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The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . Now with 68% More Humor!
It’s the Bible, now with 68% more humor and 99% fewer begats!
You’ve wanted to read the Bible, but it’s über-long and, let’s face it, sometimes boring. You’re a busy person with stuff to do. You want the Bible, only funnier. And shorter.
Enter The Twible, which brings you every chapter as tweeted in 140 characters or less, from Genesis to Revelation!
Find out what the Bible says you’re supposed to do if a friend starts worshiping another god, your child disrespects you in public, or you break the Sabbath. (The answers to those dilemmas are to stone your friend, stone your child, and stone yourself. In that order.) Learn where Paul swears in the New Testament, and why Jeremiah could benefit from antidepressants. Inside The Twible you’ll find:
• A tweet for each of the 1,189 chapters of the Bible
• A summary of every book of the Bible in seven words or less
• Dozens of informative sidebars (print edition only)
• More than 50 original cartoons
• A glossary telling you who’s who in the Bible
• Unicorns
From start to finish, The Twible brings the Bible to wonderful, wicked, weird life.
You’ve wanted to read the Bible, but it’s über-long and, let’s face it, sometimes boring. You’re a busy person with stuff to do. You want the Bible, only funnier. And shorter.
Enter The Twible, which brings you every chapter as tweeted in 140 characters or less, from Genesis to Revelation!
Find out what the Bible says you’re supposed to do if a friend starts worshiping another god, your child disrespects you in public, or you break the Sabbath. (The answers to those dilemmas are to stone your friend, stone your child, and stone yourself. In that order.) Learn where Paul swears in the New Testament, and why Jeremiah could benefit from antidepressants. Inside The Twible you’ll find:
• A tweet for each of the 1,189 chapters of the Bible
• A summary of every book of the Bible in seven words or less
• Dozens of informative sidebars (print edition only)
• More than 50 original cartoons
• A glossary telling you who’s who in the Bible
• Unicorns
From start to finish, The Twible brings the Bible to wonderful, wicked, weird life.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2013
20 people are currently reading
522 people want to read
About the author
Jana Riess
26 books93 followersJana Riess is the author, co-author, or editor of many books, including:
"The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church"
"The Prayer Wheel: A Daily Guide to Renewing Your Faith with a Rediscovered Spiritual Practice"
"Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor"
"The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . . Now with 68% More Humor!"
She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service and holds degrees in religion from Wellesley College and Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in American religious history from Columbia University. She speaks often to media about issues pertaining to religion in America.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 1, 2013
Hmmm. I just added my own book, _The Twible_, to the Goodreads database and now it is asking me to also rate the book. This seems oddly pompous but here goes . . . I really like this book I wrote.
This project began in 2009 on Twitter and has grown from there, and I'm thrilled to see it grow up and become a book. If you enjoy religious humor with an irreverent bent, I hope you'll like it too.
There are 1,189 tweets, one for each chapter of the Bible. There are over 50 cartoons from the talented Leighton Connor, and the print version also has dozens of informative sidebars to help you learn more about the Bible in an entertaining way. (The Kindle edition does not have the sidebars, but hey, it's half the price.)
If you'd like to follow this project for free on Twitter, I'm @janariess.
This project began in 2009 on Twitter and has grown from there, and I'm thrilled to see it grow up and become a book. If you enjoy religious humor with an irreverent bent, I hope you'll like it too.
There are 1,189 tweets, one for each chapter of the Bible. There are over 50 cartoons from the talented Leighton Connor, and the print version also has dozens of informative sidebars to help you learn more about the Bible in an entertaining way. (The Kindle edition does not have the sidebars, but hey, it's half the price.)
If you'd like to follow this project for free on Twitter, I'm @janariess.
November 18, 2013
The Twible is a grand experiment of sorts. Over a period of more than three years, Jana Riess read the entire Bible and reduced every one of its chapters to a 140 word Twitter post. There was no doubt that this was going to be funny, but there are several kinds of funny that it could have been. It could very easily have descended into a kind of burlesque mockery where the strangeness and incomprehensibility of much of the text became the joke. But the Twible is much better than that.
