A.J. Jacobs Omnibus: The Know-It-All, The Year of Living Biblically, My Life as an Experiment

by A.J. Jacobs

An eBook boxed set that features the first three of A.J. Jacobs's riotous—and surprisingly informative—ventures into experiential journalism.
 
The Know-It-All:  Puzzle along with A.J. as he endeavors to read—and retain—the entire encyclopedia, and discover what exactly it is he learns along the way.
 
The Year of Living Biblically:  Discover what life would be like in the 21st century if you lived precisely by the dictates of the Bible—the insights gained about religion might surprise you.
 
My Life as an Experiment: Join A.J. on a roller-coaster tour of life as a human guinea pig: he explores both the perks and pitfalls of various undertakings in a series of charming essays, including those titled “My Outsourced Life" and "My Life as a Beautiful Woman."

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

1088 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2011

Reviews

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

"From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible. Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes. Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin. Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges." (From Amazon)

Freaking hilarious! Everyone should READ this! It is a great look at a man trying to live day to day literally according to the bible. A great writer.

[Heather Colacurcio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A.J. Jacobs devotes an entire year to living his life according to the Bible in this humorous, thought-provoking book. From not touching his wife when she is deemed "unclean" to making sure his clothes are not made with blended threads, Jacob's is sincerely committed to interpreting the Bible as literally as possible and sticking to those interpretations. Visits with members of different faiths (and a few Atheists) round-out Jacob's journey and offer some insight into the importance and relativity of scripture in faith. This isn't a dissection of the Bible, but instead an interesting exploration of how following the most famous book in the world applies to 21st century living. A fun, insightful read for Non-Fiction lovers.

[melydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of articles detailing the author's myriad experiments: radical honesty, unitasking, outsourcing one's entire life, etc. It's fun to read mostly because of the author's amusing way of describing his adventures. He never takes himself too seriously, which is good, because some of the rules he commits to are pretty ridiculous. That said, there are some thought-provoking moments as well, when he discovers new ways of thinking about things. Fun read.

[Charlotte Chui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was extremely well written and was hard to put down. The author's witticisms constantly kept me chuckling throughout and I even found myself surprised at his creative and ingenious ways to abide to the rules set out by the Bible.
Although I am not religious, I still found myself immersed into his spiritual journey. His insights and findings in Judaism and Christianity often made me think about the ways I view the two religions as well. Instead of just following every rule, he also questioned them and how they were viewed back in that time and also in the modern world of today. When he encountered rules that most people would consider silly nowadays, he sought out professionals to explain the roots of the rule itself.
Furthermore, religion is such a touchy subject that many people tip toe around it. However, the author is honest and questions the topic very respectfully and most of the time, with very little judgment before he truly understands the subject.
Essentially, I view this book as a kind of travelogue diary. His day-to-day events and findings were not only enjoyable, but made me reflect on my thoughts and beliefs as well. I'm glad that his journey did not lead him to believe either one of the extremes of: the Bible is all right, or none if it is worth anything. He comes to a good middle ground between the two and it is this realization, which really made the book worthwhile.
I highly recommend this book to readers in general. It is both humorous and serious, and is definitely an interesting read.

[Cryschan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book both funny and informational. Although I had to read this for a class, it was one of the better books I've read that is school related. Also, this had taught me a lot about the details of Judaism I needed to know, such as the specifics of the 613 Jewish laws. Along with the book just being informational, a lot of the short stories and events that happened through Jacobs' life was hilarious such as his 64th day of the story of him 'stoning' the adulter was one of the stories that stood out to me. Although he has done many silly things throughout the book, I really do respect him. It's really interesting how someone could actually have the will power to live by the bible for a year because many of the rules in both the old and new testament break a lot of social norms. Like in the beginning of the book when Jacobs had to attach the tassels onto his clothing, it really isn't a normal sight for people. Also, it is a really sensitive topic for non-Jewish/Christian people so I thought that maybe him reading the bible in the subway was sort of an insensitive thing to do. Overall though, I really do respect Jacobs. I'm really glad that he had the courage to write this book and be truthful about all his feelings while trying to live by the bible. This book is definitely worth reading for those who like a laugh and have an appreciation for religion.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've decided that I do not like journalists as authors in the sense that if they write a book, I want them to write the book as a book and not as a series of vignettes that can later be used as articles for various magazines. It's lazy and annoying to read. I did enjoy the topic of this book and it gave me insight into the Jewish faith since the majority of the book is from the perspective of the Old Testament. He is not particularly funny and this book did not make want to read his other book about him reading the encyclopedia so from that perspective, he failed.

