Beginning ~ with a beard

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible ~ by A. J. Jacobs, 2007, memoir

"As I write this, I have a beard that makes me resemble Moses.  Or Abe Lincoln.  Or Ted Kaczynski.  I've been called all three."

Those first lines are from page three, where I also found this near the bottom of the page:

"The facial hair is simply the most noticeable physical manifestation of a spiritual journey I began a year ago.  My quest has been this:  to live the ultimate biblical life.  Or more precisely, to follow the Bible as literally as possible."

You can see his beard in the picture on the cover above. And the author apparently documented the whole year in photos of his face, from extremely short hair and no beard, through the stages of getting long hair and a bushy beard.  I know enough about the book from reading reviews and the dust jacket that I know I'm already interested in what he does to fulfill his self-imposed attempt to take every biblical "law" literally.

If you want to play along, this meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. (Sometimes it takes several sentences to get the full thought.) Then, share your impressions of that beginning.  Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.