I’ve got a confession to make: often, I buy books and the sit, languishing on my shelves (or in piles or in my closet) for, well, sometimes years before I actually read them.

I don’t know why. It’s just my thing, just like buying paper products is my thing or window shopping on the Louis Vuitton website (I have lust in my heart for the Neverfull GM tote bag. Swoon!). Sorry; I digress! (that’s another one of my things)

One of the titles that I bought and waited years to read is The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (a title that was also recommended by the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond here). My question to myself is simply: what the heck was I waiting for? It’s a fantastic read. Jacobs takes on the Bible, literally, and lives it for one full year. The journey he takes is fascinating, inspiring and hard to put down.

Books about religion and theory appeal to me. I was always the kid asking the questions that my Lutheran minister didn’t have a straight answer for. I like learning about what makes people tick, spiritually speaking, and that’s what first drew me to this book.

I think perhaps it took me a long time to read this book because I feared the tone would be a bit difficult for me to take. But I was delightfully wrong about that. Jacobs’ view on religion, scripture and the guidelines and rules therein is quite reverent. He truly wants to know where it comes from, he’s not trying to point out why anyone is wrong; he’s just trying to understand the motivation behind what they do.

Not to sound too trite, but Jacobs’ story is really inspirational. He has a gift for weaving the current affairs of his life and the lives of others around him with his task of living the Bible. He weaves a powerful story of a year living a very well-examined life.

Find a copy at your local bookseller or online.