Reviewed for THC Reviews The Year of Living Biblically is, as the subtitle suggests, a chronicle of the author’s attempt to live out the Bible’s rules Reviewed for THC Reviews The Year of Living Biblically is, as the subtitle suggests, a chronicle of the author’s attempt to live out the Bible’s rules as literally as possible. After the success of his previous book, A. J. Jacobs was looking for another idea for a book project and alighted on this one for a few reasons. He identifies as a secular Jewish agnostic, describing himself as “Jewish in the same way that the Olive Garden is Italian,” which is to say, “not very.” Although he grew up secular with little knowledge of the Bible and didn’t really believe in God in any traditional sense, he’d become more interested in the role of religion in the modern world. Also, as a relatively new father, he wanted to give his son a choice about what he could believe when he was older, and needed to know what to tell him about the Bible. Hence, this project was born. Given just how many rules there are in the Bible, at first Mr. Jacobs thought perhaps he’d bitten off more than he could chew, but eventually he formulated a sensible plan on how to approach it, so that it wasn’t so overwhelming. He spent the first eight months focusing on the Old Testament, since that’s the part that most people of Jewish heritage follow. Then he spent the latter four months on the New Testament, exploring Christian beliefs. What resulted was a year-long spiritual journey that took him, not only to places right within his local community and home state of New York, but also to various locales throughout the United States, and even abroad to Israel. The insights he gained range from profound to humorous and are recorded in such a way that they should have broad appeal for both the religious and the non-religious.
I’ve had The Year of Living Biblically on my TBR pile for quite some time. I can’t recall now how I came across it, but I remember it sounding like it had some similarities to Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a book that I’m very interested in but have yet to read at this point. I picked up The Year of Living Biblically this month because it was announced as the latest pick for my church book club, and since I haven’t attended in a while, I thought it would be a great way to jump back in. When I found out that the author was a secular Jewish agnostic and that the book was billed as being humorous, I was a little concerned that perhaps he’d be poking fun at the Bible and all it’s seemingly silly rules and regulations. However, I came away from reading it feeling that I shouldn’t have worried. While, as one might expect, many humorous situations arose from his attempts to follow the Bible literally, I felt that Mr. Jacobs actually took the project very seriously and treated this holy book with reverence. He also seemed to be genuine in his search for spiritual knowledge, employing what he referred to as his board of spiritual advisors, who came from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs, both Jewish and Christian. He also chose to have conversations with people from farther ends of the spectrum that he might not have otherwise, such as the Amish, snake-handlers, and the people who run the creationist museum on the Christian side or the most Orthodox Hasids on the Jewish side, plus a little bit of everything in between. I felt this gave the book a very balanced feel. In addition to being an exploration of Judeo-Christian beliefs, it’s also part memoir, as the author discusses the things going on in his personal life (such as fatherhood and his and his wife’s efforts to have another child) and how this all relates to his project.
Mr. Jacobs has a very friendly and accessible writing style that makes for easy, entertaining reading, and I ultimately thought it was interesting to see the Bible through the eyes of someone who was basically discovering it for the first time, which gave it a fresh perspective. I appreciated his open-mindedness and that no matter how “out there” someone’s beliefs seemed to be, he always gave them the benefit of the doubt and usually came away from the encounters feeling like he’d learned something and that they weren’t as weird as they might seem at first glance. He also took the time to genuinely explore the reasons behind some of the Bible’s more strange and obscure rules rather than just writing them off as unimportant. And ultimately he was able to glean something from the experience and make some positive changes in his life. One of the reasons I was interested in reading this book is because there are a number of people in my life who believe that everything in the Bible should be taken literally—full-stop. However, I don’t agree with this belief and wanted to find a well-written book to help dispute these claims. After reading it, I think that The Year of Living Biblically qualifies. One of the big things that stood out to me was that no matter how adamant a religious group was that they were following the Bible literally, they were ultimately still cherry-picking, because it’s darn near impossible to follow every single rule and regulation to the absolute letter. So if nothing else, I’ve come away from reading this book, not only entertained, but also still firm in my belief that each of us has an individual responsibility for figuring out how best to interpret our holiest of books—the Bible....more
Reviewed for THC Reviews I had previously read and enjoyed Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion which had been pretty comprehensive in itReviewed for THC Reviews I had previously read and enjoyed Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion which had been pretty comprehensive in its explanation of how the Twilight movie was made, so I wasn't sure if the Twilight Director's Notebook would add much to that. Upon initially leafing through the book, I also discovered that it is rather short with limited text which made me even more skeptical, but I'm pleased to say that I couldn't have been more wrong in my pre-reading assessment. In fact, I ended up liking it a little better than the movie companion in some ways, not because it told me more or had more beautiful pictures, but because it was written by the director herself, Catherine Hardwicke. It was almost like getting the director's DVD commentary in written form. I really liked how Ms. Hardwicke took the reader through the movie-making process step by step, giving her own insights into each phase of production.
