The Year of Living Biblically

A.J. Jacobs takes on the Bible and all its rules and regulations. He soon finds it impossible to follow every rule every day, so he resorts to attempting to follow selected rules each day. Still he fails. My favorite part was when he went to Central Park on Saturday and Sunday (the Sabbath) and attempted to stone those breaking the Sabbath.

Why this book?
I have been brought up as a Christian, and went to a Christian school. For me Christianity is something overarchingly good. However, some of my friends are almost extremist left wing anti-Christianity/religion.
I wanted to delve deeper into the rules of the Bible, if they encourage violence (my friends' opinion), or support pacifism.
Also, I love personal challenges, and living according to the literal rules in the Bible seems fun and challenging.

My opinion
Already the book starts out great, with Jacobs' enthusiasm and humor. Apparently there's a rule in the Bible that you may not shave the corners of your beard. Jacobs does not know where the corners are, so he decides to just not shave his beard entirely, and he starts with a description of what kind of reactions the beard has evoked. I couldn't put the book down.
The story itself is an entertaining collection of personal anecdotes of what happened when literally following the rules of the bible (including using pebbles to stone an adulterer and taking on a slave). I love challenges like these and can imagine myself taking on the same challenge.

Unfortunately a year is even not enough to follow all the rules in the Bible, and is too short even to figure out which rules are meant to be taken literal and which to be taken figuratively. As Jacobs describes in the last chapter the Bible can be compared to a banquet, and it is to the individual to decide how to interpret it, which courses/rules to follow more literally and which not.
For me this is somewhat of a let-down, as it doesn't give me an answer whether the Bible encourages violence or not (it depends on which courses you choose).
I was however enthusiastic with Jacobs' conclusion; the rules make you more overall aware of how special life is, to be grateful for what you have and be kind to your neighbors.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to people looking to get a basic understanding of the Bible and the different ways to interpret it. Jacobs' tries to talk to people from all spectra of followers, from extreme left to right.
It's also a really interesting and fun read to get a basic sense of the Biblical rules and how they work in modern life.

I would not recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn the actual rules, as they are not summarized here. And also not recommend it to anyone wanting to know (or get reconfirmed) what is the best way to interpret the Bible.