Reviews
AJ Jacobs' editors must have thought "a book with bible in the title will be sure to sell well!" and I'm sure it did. He admits that the experiment was done in order to write the book, not out of some deep feeling of wanting more spirituality in his life. As a result, this book misses the mark in a couple of ways. Its not as funny as his first book, in which he read the Encyclopedia Britannica - with a real reason behind it (his dad had started but not finished, and he wanted to get smarter) - nor is it as deep. During his first book, AJ Jacobs thought about how the experiment was changing his life and had some nice reflections on his quest for knowledge. This one had little of that. Maybe the Bible experiment did make him a better person but he doesn't communicate that well, and you're often left wondering (as is the author) about whether he's doing something because the Bible told him to or he actually is a better person. Sure, AJ Jacobs develops more reverence and understanding of the role of religion at the end but he doesn't change his life too much as a result.