Reducing things by 95% while keeping some recognizable semblance of the original is actually kind of hard. It requires one to understand the source material extremely well. And, ultimately, this is why the Twible succeeds: Jana Riess understands the Bible very well. Her extreme redactions are funny, but they aren't JUST funny They also almost always get to something crucial about the text that often gets lost in all the words. Her versions of some of the hardest books of the Bible--Leviticus, Isaiah, Revelation--contain gems of insight that have actually changed the ways that I understand the original texts.
Reducing things by 95% while keeping some recognizable semblance of the original is actually kind of hard. It requires one to understand the source material extremely well. And, ultimately, this is why the Twible succeeds: Jana Riess understands the Bible very well. Her extreme redactions are funny, but they aren't JUST funny They also almost always get to something crucial about the text that often gets lost in all the words. Her versions of some of the hardest books of the Bible--Leviticus, Isaiah, Revelation--contain gems of insight that have actually changed the ways that I understand the original texts.
December 10, 2013
Do you know what a tweet is? Do you have a sense of humor? Do you have an interest in the Bible? If you match up with these three criteria, I may have a book for you. The Twible is the self-published project of Jana Riess, who has published -- with great graphics and informative side bars -- her ongoing project to summarize chapters of the Bible in no more than 140 characters (all that Twitter allows.
I add that you have to have a sense of humor because Jana places a humorous, even snarky spin on her summations. That means that Biblical literalists on both sides of the aisle probably will want to stay clear. If you make the Bible an idol that is co-equal with God, then you will not like what you see. If you, on the other hand, disdain the biblical text and religion with it, well, you'll probably misunderstand Jana's intent. But if you live somewhere in between, you may find this an enticement to go into the text of Scripture itself and see if Jana has captured the essence. And even she hasn't, you will still find yourself ruminating over these texts of Scripture.
Great gift for those young adult readers of Scripture -- by the way!
I add that you have to have a sense of humor because Jana places a humorous, even snarky spin on her summations. That means that Biblical literalists on both sides of the aisle probably will want to stay clear. If you make the Bible an idol that is co-equal with God, then you will not like what you see. If you, on the other hand, disdain the biblical text and religion with it, well, you'll probably misunderstand Jana's intent. But if you live somewhere in between, you may find this an enticement to go into the text of Scripture itself and see if Jana has captured the essence. And even she hasn't, you will still find yourself ruminating over these texts of Scripture.
Great gift for those young adult readers of Scripture -- by the way!
December 30, 2013
I have been a facebook follower of Jana Riess since reading her book "Flunking Sainthood," and have been avidly following her Biblical tweets through that page. When it was offered up in book form, I pounced!
One doesn't necessarily jump to the words "humor" and "laughter" when thinking of the Bible in any form...but what a shame we don't! This entire book had me chuckling at every turn. I have my favorite "chapters" in this one, but pretty much every one had fun and hilarity in it.
By a well-thought-out contrast (in my opinion), Riess also includes some wonderful bits of history and context, enlightenment on many subjects that can help a reader to better understand the actual Bible and certain characters or subject matter within it. It provided a nice balance, and often intriguing perspective. The main event here is, of course, the snarky commentary -- which I found delightful, I speak fluent Snark. But even through the humor and sarcasm, I never found that it went over the line or put a toe into the "sacrilege" category. Riess managed to find the perfect blend between humor and respect, and I do think the additions of the more seriously-intentioned studies throughout the book really kept everything appropriately balanced.
One thing I must say I was impressed with, just from a pseudo-writer's perspective, is just the whole idea and scope of this project. Mark Twain once said "I didn't have time to write a short note, so I wrote a long letter." Writing succinct-and-to-the-point phrases is extremely difficult. Even more so when one is trying to be entertaining. This idea was brilliant as a concept, and also brilliantly pulled off. I think this displays a great deal of talent, and something that might end up getting overlooked by many. So BRAVO, Jana!
One doesn't necessarily jump to the words "humor" and "laughter" when thinking of the Bible in any form...but what a shame we don't! This entire book had me chuckling at every turn. I have my favorite "chapters" in this one, but pretty much every one had fun and hilarity in it.
