reviewer also recommends:
  • Lisa Kelly

    Lisa Kelly

    • 2 people found this helpful

    Funny, Informative -great book!! 5

    This review is from: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible (Trade Paperback)

    11 months ago

    I bought this book for a friend and ended up reading it myself. I thought it was great--I'm not a super religious person, more of a believer but don't like all the 'our church is better than your's' This book talks about the origins of both the Old and New Testaments. AJ is a really funny writer but also informative. The situations he found himself in were amusing. I was sad to finish reading it.

  • Jody Weima

    Jody Weima

    Fantastic! 4

    17 months ago

    I highly enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down and finished it in under a week. Good humour, insight and makes you think (rather you're a believer or not). Agreed, he should have delved more into Catholicism, etc. I got it from my library, but I'm going to buy it to add it to my collection.

see all 23 reviews

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