I read this really fantastic book called "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs. In it, he follows all the laws of both the Old and the New Testament for an entire year.
Needless to say, it's comical--and as creative non-fiction goes, it's pretty damn impressive.
That being said, there was one element of the book I couldn't get past.
In the book, Jacobs and his wife are having trouble conceiving a child. They already have one son, but Jacobs wants more. He tries to connect it to the Bible saying "be fruitful, multiply" but since the entire book is about how silly most of the rules in the Bible are, he has a hard time making his case.
His wife does end up getting pregnant, with twins no less! Twin boys. This makes Jacobs and his wife incredibly depressed, as this means they will never have a daughter.
Um...I hate to toss this word around regarding people having children, but...greedy. There, I said it, greedy.
My aunt had trouble conceiving a child, and I remember having long arguments with her about how there are millions of children in the world who need good homes, and why spend thousands of thousands just to prove that you can have a child biologically?
This, to me, seemed worse. You have a child, then you want to conceive another, you're blessed with twins--and you're mad because you wanted one for each gender? Maybe it's the gay thing, but I'm seriously confused.
At the very least I was hoping this guy would admit to being ashamed that he's so old-fashioned in his thinking that he has to have his own biological off-spring to carry on the Jacobs' lineage, but no. He wasn't embarrassed at all. He whined and ranted about not having a daughter for an entire chapter.
By that point, I didn't even want to finish the book. Sometimes reading non-fiction can be a bit like watching Bridezillas. You really wish there was a host to point out when things are getting overly ridiculous.
But that's just me.
Needless to say, it's comical--and as creative non-fiction goes, it's pretty damn impressive.
That being said, there was one element of the book I couldn't get past.
In the book, Jacobs and his wife are having trouble conceiving a child. They already have one son, but Jacobs wants more. He tries to connect it to the Bible saying "be fruitful, multiply" but since the entire book is about how silly most of the rules in the Bible are, he has a hard time making his case.
His wife does end up getting pregnant, with twins no less! Twin boys. This makes Jacobs and his wife incredibly depressed, as this means they will never have a daughter.
Um...I hate to toss this word around regarding people having children, but...greedy. There, I said it, greedy.
My aunt had trouble conceiving a child, and I remember having long arguments with her about how there are millions of children in the world who need good homes, and why spend thousands of thousands just to prove that you can have a child biologically?
This, to me, seemed worse. You have a child, then you want to conceive another, you're blessed with twins--and you're mad because you wanted one for each gender? Maybe it's the gay thing, but I'm seriously confused.
At the very least I was hoping this guy would admit to being ashamed that he's so old-fashioned in his thinking that he has to have his own biological off-spring to carry on the Jacobs' lineage, but no. He wasn't embarrassed at all. He whined and ranted about not having a daughter for an entire chapter.
By that point, I didn't even want to finish the book. Sometimes reading non-fiction can be a bit like watching Bridezillas. You really wish there was a host to point out when things are getting overly ridiculous.
But that's just me.
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