By a well-thought-out contrast (in my opinion), Riess also includes some wonderful bits of history and context, enlightenment on many subjects that can help a reader to better understand the actual Bible and certain characters or subject matter within it. It provided a nice balance, and often intriguing perspective. The main event here is, of course, the snarky commentary -- which I found delightful, I speak fluent Snark. But even through the humor and sarcasm, I never found that it went over the line or put a toe into the "sacrilege" category. Riess managed to find the perfect blend between humor and respect, and I do think the additions of the more seriously-intentioned studies throughout the book really kept everything appropriately balanced.
One thing I must say I was impressed with, just from a pseudo-writer's perspective, is just the whole idea and scope of this project. Mark Twain once said "I didn't have time to write a short note, so I wrote a long letter." Writing succinct-and-to-the-point phrases is extremely difficult. Even more so when one is trying to be entertaining. This idea was brilliant as a concept, and also brilliantly pulled off. I think this displays a great deal of talent, and something that might end up getting overlooked by many. So BRAVO, Jana!
November 3, 2013
Have been reading this book over the author's Facebook status updates for the last year plus. Very enjoyable and creative. I think those new to the Bible and those familiar with it both will love it. It's a new, very modern way of reading and looking at the Bible. It's interesting how the Twitter format brings a new understanding to the Bible.
January 11, 2014
Won a signed copy of this self-published book from Jana Riess through Goodreads, and I can't wait to get started! Just from reading the front and inside covers, I can tell it's going to be fun. Love the concept!
It took me a little while, but I finished yesterday. Ms. Riess is clearly someone who's not only read & studied the bible, but was also able create a delicious reduction of each chapter, infused with her own sarcasm, that any one of us can enjoy. Not a small feat!
For example, Psalm 88 (which she says is one of her favorite chapters because it, "tells it like it is") Verse 105 states: "Did you doze through the Bible's first pages? No worries mate, because it's all here in miniature-Genesis & Exodus for Dummies"
That's the sort of brilliant synopsis common throughout the book. Add in the cartoons and Chapter summaries and, I'll take this over the real thing any day!
It took me a little while, but I finished yesterday. Ms. Riess is clearly someone who's not only read & studied the bible, but was also able create a delicious reduction of each chapter, infused with her own sarcasm, that any one of us can enjoy. Not a small feat!
For example, Psalm 88 (which she says is one of her favorite chapters because it, "tells it like it is") Verse 105 states: "Did you doze through the Bible's first pages? No worries mate, because it's all here in miniature-Genesis & Exodus for Dummies"
That's the sort of brilliant synopsis common throughout the book. Add in the cartoons and Chapter summaries and, I'll take this over the real thing any day!
January 5, 2014
Jana Riess knocks it out of the park with this frequently hilarious recap of the Bible, chapter for chapter, in Twitter-length snippets. She makes a bright line decision against any sarcasm related to the atonement, but beyond that, all is fair game, and rightly so. Well done, Jana! I will read this again and again, and given the length, I can (unlike the Bible).
November 13, 2013
Outrageously great fun from a remarkable religion writer. Displays great respect for the power of the Bible through a kind of gently dissembling humor that takes the book very seriously. I think the book will have appeal for experts in the Bible as well as novices.
November 7, 2015
Loved it. Although the Twible is intended to help people want to read the real thing, since most people haven't, I think I liked it even more because I have read the real thing. I am encouraging my kids to read the Twible, I think they will love it, too.
August 13, 2016
Enjoyable, humorous read!
May 10, 2021
I'd actually forgotten all the strange things that made it into the Bible we know and love today. So this was a very entertaining way to "read" the whole Bible.
Riess is a very charming narrator, and after reading this I very much want to follow her Twitter account. Overall I really enjoyed this romp through the scriptures in a brief and fun way.
The only drawback is that it can be very repetitive (not Riess's fault). There are only so many times you can hear Paul lament the sins of man. But I will say it is easier to read in a tweet!
Riess is a very charming narrator, and after reading this I very much want to follow her Twitter account. Overall I really enjoyed this romp through the scriptures in a brief and fun way.
