The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
I heard about this book a couple of years before I got around to purchasing and reading it. I know a lot of people who claim to take the Bible literally and who claim to live their life as closely to the guidelines set out therein. Well, the author did just that and his results are wildly different than the people I know.

While trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible, A.J. Jacobs discovers contradictions, some explicit, others springing from differences in translation and interpretation. He has difficulties incorporating the realities of modern life (like having to carry a chair with him so he doesn’t accidentally sit in a seat a menstruating woman has been in; it’s unclean) and it is only due to the eternal patience of his wife that he is able to live within some of these restrictions (although she draws the line at a rule that states he can’t touch her at ALL for weeks after her c-section delivering their twins; spoiler: he suspends his “quest” for about a month after their birth).

The challenge the author undertakes in this book is something I, myself, would NEVER attempt, but I did find his account illuminating. Like him, I think a lot of people seek to live the best lives they can by following tenets set out in the good book, but being human, fail to varying degrees. Jacobs’s quest did lead him to being a kinder, more thoughtful person, so even as a self-described agnostic, by the end of his journey, he felt it was worthwhile.

I don’t want to go too in depth about my views on religious; my personal beliefs aren’t relevant to this review. It’s a well-written, engaging, funny account that answers a lot of questions I had about how would one have to live if they really took the Bible as literally as they said they do. His conclusion confirmed what I suspected: it’s impossible to follow ALL the rules literally and EVERYONE cherry picks.

But don’t take it from me. Read this and be yourself, enlightened. It’s not going to make you a true believer (it certainly didn’t affect my beliefs in any way), but it might increase your understanding.