The Year of Living Biblically

A.J. Jacobs decides to spend 12 months following the rules dictated in the Bible. He is Jewish. So naturally he starts with the new testament. He is overwhelmed with all the rules. He seems to live in New York with his wife and young son. His wife is pregnant during this journey.

One specific aspect of the journey is that the guy let's his beard grow out. He travels to meet people of different Bible-based religions. He even goes to Israel to meet up with Uncle Gil, an outcast of his family. He also travels to Tennessee to meet the pastor of the snake handling church. The assistant pastor is tasked with warming up the tiny congregation. But he spends 1.5 hours speaking, thereby being the entire service.

The author's reclusive neighbor dies near the end of this experiment. She was working on writing a book herself. The guy and his wife ended up having twin boys at the end of the year. There did not seem to be any real conclusion. The author shaves his beard, and starts reverting back to life before following the Biblical rules.