[Julie Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the first book I read was so great that I immediately read his other book. This time, his quest is to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a year. When I was in elementary school, I was often found reading our encyclopedias for fun at home. So this topic really appealed to me. He again made me laugh through the entire thing. He’s very engaging. If you want a couple of really fun books, here they are.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting, Mr. Jacobs is an entertaining writer (I definitely think he chose the right occupation). Unfortunately he still came out of the experiment calling himself an agnostic. It was nice that he felt more spiritual at the end but overall a sad story in my mind since he was so fixated on the outward actions (growing a beard, dressing in white) that the inward change had little chance of taking place.

[Diana Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very entertaining, although I'm still not crazy about the format of those "doing something in a year" books. BUT - with my bias aside - Not only did I enjoy this book, I learned a lot about obscure biblical laws, the intersection between the secular and religious, and the surprising underground worlds of observance.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful attempt to figure out the place of the Bible, both the old and new testaments, in the modern world. AJ Jacobs tried to muddle through all the rules and laws mentioned in the Bible and determine his and the reader's relation to them. I liked it more than I expected to.

[Roseanne Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

AJ Jacobs is so fun to read. I love all of his work.

[Caitlin Fullerton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty and quite funny!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it....vdery enlightening, humorous, and thought-provoking.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of his books individually. I find them to be insightful and entertainingly humorous.

[Sandi G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a whole lot of stuff in the Bible. Much of it is theological, but a lot of it contains practical tips on living back in the BC times. A.J. Jacobs is Jewish but mostly agnostic. His journey of following all the rules in the entire Bible over a year is absorbing, hilarious, and enlightening. He finds himself becoming a better person in spite of himself, simply by rethinking, disciplining, and adding ethical behavior in the way he lives every day. If his Kosher journey about living with his wife while she is menstruating doesn't briing tears of laughter to your eyes, nothing will. Also his wife deserves a medal for putting up with the year. At the end, he is still mostly agnostic, so if you're looking for a book about conversion, this is not it. On the other hand, I recommend it if you are open minded and enjoy the humor in being human though the ages and in modern times.

[Michael McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two books int he omnibus edition were great, and I decided to get hard copies of both for my library. I think the second one in particular makes a great combo with "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose (who by the way shows up as an intern in Living Biblically). While the third book was okay, my interest in the experiments began to wane. "My Life as an Experiment" was more of a hodge lodge and many of the anecdotes were focused on his family, which I'm afraid tend to be a bit repetitive and tedious after awhile. Jacobs tends to be best, in my opinion, when he is out and about interacting with this crazy world while taking on some extreme behavioral prescription.

I might pick up his book on attempting to live healthy in the future.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

By day 268 I was looking for day 365, so it would be over, BUT I did like the authors style of writing and I did think it was funny at times, so I’d definitely read another book from this author. I think the subject matter was a bit much for me.

[~tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too gimmicky, and the author seemed to have entitlement blinders on to being a white male.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was afraid this was going to be a one-trick-pony type of book, but was pleasantly surprised. Learned some interesting things.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt a lot about religion ,It's semi-comedic ,light hearted with serious undertones

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives a good incite into many of the literal and quirky rules of the bible showing Jacobs own wrestling with his consequence and the problems he encounters trying to achieve this. From blowing his trumpet on a monthly basis, sacrificing a chicken and charming snakes there is a lot of rules in the bible that I never knew were there. The book wasn't quite a s funny as I expected and was a lot longer than it needed to be. At times the book turned into a personal biography of Jacobs and his family rather than sticking completely to the subject matter at hand. I learnt a lot about some Old testament practices and Judaism, but Jacobs never really got to grips with the new testament. The book would of greatly benefitted from an epilogue with some reflections by Jacobs on his journey and an explanation of what impact this year had on his life or was it all just for book sales?

[Jamie Howerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh a lot! It was really fun to read and I sped through it.