The Twilight Director's Notebook is exactly what the title implies. It is packed with scrapbook-style photos, original artwork rendered by Ms. Hardwicke herself, as well as other members of the production team, storyboards, architectural-type plans for sets and stunt coordination and more. The author has then supplemented everything with her own captions and margin notes, almost giving it the feel of a graphic novel. While it isn't precisely a detailed narrative, she does indeed tell the complete story of the making of Twilight from beginning to end. The Twilight Director's Notebook was a quick and surprisingly enjoyable read that in my opinion, is a must have for every hard-core Twilight fan. Readers who are looking for an in depth recounting of the making of Twilight may prefer Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion, but anyone looking for a bird-eye view from the director's chair should definitely check out the Twilight Director's Notebook. Both books were excellent, but very different reads, and both have found a spot on this Twi-hard's keeper shelf....more
Reviewed for THC Reviews "4.5 stars" I think I must have read a few too many Twilight fan magazines in recent history, because I had somehow gotten theReviewed for THC Reviews "4.5 stars" I think I must have read a few too many Twilight fan magazines in recent history, because I had somehow gotten the idea that this book was going to be like those periodicals with just a little more depth. What I got definitely had plenty of depth, and certainly was not quite what I was expecting, but in a good way. Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion takes the reader on the movie-making journey from start to finish. It begins with the origins of Stephenie Meyer's book of the same name which started it all, as well as the early attempts at writing a script, and continues right on though post-production taking a comprehensive look at each phase of film-making. It was essentially the written version of a “making-of” documentary.
Some of the things in the book were covered either in the behind-the-scenes DVD extras or I had read about them elsewhere, but there was still a lot of new information about all the detail and hard work that went into making the movie, which I thought was very interesting to learn about. For example, I discovered how the set designers decorated each interior set in such a way as to reflect the personality of the characters. The book mentions many little items that were placed in certain rooms which I hadn't noticed when watching the movie and will have to look for the next time I do. I had already known that the weather was a challenge while making the film, but I didn't understand just how much of a challenge it was until I read this book. After learning about some of the things that the actors and crew endured while filming, I think they should be commended for their perseverance. I also got a deeper appreciation for the way the Twilight movie was made. I've gotten the feeling that some people who disliked it may have felt that way (and perhaps unknowingly), because it wasn't heavily laden with CG effects like most blockbuster movies these days are. If I am correct, even on some level, I think that is a shame, because the organic feel of the film is one of the things I really appreciated about it.
Overall, this was a lovely book that I enjoyed reading. I have been a fan of the movie since the first time I saw it, but by reading this book I was still able to cultivate a richer understanding of the challenges the cast and crew faced during the making of Twilight. From the uncooperative weather that was sometimes freezing cold and rainy, to a tight shooting schedule because of an extremely limited budget and work restrictions on Kristen Stuart who was still a minor, I think the movie was far more difficult to produce than it might seem at first glance. In fact, I would challenge those who didn't like the movie to read this book and not come away with at least some appreciation for it, especially after learning the shocking details of the original Twilight movie script that had clumsy Bella as a star athlete and a cheesy action finale involving the FBI. If nothing else, Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion is well worth it just for the gorgeous full-color movie stills some of which take up a whole page or even two and the great behind-the scenes photos. I must admit that I'm not a big collector of movie memorabilia, but this book is a keeper that I would definitely call a must-have for all collectors and fans of the Twilight movie....more
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