Rating: 4/5 stars

Three-Word Summary: Taking religion literally

A.J. Jacobs is an experimental journalist, meaning that he tries crazy things and then writes about it.

These experiences include reading the entire Encyclopedia Britanica, outsourcing his life to India and being as healthy as humanly possible.

One of his most well-known experiments was an attempt to live all of the commandments in the Bible for an entire year, which culminated in the writing of this book.

Religion is an always controversial subject, especially when compared to Encyclopedias and outsourcing. But Jacobs stays true to his inner journalist by remaining objective and non-judgmental.

While on his quixotic quest, he meets religious fundamentalist on both sides, visits a Creationist museum and even makes a trip to Israel. He wears a white robe, carries a staff, grows a beard and does not touch women — all as the Bible instructs.

Although he realizes the ridiculous nature of trying to live by every, sometimes contradictory, rule in the Bible, he also finds a deeper appreciation and reverence for the small traditions and sacred practices of religion.

Personally, I learned a great deal about both Christianity and Judaism through the eyes of this agnostic New Yorker. The book was as entertaining as it was informative.

Jacobs had an array of stories and encounters, but he kept the pace light and moving forward without getting too bogged down in the minutia.

Ultimately, we realize that there are no clearly right answers. Everyone has to pick and choose which religious edicts we want to follow because choosing them all is simply impossible.

There is, however, a simple beauty in the small things; a solidarity in the traditions, however bizarre and inexplicable. And there are many interpretations and meanings behind the best-selling book of all time.