The Year of Living Biblically

One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

By: A. J. Jacobs

Narrated by: A. J. Jacobs

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

After his hilarious chronicle about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z (actually a-ak to zyweic), our fearless author, A. J. Jacobs, tackles a new intellectual adventure, an exploration of the most influential book in the world: the Bible. He determined the best way to explore the Bible was to live it, as literally as possible. For one year.

There are 700 rules in the Old and New Testaments, A. J. discovered - some wise, some general, some contradictory. Some from Jesus, some from prophets, some from God. A. J. assembled a board of spiritual advisors: rabbis, ministers, and priests, some conservative, some of them "one four-letter word away from excommunication", who would provide guidance and advice throughout his journey. But the journey was, by necessity, arbitrary. DIY religion.

In The Year of Living Biblically, A. J. explores the Bible chronologically, from the Old Testament (crucial, given the 10 Commandments) to the New Testament (crucial, given America's powerful evangelical movement and its literal interpretation of the Bible) and lives the Bible on every level. He obeys the 10 Commandments, he is fruitful and multiplies (A. J.'s wife had twins during his year!); he remembers the Sabbath and keeps it holy. But he also obeys the oft-neglected rules, such as avoiding clothes of mixed fibers and refraining from shaving the edges of his beard (Leviticus 19:27). So, throughout the year, A. J. is commonly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. Or Moses.

This is a look at religion today through one man's totally arbitrary, deeply funny, journey. In A. J.'s hands, The Year of Living Biblically is also fascinating and irresistible.

©2007 A. J. Jacobs (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"[A] hilarious, quixotic, thought-provoking memoir." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A.J. Jacobs has written a - how else to put it? - Good Book. Let me take my review from the original, Psalm 2, verse 4: 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.'" (P. J. O'Rourke)

Better than I thought...

I ended up enjoying this book and getting some good insights to think about, actually. I have to admit that I did listen to the abridged version, since it was the only audio version available. I usually hate abridgements, but I just didn't think I could handle the 400+ pages on this topic. I was only reading it for my book club, after all! So, then the fact that I enjoyed it was a bonus, and I was happily surprised. There is a 1 hour talk available that the author gave about his experience, too; I may listen to that as well before the book club!

One of the things I liked about the book is that the author has a great sense of humor combined with some great insights. Sense of humor: He introduces his Jewish family by saying they aren't very religious at all; they are Jewish in the same way the The Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant. I liked his insights from his Biblical year, too. One chapter is "Love keeps no record of wrongs." Then he goes on to describe a list he has kept of various little arguments he's had with his wife and when HE was RIGHT and she was wrong. He decides that he will admit it to his wife and then destroy the journal. He tells his wife and asks if she's mad. She says no and laughs, saying it was just so heartbreaking that he needed this list. I liked his wife; he uses examples of her a lot.

He started the book saying he wanted to explore Biblical literalism since millions of people say they take the Bible literally. By the end, he comes up with a food metaphor to sort of summarize his year. The term "cafeteria Christianity", he says, is a derisive term that fundamentalist Christians use to criticize moderate Christians, saying you shouldn't pick and choose from the Bible but should follow it all. Fundamentalist Jews say the same thing about the Torah, he says. A.J. Jacobs says that what his year showed him is that EVERYONE practices cafeteria religion, moderates and fundamentalists, because it would be impossible to keep everything on your plate. Otherwise they'd kick women out of church for saying hello ("The women should keep silence in the churches for they are not permitted to speak." I Corinthian2 14:34) or boot out men for talking about the Tennessee Titans ("Make no mention of the names of other Gods." Exodus 23:13) So he learned that there is nothing wrong with choosing. They key is choosing the right dishes from the cafeteria. You need to pick the nurturing ones - compassion, the healthy ones - love thy neighbor - NOT the bitter ones.

I guess I feel like it doesn't take living Biblically for a year to figure this out, BUT is was funny, insightful, and somewhat inspriational to read this, so I'm glad he did it (and not I! )

Funny, insightful, balanced

My wife and I listened to this audiobook from start to finish and enjoyed every minute of it. Jacobs is a talented writer with a gift for obsessively thorough research and deceptively simple writing. He knows his stuff and he's smart enough to hold his cards close to his chest.

The book follows the author through a year of literal Biblical living. He stones adulterers, avoids direct contact with women, sacrifices animals, keeps the Sabbath holy and so on. When tackling a number of sensitive and downright mind-boggling commandments, Jacobs' sense of humor proves to be the real savior here. His clear thinking, honesty and humor make "The Year of Living Biblically" an important document on both modern Biblical integration as well as the history of religious thinking and practice.

Just ok

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

In hindsight, I wish I had read it instead. This version is abridged, and you miss out on almost everything New Testament.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I don't know if it's because this version is abridged, but it came off more mocking than I anticipated. Too much time was spent on "literally" carrying out unknown and random aspects of the bible. I wish more time were focused on the meaningful things that really bring a person closer to God.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator's tone was pretty annoying.

interesting, not as funny as stated. humorous

as a Christian, I don't think he gave the new testament a fair shake. when he visits the church he does extreme left and right. most Christian are in the middle. as a Jewish pretty indepth. but because he went into this for his mind and not his heart he missed the mark. disappointed he made his own cafe biblical plate with no connection to God.

Good, but abridged.

If you enjoy AJ Jacobs, this book is very well read by the author himself. However it is slightly abridged, so keep that in mind.

Loved it!

I was sorry the book ended; I couldn’t have listened for hours more. Will surely listen to it again!

Its ABRIDGED! Buy the book if want the whole story

To all the reviewers complaining about the short shrift the New Testament gets, I say read the dead tree version for the full story. Overall worth one credit, but I could do with less talk about the author's OCD routines and issues.

AJ Has Done It Again!

I loved this book easily as much as I did his Know It All book. His relatable style and clever use of day to day interaction makes this as enjoyable as any novel. I would recommend this title to anyone who is looking to get some perspective on their own questions of faith and religion or anyone who enjoys the heroes journey. AJ does a great job of reading his own work too, so many times an author will read his own book and you'll love the work but, the authors voice is annoying, not so with AJ.

You sound stuffy..

Would you try another book from A. J. Jacobs and/or A. J. Jacobs?

Sure, I think he is genuine in his writing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Year of Living Biblically?

The Mosh Pit of Jewish Men celebrating...I try to imagine a Pantera Concert filled with Hasidic Jews...

Would you listen to another book narrated by A. J. Jacobs?

If I can stomach is Nasaly Voice for 6 plus hours...yes.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Definitly..as long as it stays true to the book and doesn't go all "New Years" or "Valentines Day" on the bit...."Tu Bishvat"

Fair, balanced, and funny.

The author’s reading is often halting and peculiar but equal parts hilarious. The book strikes a nice balance of highlighting (many) religious people’s hypocrisy and honoring the value of the Bible and spirituality. I laughed out loud and thought hard.