The only drawback is that it can be very repetitive (not Riess's fault). There are only so many times you can hear Paul lament the sins of man. But I will say it is easier to read in a tweet!
July 29, 2017
I definitely have to get a copy of this book for myself. Very humorous, and the use of Twitter might help those who shy away from the Bible to become more interested in reading it. I know that I am really motivated now to start reading the Bible as a whole again.
Full review to come.
++++++++++
Review is posted! Check it out on my blog
http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.bl... and www.facebook.com/AllTheBookBlogNamesA...
Full review to come.
++++++++++
Review is posted! Check it out on my blog
http://allthebookblognamesaretaken.bl... and www.facebook.com/AllTheBookBlogNamesA...
October 21, 2017
It is incredible how much insight you can find in these 140 character summations.
February 28, 2025
I wanted to re-read the Bible this year...and now I have! Hilarious!
January 31, 2014
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest views through the Goodreads First Reads program.
This book is fun and unique. I loved the idea of it from the outset. What if someone tweeted the entire Bible? Well, they did. And then they published all the tweets in a book.
Of course, it's not just a straight summary. It is sarcastic and funny. The author says in the introduction that she would ask herself, "What would the Onion say about this chapter?"
The result is quite enjoyable. But I do have to mention two negative things.
The first negative is not necessarily even a negative. The book is very irreverent. Like I said, that's not necessarily bad if you know what you're getting into. I'm pretty irreverent most of the time, but I will admit that there were a few tweets that made me cringe.
The second negative is that there are certain passages and doctrines that have so profoundly changed me that I can't fathom not mentioning them. It was difficult for me to come upon a chapter that had had a profound effect on my life, and see a sarcastic joke as a summary. I recognize the book wasn't purporting to be a summary of all the doctrines or teachings, in fact in many ways it intends to be the opposite. I also recognize that the passages that were profound are not the same for everyone. Writing a humor book based on the Bible is guaranteed to leave out lots of profound doctrines. It's not fair for me to expect the book to take a different tone on my favorite chapters. Nonetheless, it still grated on me a little bit.
While there are those two negatives, there is plenty of positive as well. For one, the book is funny. Like this from Ephesians 1: "Paul has 'not ceased in thanksgiving.' Apparently, no one told him that he can stop eating leftover turkey anytime now." I mean, that's comedy gold!
I also really liked when the book pointed out things that have always amused me in the Bible, such as Paul's missing coat in 2 Timothy 4: "Fight the good fight! Finish the race! P.S. can you please bring my coat when you come? I accidentally left it in Troas. Xxoo."
Probably my favorite thing about the book had nothing to do with the tweets. Periodically, there were brief vignettes or commentaries that would give more information about a chapter, historical setting, or a Biblical character. Some of these were simply the author's thoughts about certain passages. Others referenced scholarly works. All of them added depth.
Finally, I think the greatest value this book brings is that it points the reader to the Bible. There were things I didn't remember that this book brought to light and it made me pull out my scriptures and look it up. Anything that does that has real value.
This book is fun and unique. I loved the idea of it from the outset. What if someone tweeted the entire Bible? Well, they did. And then they published all the tweets in a book.
Of course, it's not just a straight summary. It is sarcastic and funny. The author says in the introduction that she would ask herself, "What would the Onion say about this chapter?"
The result is quite enjoyable. But I do have to mention two negative things.
The first negative is not necessarily even a negative. The book is very irreverent. Like I said, that's not necessarily bad if you know what you're getting into. I'm pretty irreverent most of the time, but I will admit that there were a few tweets that made me cringe.
The second negative is that there are certain passages and doctrines that have so profoundly changed me that I can't fathom not mentioning them. It was difficult for me to come upon a chapter that had had a profound effect on my life, and see a sarcastic joke as a summary. I recognize the book wasn't purporting to be a summary of all the doctrines or teachings, in fact in many ways it intends to be the opposite. I also recognize that the passages that were profound are not the same for everyone. Writing a humor book based on the Bible is guaranteed to leave out lots of profound doctrines. It's not fair for me to expect the book to take a different tone on my favorite chapters. Nonetheless, it still grated on me a little bit.
