Last Wednesday I participated in a book club on AJ Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it, as it had me laughing out loud periodically. Jacobs is an experimental journalist who writes for Esquire, and in this book he goes on a year-long journey attempting to follow the Bible as literally as possible. Through his hilarious adventures, he learns about fundamentalism (both Jewish and Christian), his own religious heritage, and his spiritual life. Also, he dresses up in all white, grows a full beard, blows the shofar on street corners at the first day of every month and throws pebbles at adulterers. Entertainment!
Like all book clubs, tangents are always the most exciting part, because tangents form an opportunity for discussion beyond the scope of the novel, and into the participants’ basic intellectual yearning to discuss personal opinions and issues. You have just gotten a small insight into my senior thesis, of which a substantial rough draft is due tomorrow morning. Thanks for letting me practice. Yes I do want to cry now.
Back to our tangents, they were really great, and what was supposed to be an hour-long book club, became a too-good-to-stop, 3 hour book club. As a group of modern Orthodox Jews, we discussed the ritual life inherent in being an observant Jew, and what it all might amount to. We also tapped into spirituality, cherry-picking religion, oh, and our basic ideas about what type of life we think people should lead and why. Sound heavy? It is!
One important reason why I mention all this is because AJ Jacobs admits to constantly Googling himself and references thereof, and I think it would be pretty damn cool if he saw this post. It would most definitely rank high on my “famous connections” list. So AJ if you’re listening in, hi, I think you’re funny (very).
Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing! In an attempt to come as close as possible to having a slave, Jacobs picks up a non-paying intern who does all his dirty work for free. Turns out, since the book’s publication, that very intern wrote a book of his own (about Jerry Falwell), and it actually did pretty well. An intern turned famous? Clap clap clap.
Rachel Lily
Tags: aj jacobs, book club, cherry picking, christian, clap clap clap, esquire, experimental journalist, famous intern, fundamentalism, intern, jerry falwell, jewish, kevin roose, modern orthodox jews, senior thesis, slave, spritual life, tangents, the year of living biblically