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)

Year of Living Biblically is an awesome book !!!

I have loved listening to this book. It was recommended to me be my theology instructor after a bought of writers block. He said "Reading you papers you take everything so literally, you need to read this book. It may put things into a realist prospective" He was very right. I was laughing so loud it woke up my slumbering teenagers but I could not stop listening, I listened to the entire book over 3 days this weekend. While I was driving, doing dishes, etc. My 13 year old even got into after a while. I would recommend it as a family book for teenage children on a long car ride. Only got a few eye rolls from my son who is the world champion of not liking audio books.

Did he really give it his honest shot?

What did you like best about The Year of Living Biblically? What did you like least?

There are some learnable lessons for anyone who considers themselves religious.

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

Jacobs made a lot of excuses that poorly reflected on his validity.

Did A. J. Jacobs do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The characters were him and his family, with the occasional interview, so yes.

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

Probably not, though apparently it might be happening.

Any additional comments?

Entertaining - yes. At times because it is a joke. I'm glad he was changed, but so much more was possible.

abridged

As a standalone book, it was great, but it doesn't tell the full story. I didn't find out that this was the unabridged version until after I finished it. What was here was excellent, but too much content was cut.

Excellent

This is a great book. It (literally) made me cry. You don't have to be religious to enjoy this book - actually it's probably better if you aren't.
Gets a little bit preachy at the end but you're well prepared for it...
The only negative is that the author narrates the book, but he just isn't that great. A better narrator would have made this a 5 star easy. But after a while you get lost in the story and the narrator dissapears.
Highly reccomended.

Mediocre, but an interesting journey

I love reading and learning about religions and their baggage. I thought this was an amazing idea, to live the bible literally for a year, but the story dragged. There are some funny stories from this adventure, like stoning an adulterer....with pebbles. I learned a lot about the bible from listening, especially the historical references. I would buy this type of book when it goes on sale :)

A Special Tteat

I'm having a difficult time trying to describe how I feel about this book. It seemed to have enlightened me. I looked forward to getting in my car so that I could listen to it. love!

Facinating story....and funny!

What in interesting premise, facinating work. Well read by the author, combines scholarship with human interest and humor to make a great read!! Unique genre.

very interesting and entertaining!

This book was interesting and entertaining. What a great experiment. I would definitely recommend it.

how can you not read this!

this book is too good to pass up! a great listen! mind blowing and funny at times!

Enlightening and fun.

I love books that help me think outside the box and peek past my paradigms into other ways of looking at life, beliefs and spirituality. A bonus if they can make me giggle out loud. Fun and insightful. I felt more open minded after listening to this book.