|
|
|
|
Holistic Guidance - The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
|
List Price: $25.00
Our Price: $16.50
Your Save: $ 8.50 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
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.
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not quite there
Comment: I found Jacob's book to be funny but lacking. I had no expectations of the book when I began reading it but by the end I couldn't help but be disappointed.
The premise of the book is worthwhile and I had no trouble filing this book under "humor." Jacobs on the other hand, seems to take both himself and this project far too seriously. The book is funny, I did laugh out loud but after a hundred pages or so the jokes became stale.
I specifically had a problem with the alter-ego Jacobs created for himself. What is the point of living a year biblically if he purposely makes the distinction that it is not actually him? I can understand that suddenly being devoutly religious would feel foreign and unnatural, but I suspect the alter-ego was to keep Jacobs' real ego intact. After every single segment of religious exposure or meditation he was quick to remind us that he wasn't a believer yet. I felt all of the special and sacred opportunities he was afforded during the year came to nothing but material to write a mediocre comedy.
I was also disappointed with the way Jacobs chose to deal with the New Testament. It seemed that he spent that part of the project seeking out extreme branches of christianity instead of determining the rules and following them. Probably because abiding by the rules in the new testament would not have been nearly as funny. Why didn't Jacobs go to his neighborhood church service? He seemed to have sought out a mainstream christian advisor but in experiencing the new testament in action Jacobs went to see snake handlers and visit mega churches.
And what is with all the OCD garbage in the book? It seemed like Jacobs was trying to validate his neuroses in respect to his son by including them and pointing out that his wife disagrees (the explanation of "helmet" is hilarious and I did laugh out loud at that).
The book is definitely worth reading, but take it with a pillar-sized grain of salt.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bland
Comment: Whatever humor is in this book is too obvious. I found the premise too internal. It was more of a biblical lesson than an experience. Had the author focused more on how the world viewed a biblical dweller, we would have learned much more about religion, people, and how the world fits together.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Job
Comment: The book was educational and entertaining, and wasn't meant to be, not to be funny, an abreviated encyclopedia of the Bible. Just one man's journey and experiences. As a non-Jewish agnostic, would I have liked to have seen more New Testement living? Perhaps. This is not Mr. Jacobs responsibility to me though; he can't write for each individual personnally. He can share with us his experience and hope we enjoy the ride. He wrote an insightful, well-researched, entertaining book, well worth the read. Good job I say. I enjoyed the ride.
Customer Rating:
Summary: As a self proclaimed agnostic...
Comment: As a self proclaimed agnostic, I have no clue what led me to pick up this book in an airport. But I'm hooked, and I've probably learned more about the bible then some that are "religious". In a fun, nonthreatening, no fire and brimstone, low key way. I give kudos to Jacobs for taking on this task and a year out of his life, even just for a book deal...and sticking to it. I give more kudos to his poor wife for putting up with him during this year. I can't wait to read Know It All.
On a humorous aside, one of my assistants at work wanted to borrow it. He is in the process of reading the bible (new testament) and is pretty religious. I told him no because if he were to stop telling little white lies at work, we'd all be fired!! Rock on AJ, you are on my new favorites list.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Heaven Sent
Comment: This book is entertaining, funny, and thought provoking. Following A.J. on this journey made me change my perspective on a few things and I learned a lot. I highly recommend it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
