Book Review- The Year of Living Biblically

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

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


You probably know this book. It went a bit viral when it came out (or at least as viral as any book does that isn't Harry Potter or Twilight). It's also about to get a boost as it becomes a (seemingly ill-advised) CBS comedy series in a month or two. That said, I was introduced to AJ Jacobs via the Know it All, so I was sold on that fact alone. That particular book put him in a company of pop culture writers (the term 'gadfly' was popular for a minute), the most famous probably being Joel Stein, who writes for Time. Jacobs is really smart and really funny, though.

The book seems problematic in that it will either be preachy and turn people off or blasphemous and turn people off, right? Joel is an agnostic Jew so it seems like it could be the latter.

It is strangely reassuring though (and of course, some might be offended, because people are offended by everything). Of course, the idea is that he follows the rules in the Bible including some of the most outrageous one. He seems to focus on them one-at-a time(ish) in order to organize the book, which works well in that aspect. He has the rules on his website- but there's the obvious- no work on the Sabbath, no gossip- and then gets tougher from there- smash idols, do not lay where a menstruating woman has laid, kill adulterers - and some that are a mix- always stand in presence of the elderly, do not trim your beard, do not wear clothes that mix wool and linen.

It works because Jacobs is a smart and funny commentator. He also strives to make it more than just a "look at these silly laws in the Bible' stunt. He finds a good mix of different religious factions who tend towards literalness. There's Ken Ham (of course) who built that big Ark park, the Amish, Jerry Falwell, snake handlers, Hasidic Jews and much more including gay Christians and Red Letter Christians who follow only Jesus's words. He is always respectful and the jokes are generally at his expense.

This also works well for the the readability of the book. Ironically, Jacobs (and the reader) will likely be more convinced by religion than turned off by it; or at the very least, draw the conclusion of Jacobs- that doing good things in the name of religion even if you don't believe it is still better than the alternative.

it also should bring to mind "Cafeteria Christians" and those that cherry pick passages that they believe in. There are many I see on social media who for example, seem to like the parts in the Old testament about homosexuals, but don't do a lot of loving their neighbor or be welcoming to the poor and immigrants. To me, it only strengthens the argument that if you are going to do that and be judgemental, you need to be all in, and you need the white garments and unkempt beard.

Again, I am a big Jacobs fan, and the topic is a pretty easy one in that it opens humorous possibilities, but that said, it is Jacobs's talent to pull this off and make it a pretty fun and smart book. Certainly in that tradition of Dave Barry humor, so your results may vary depending on tastes, though I think most everyone would at least enjoy it.



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