The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible Paperback – Illustrated, September 9, 2008

A man takes a 30 Days episode and stretches it out to a year. Sounds like the start of a plausible documentary, and it is.Recently, I have taken disgust to my generations lack of interest in Philosophy and Religion -- lack of the later or not, you should at least know what you are accepting or rejecting. As well as reading holy texts themselves, I have taken to accounting for other peoples views or experiences on religion. This book served its purpose beautifully in that aspect. But more on that in a moment.A. J. Jacobs is a phenomenal writer, whom I plan on buying more of as soon as I can. His fabulous use of vocabulary, as well as recounting events in the most humorous aspect possible, without offending others, could only be matched by a priest. It is his delightful use of comedy that makes this book bearable, even for the most sacrilegious of persons. Even then, he is brutally honest in his writings, telling his thoughts in truth -- as the Bible so dictates him to do so.It is the combination of me wanting to know more about the Bible, as well as A. J. Jacobs well timed writing that makes this book second to none in terms of retrospects on the Jewish and Christian faith. He follows as many as he can literally, as well as the few obvious philosophically. He accounts for the flaws of atheism, as well as the flaws of faith itself and delves into a world he may have never seen had he not perused the Bible to the letter. He begins his adventure on a rocky start, having to follow -- and break -- so many commandments in his first few days that he drives himself buggy. Should I wear these slippers? I can't have strawberries? Following crosswalk rules in NYC? Having to carry a spare chair with you, even on the subway? Dealing with heavy, aggressive atheists and Christians? All of these are covered in the book and gives great tribute to the pluses and minuses that come from these. He even goes to far as to stone some people -- but I don't want to ruin anything.As well as following the Bible so strictly, he goes out of his way to meet many colourful characters. My favorite was the person whom he met to analyze his clothing, checking for mixed fibers. A. J. had to break a commandment many times with this character. We also get to meet his son, his wife, as well as faithful and unfaithful people who agree and disagree with his project. Some who go out of their way to test how resolved he is in his project -- including his own wife. But nonetheless, A. J. shows his faith (if you'll excuse the bad joke) to his project by every means. Especially for the obscure ones.I would recommend this to both who hail Richard Dawkins and Thomas Aquinas. 9.5/10.

This cultural Jew read up on what the Bible, both Old and New Testament, says and tried to live it as literally as practical for a little over a calendar year. He consulted a lot of experts, both Jewish and Christian, and many different strains of each, along the way. He is observant and respectful while seeing the human foibles we all have and he writes in a humorous and engaging way. If you are a Jew or Christian and open to seeing yourself and your faith in the mirror, you may see things about yourself and your coreligionists a bit differently than you have before.When reflecting on the effects of this endeavor on his own beliefs, he seems very sincere and open, yet his conclusions seem somewhat contradictory. As an active believer, I really don’t understand how someone can say that prayer became “meaningful” and he chose to send his kids to religious school and yet still claim to be an agnostic. I don’t understand how one can live that intimately with the Judeo-Christian tradition and still be on the fence, neither believing wholeheartedly or completely rejecting its premises about divinity and humanity, but that is where he still claimed to be at the end of his “year”.I f you expect a “scholarly” or proselytizing book, you may be disappointed, but if you want a light read that just might make you think a little more than you expected, this is a decent book, have fun with it.

This book is both entertaining and educational. Very hard to put down! I can’t wait to read more of his books.

For a bible aficionado like myself, I love AJ Jacobs genuine agnostic account of his experience to live according the prescriptions of the Bible. Although officially it was planned for a year. But by the end of the book, one gets the impression that his 100% committed immersion in Gods words will have effects on him and the people around him for a lifetime. The core strength of AJ Jacob's book lie in his true life account of his experiences and encounters with quirky characters which made it very engrossing for me. I love his use of biblical verses to begin a new new theme to his chronological collection of stories. Although his coverage of Bible included both old and new testament, it was clear he gave heavier emphasis on the Old testament. He explained his bias by his pride in his Jewish ancestry. He could also achieve greater mileage by humorous take on the ancient laws of Deuteronomy. Although towards the end of his book, I sensed a greater reverence in Mr Jacobs has for Jesus Christ. By extoling the virtues of Jesus near the end of his book, like charity, forgiveness and humility, he as journeyed to a high point and bringing his readers along with him. And I absolutely loved his presentation of supporting verses on the pro life issue, especially the part on John the Baptist as foetus leapt with joy when Mary, pregnant with Jesus drew near to Elizabeth. Foetuses are unborn human beings, not tissue to be discarded when life becomes inconvenient.His journey to the bible belt, the holy land, and encounters with quirky characters like uncle Gil and snake charming pastor provided much humorous entertainment that thrilled me no end.In allowing his beard to grow from day one to the end of his project, his enormous beard aptly symbolised the gradual accumulation of his rich experience of bible living and meetings with a diverse number of religious people. It is heartwarming that when at the end of the project, shaving off his beard cleanly, there will still be an invisible 5 o clock shadow covering his clean shaven face. Jacobs cannot be the same agnostic secular man he was a year before the project started. The experience must have enriched him and the virtues and wisdom become apart of him. Jacobs still has a long way to go given his young age of 38 and still father to baby twins and a toddler. What began a good work in Jacobs by luring him into this Biblical project will continue on no doubt to mould him into a better man. I would love to hear from Jacobs again 20 years from the end of his project to find out more on this life changing year long experience has impacted his life. I am certain he would not consider himself agnostic anymore but a compassionate, charitable and humble man like Jesus, the servant king.