The Year of Living Biblically--Book Review

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The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. A.J.Jacobs. Simon & Schuster. 2008.

Book review by Joel
I discovered this book through TED Talks. TED Talks is a conference out of Long Beach California that annually gets the brightest minds in technology, entertainment, and design and melds them together, and then they make them available to the public through podcasts. They are at www.ted.com.

Anyhow, A.J.Jacobs had a short presentation and it was very good. So I bought the book and read it. I must admit I now know more about the Bible than I ever have and am even more scared of fundamentalists than ever because they are creepy. And how!

But I must say I felt that didn't quite get the revelation from it that I was expecting. From the TED Talks lecture, he alluded to a more spiritual self-awakening than I got from the book. He repeatedly said that he was agnostic and was waiting for enlightenment; maybe it takes longer than a year. He was making progress by the end of the book. I was just expecting more I guess. That has always been my problem with religion or spirituality. The insights never show themselves. Everyone says the same things but it seems no one really gives it much thought. At least in this book, A.J. really puts his money where his mouth is. I would recommend this book to friends but only if they had a sense of humor about their beliefs. If not, I probably would steer clear of them anyways.

Joel.

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Do you like this book review? Joel has written for Book Reader's Traverse since its conception in 2004. He often finds his books in unusual places, including hometown shops where he visits, and even dumpsters at times. See his comical bio and picks--Joel's Picks.

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