While there are those two negatives, there is plenty of positive as well. For one, the book is funny. Like this from Ephesians 1: "Paul has 'not ceased in thanksgiving.' Apparently, no one told him that he can stop eating leftover turkey anytime now." I mean, that's comedy gold!
I also really liked when the book pointed out things that have always amused me in the Bible, such as Paul's missing coat in 2 Timothy 4: "Fight the good fight! Finish the race! P.S. can you please bring my coat when you come? I accidentally left it in Troas. Xxoo."
Probably my favorite thing about the book had nothing to do with the tweets. Periodically, there were brief vignettes or commentaries that would give more information about a chapter, historical setting, or a Biblical character. Some of these were simply the author's thoughts about certain passages. Others referenced scholarly works. All of them added depth.
Finally, I think the greatest value this book brings is that it points the reader to the Bible. There were things I didn't remember that this book brought to light and it made me pull out my scriptures and look it up. Anything that does that has real value.
January 28, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. I've read The Bible several times and studied it from different angles, so I didn't expect to learn anything new, and I was pleasantly surprised that I did indeed learn while reading.
I was already aware of most of the interesting, funny, awkward details that Jana brought up in The Twible, but her take was always fresh, interesting and amusing.
This book isn't for everybody. A complete non-believer would probably not be too interested in Jana's insights, and an absolute literal believer in Biblical inerrancy might be disturbed. So I think this book is recommended for people with more than a passing interest in The Bible, but also for people who have a sense of humor and who have studied The Bible closely enough to understand what Jana is referring to.
While the tone is humorous and often is even a bit irreverent I can honestly say that I was not only amused, but also uplifted and inspired. In addition to a new and humorous summary of every single chapter in the standard canonical text, Jana also transmitted the key and crucial messages of this ancient text, such as the importance of love, forgiveness and understanding.
(I do wish she had included some of the Apocryphal books or some other canonical LDS works, but that would be a narrower target market).
I was already aware of most of the interesting, funny, awkward details that Jana brought up in The Twible, but her take was always fresh, interesting and amusing.
This book isn't for everybody. A complete non-believer would probably not be too interested in Jana's insights, and an absolute literal believer in Biblical inerrancy might be disturbed. So I think this book is recommended for people with more than a passing interest in The Bible, but also for people who have a sense of humor and who have studied The Bible closely enough to understand what Jana is referring to.
While the tone is humorous and often is even a bit irreverent I can honestly say that I was not only amused, but also uplifted and inspired. In addition to a new and humorous summary of every single chapter in the standard canonical text, Jana also transmitted the key and crucial messages of this ancient text, such as the importance of love, forgiveness and understanding.
(I do wish she had included some of the Apocryphal books or some other canonical LDS works, but that would be a narrower target market).
June 4, 2014
Funny and insightful, the tweet format makes you zip through the Bible while better understanding how it's put together, when the books were written, and who the various authors are (or are purported to be). Awesome project that makes me want to get into the Bible to see how the tweets really match the chapters.
August 21, 2015
Jana Reiss sets her parameters (each chapter of the Bible gets a 140 character tweet) and within those parameters has done something pretty impressive. While some of the humor could be forced or lazy (e.g. boilerplate verse on helping the poor: "Ya hear that TEA PARTY!? FOX NEWS!?") the majority of the book is clever, thoughtful, and honest. A very enjoyable read.
April 26, 2014
A delightful, quirky book that has me actually yearning to go read the bible in full form. I'm glad I bought it, too, because I will probably be pulling it out to read Jana's summaries alongside any biblical study. Very fun read.
March 9, 2014
It was hellareous.It made me laugh each time i read it.
June 21, 2015
Gave as a gift. Loved the parts I looked at. Pure fun.
April 3, 2014
Review is written and waiting on it post at place of origin before posting here.
April 8, 2014
Every chapter of the Bible summarized in a tweet. There are so many ways this could have gone wrong, but it didn't. Entertaining and impressive
February 27, 2016
Meh. Kind of funny. Might use for a Sunday School lesson.
July 10, 2014
Yes, it's humerous, but it's also pretty accurate.
October 26, 2015
Just a fun little dose of hilarity...
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews