The Year of Living Biblically

The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible. I obey the famous ones:
The Ten Commandments
Love thy neighbor
Be fruitful and multiply But also, the hundreds of oft-ignored ones.
Do not wear clothes of mixed fibers.
Do not shave your beard
Stone adulterers Why? Well, I grew up in a very secular home (I’m officially Jewish but I’m Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant). I’d always assumed religion would just wither away and we’d live in a neo-Enlightenment world. I was, of course, spectacularly wrong. So was I missing something essential to being a human? Or was half the world deluded?

The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the time known as The Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket. The book traces the development of Gothic Architecture out of the preceding Romanesque Architecture and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory against the backdrop of actual historical events of the time. Although Kingsbridge is the name of an actual English town, the Kingsbridge in the novel is actually a fictional location representative of a typical market town of the time.




Tom Builder is a poor but honourable stonemason who lost his job as a builder because the cruel, sadistic lord William Hamleigh was turned down by young Lady Aliena when he proposed marriage, as Tom Builder was building their new home. Starving and destitute, Tom's wife Agnes dies in the forest while giving birth to their third child; Tom cannot feed the baby boy, and in his grief he leaves the child on Agnes's grave, takes his remaining two children, shy Martha and cruel Alfred, and becomes companion of Ellen and her odd, red-haired son Jack, whom Tom meets accidentally when he thinks that he is going to die away in the forest himself. Alfred immediately despises Jack, a hatred which takes on a grave form later on. After many hardships the family settles down in Kingsbridge, where Prior Philip wants to build a cathedral. Jack also meets Aliena and falls in love with her.

Bordering on pornography, that's right I said porn. This book was full of graphic details I thought I would never read. It was recommended by another one or two ladies in book club so who would have thought! But the storyline was so intense and addictive. The characters were so full of realism and life and each person was somehow connected to the others. I just had to see how it all ended. Very well written even if it was too much info :-)! I was haunted for a few weeks by this one, but oh so captivated by Aliena (the heroine). Good read!

The Alchemist

The Alchemist is by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. It takes you on his adventurous journey full of life lessons, dreams, bizarre visions, myths and symbols. In the end we find we have read a very simple parable on life and our quest to reach our life's treasure.

The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle

Story of a young mute boy who loves his family and the family dogs. Not ordinary dogs but well breed and trained dogs. The story takes you through the lifestyle of a the farm family and the sudden death of the father. Mystery sets in when the uncle steps in and you wonder what his role is in the death.

The Last Lecture

This book is the last lecture of a dying man given at the college where he is a professor. His last lecture is to inspire his students but mostly is him saying goodbye to his family and leaving advise and a legacy to his children.

Two From Galilee

This book tells the love Story of Mary and Joseph. Mary just 14 years old and Joseph is 21 and has been waiting to marry her. Her parents want only the best for their first born yet Joseph is just a carpenter and son of a humble family. Mary convinces her parents to let them be together. The story tells of their passion for one another and deep wanting to become one. After she has conceived by the holy ghost you follow them to Bethlehem and the story goes on. There is much to learn about the culture and religion of the times. Please share your thoughts on this book.

freddy

Last night we had another great book club discussion. Sorry more people couldn't make it. Hopefully we will see more of you next time! Adrienne, Alison and Liz discussed humorous moments taken from the book as well as the British government compared to our own. Liz thought the book was a love letter to America! We also talked about how great it was for Freddy and Fredericka to have to loose it all and re- invent themselves before they appreciated each other and fell in love. Thank you for the lemon cake Liz! Does anyone have anything to add? Please leave your comment here!