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AudibleInk - The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
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List Price: $25.00
Our Price: $16.50
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Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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FREE SHIPPING on Orders over $25!
Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 220
EAN: 9780743291477
ISBN: 0743291476
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2007-10-09
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editorial Reviews:
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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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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Book Enjoyed by a Student Forced to Read Must Be Good...
Comment: I loved this book. I am not a religious person. I am neither Christian or Jewish but I loved this book. I am a student at a Christian University and "The Year of Living Biblically" was a required read for my class "Understanding the Bible". My sister and I read the book together other Thanksgiving and kept the entire house awake laughing at Jacob's witty comments (most notably about Starbucks). I love this book. Read it. Gift it. Love it.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: More Interesting Work From The King Of Kitsch.
Comment: When I think of A.J. Jacobs, the guy who did "Supersize Me" comes to mind. It's all kitsch. Like he goes on his research quest for the next novel by picking a thing lots of people want to do, but don't do them, and he runs with it. It's a little on the tired side, but I don't mind because now I can live vicariously through him without actually reading the encyclopedia covers to covers or going to Heaven by really really trying. Now that I know what the costume looks like, I'll just sneak in.
Jacobs is a definite anti-protagonist because he's only semi-likeable. In fact, I know guys like him personally. Whiny, phobia-ridden
stick figures who work super hard trying to prove that they have nothing to prove. I might even be one of those guys, just not a stick-figure. In his case, he gets by because of all the times he made me giggle from the first book and made me think from this one. Well done, Jacobs. Near the end of the book, I found him far more endearing and thoughtful. However, I can't dislike his wife Julie enough. All she does is shoot him down and complain about the projects that put food on the table. Sitting on every chair in the house when living biblically is hard enough??? There's a difference between a tolerant wife and a supportive one. A supportive wife would've designated him his own chair to sit in for a year. She disgusts me.
I can't say that I'm interested in his family life, honestly. I know it sounds insensitive but I always just skim through the things about his wife and kid. I love all the bible and encylopedia stuff but he loses me when it comes to intimate revelations. I said revelations, get it? But seriously, folks...while I was clearly drawn into the events, ideas and issues concerning the Old Testament, I have to say that the switch to New Testament life was wholly boring. I can only chock that up to the fact that Jacobs is Jewish and his hands were pretty much tied. It all seemed like a bunch of interviews from that point on. But more on his family life - I think around the time he got in the face with the bowling pin, I finally found some good things to read where his family was concerned.
Can't wait to read about his year-long visits to every country on the globe or his year-long building of his own Egyptian pyramid or whatever he feels like doing for a year. Whatever because I'm sold on this guy's writing. But I think I'll dress up like Ghandi instead because he's got a better chance of getting IN.
Fine, fine book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Good, The Bad, ... Pure Honesty.
Comment: Overall I found this book to be interesting and intellectually stimulating. I read this book in three days. The good things that I came away from this book where: I felt like I needed to improve myself. If a man who does not believe in God and doesn't have the internal drive of the Holy Spirit can have such a Biblical presence of mind and an interest and love for doing the right thing then should't I have a drive simular to but greater than his. I also feel that I need to include more importance on rituals that can improve my life and make me feel closer to God. I liked how he compared everthing to stories in the Bible. He drew wisdom from these stories. This makes me want to study my Bible more.
I feel distraught as a Christian that he couldn't bring himself to belief. There was no big bang at the end. It's like a man that lets his lawn grow wildly out of control to see what it would be like. After he mowes his lawn he decides that it didn't really look very good but he got attached to all the greenery and decided to put some plants in his lawn. Nothing large happened. At best this book was amusing and thought provoking. It was not life changing or mind altering in the way I had hoped.
He spent most of his energy on the Old Testament. His work on the new testament seemed half-hearted and weak. It was dissapointing to me... as was the build up to meeting Gill and his weak description of the encounter.
I just wish that he could have believed. It would have changed everything... not just his book but his life. Instead of putting a couple extra plants in his yard he would have became a botonist and grown a beautiful garden that bore much fruit. That is what I was hoping for.
But like other books I take what I can and leave the rest. (Like a cafeteria....) I read the book with an open mind and took away a slight change in perspective about some things that were sparked by his conversation.
This may be a sin to say but when I watched some videos of him speaking (after I read the book) I was ultimately dissapointed. Like when you see a radio host for the first time in person. He seemed like a salesman ... peddallllling his wares... not someone that had been altered by a great experience and had something new and exciting to bring to our social conversation. But that's ok. I may have set my bar a little high.
If I told you I was a Christian and didn't tell you that I would pray for you A.J. then that wouldn't make me a very good Christian now would it. It would say that I don't care if you accept Jesus Christ and ultimately I don't care what happens to you. But I am going to try to pray for you every night, that you will come to believe. I appreciate the insights I was able to take away from your book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Make time to read this one!
Comment: Great for anyone who has ever questioned the relevance of God's laws to everyday life in the 21st centruy. A.J. Jacobs manages to be both funny (some parts made me laugh out loud) and respectful at the same time. I was afraid he would denigrate my faith; he doesn't, and he devotes time and attention to multiple viewpoints and faiths. Besides being entertaining, the book will challenge you to think.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Reading Experience
Comment: I was intrigued when I first saw the title of this book and after purchasing it and beginning to read it, I became fascinated with it. The very concept of Mr Jacob's experiment is interesting even to those people who don't consider themselves religious or even particularly knowledgeable in the area. And I felt like it was me that was living the experiment. I too am agnostic in my beliefs and I felt that the author's reactions to what he experienced during his year were the same as how I would react. He is puzzled by the same things that I would be and asks the same questions I would ask. That connection to me as a reader is the mark of a good writer and Mr Jacobs succeeds brilliantly. The book itself is humorous without being silly. Sometimes the humor is subtle while other times it hits you right between the eyes. Highly recommended.
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