Just What I Needed
Two sad events converged in my life to lead to my decision to buy this book in the New Orleans airport. First of all, I attended my mother's funeral the day before and needed a book with some laughs. And, I did laugh out loud frequently while in the airport waiting for my flight and on the airplane on my way home.

Secondly, I have had some members of my religion verbally attack me and my family as straight on our way to hell while we try our best to be loving, conscientious members of the group. In this book, I feel swept up and included in the author's quest. He has done some things I would have enjoyed doing and he has furthered my knowledge on my spiritual quest. Though he is not a Christian, he does what our family tries to do to the best of our inadequate ability - to recognize us all as God's children and part of the kingdom. The book makes me feel as though I've been invited to the party and encourages me to continue on my quest to bring as many people in as I can during my lifetime. We can all benefit from the wisdom of various religions and all types of people. I like reading books that support me on my spiritual path. This book actually inspired me to dance as I moved forward during the days I read it. The author writes clearly and with a genuine sense of fun. To me, cheerfulness and optimism are important to convince others of our faith. In these characteristics, the author outdoes some of us who profess to have great faith. And, he walked the talk for an entire year. He has encouraged me to try harder to match my actions to my beliefs.

Not quite there
I found Jacob's book to be funny but lacking. I had no expectations of the book when I began reading it but by the end I couldn't help but be disappointed.

The premise of the book is worthwhile and I had no trouble filing this book under "humor." Jacobs on the other hand, seems to take both himself and this project far too seriously. The book is funny, I did laugh out loud but after a hundred pages or so the jokes became stale.


I specifically had a problem with the alter-ego Jacobs created for himself. What is the point of living a year biblically if he purposely makes the distinction that it is not actually him? I can understand that suddenly being devoutly religious would feel foreign and unnatural, but I suspect the alter-ego was to keep Jacobs' real ego intact. After every single segment of religious exposure or meditation he was quick to remind us that he wasn't a believer yet. I felt all of the special and sacred opportunities he was afforded during the year came to nothing but material to write a mediocre comedy.

I was also disappointed with the way Jacobs chose to deal with the New Testament. It seemed that he spent that part of the project seeking out extreme branches of christianity instead of determining the rules and following them. Probably because abiding by the rules in the new testament would not have been nearly as funny. Why didn't Jacobs go to his neighborhood church service? He seemed to have sought out a mainstream christian advisor but in experiencing the new testament in action Jacobs went to see snake handlers and visit mega churches.

And what is with all the OCD garbage in the book? It seemed like Jacobs was trying to validate his neuroses in respect to his son by including them and pointing out that his wife disagrees (the explanation of "helmet" is hilarious and I did laugh out loud at that).

The book is definitely worth reading, but take it with a pillar-sized grain of salt.

Bland
Whatever humor is in this book is too obvious. I found the premise too internal. It was more of a biblical lesson than an experience. Had the author focused more on how the world viewed a biblical dweller, we would have learned much more about religion, people, and how the world fits together.

Good Job
The book was educational and entertaining, and wasn't meant to be, not to be funny, an abreviated encyclopedia of the Bible. Just one man's journey and experiences. As a non-Jewish agnostic, would I have liked to have seen more New Testement living? Perhaps. This is not Mr. Jacobs responsibility to me though; he can't write for each individual personnally. He can share with us his experience and hope we enjoy the ride. He wrote an insightful, well-researched, entertaining book, well worth the read. Good job I say. I enjoyed the ride.

As a self proclaimed agnostic...
As a self proclaimed agnostic, I have no clue what led me to pick up this book in an airport. But I'm hooked, and I've probably learned more about the bible then some that are "religious". In a fun, nonthreatening, no fire and brimstone, low key way. I give kudos to Jacobs for taking on this task and a year out of his life, even just for a book deal...and sticking to it. I give more kudos to his poor wife for putting up with him during this year. I can't wait to read Know It All.

On a humorous aside, one of my assistants at work wanted to borrow it. He is in the process of reading the bible (new testament) and is pretty religious. I told him no because if he were to stop telling little white lies at work, we'd all be fired!! Rock on AJ, you are on my new favorites list.