Product Review Monday

This week's book review is "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" by A.J. Jacobs.

From the Amazon summary: A.J. Jacobs chronicles his hilarious and thoughtful year spent obeying – as literally as possible – the tenets of the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history’s most influential book with new eyes.

I've owned this book for years and have read it and re-read it over and over and over again. One of the reasons I find it fascinating is because it's written from the perspective of someone who is pretty much a polar opposite of me: An urban liberal secular Jew. Despite his (massive) doubts about faith (of both Judaism and Christianity), Jacobs gives following the Bible a real, honest-to-goodness try, including prayer, faith, and belief. He admits his limitations and addresses his shortfalls in a way that's both honest and humorous.

Jacobs is a brilliant writer and he will absolutely draw you in to his faith journey. "The Year of Living Biblically" is highly recommended.

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This week's product recommendation is Don's faithful 3M radio ear phones.

He writes:

I'm kind of surprised I haven't posted these earphones as a product review already. I've owned these earphones for so many years I can't remember when I bought them. They're old enough that I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh on them daily in my wood shop.

As you can see, these earphones have a lot of mileage on them. I use them practically every day, especially when I'm working on power tools, because not only can I listen to AM, FM, or a connected MP3 player, but they also do a pretty good job of cutting the noise from the tools.

As you can see in the photo above, the ear pads are shot. I just bought replacement pads, which I'll install when they arrive; but the radio keeps on working.

These earphones are tough. I've dropped them so hard that the batteries have popped out, and I've forgotten them outside in the rain overnight. I've bashed them, abused them, and manhandled them. They just don't quit, and they get pretty good reception too. When I misplace them, I ask a higher power (Patrice) if she's seen my "ears."

3M makes other varieties of these earphones with more modern features, like Bluetooth and a graphics screen, but I've never used them so I can't make a personal recommendation. I guess I'm just old school (or just old).

For durability, comfort, and enjoyment, I can truly recommend my "ears."

(Obligatory disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, if you purchase through those links, we earn a small commission.)

(Don't forget: A complete list of all our book and product recommendations are linked here and at the upper-right column of the blog.)