The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Perhaps one of the most surprising gifts I have ever received from my father, an avowed agnostic, was this book. Then I read it and discovered that AJ Jacobs treated his experiment to live according to as literal an interpretation of the Bible as possible with humility and respect albeit without faith or relationship with God. I recognize the struggle. It caused the author all kinds of trouble socially, with his wife, and internally. He counseled with clergy from a variety of Judeo-Christian flavors and seemed personally the most impacted by an ultra-orthodox Jewish man whose greatest pleasure was helping others obey the Biblical commandments and by a pastor of a snake-handling church in Appalachia. This book epitomizes the limitations of the law a la Paul's Epistle to the Romans- all it can do is reflect a man's true condition. Just like A.J. Jacobs, anyone can walk away from a biblical life lived out legalistically basically unchanged albeit somewhat more enlighted perhaps. This is a very sensitive approach to matters of religion in America. Faith is a very different question, if you ask me.

A.J. Jacobs. The Year of Living Biblically. 2007. New York: Simon & Schuster.

A Kid's Guide to Giving by Freddi Zeiler

I learned of this book for kids by a kid about giving in Pres. Bill Clinton's book on philanthropy in America. It has a great package- a stiff cardboard fold-over cover- and then the pages are spiral bound with lots of yellow. The first part explains how foundations work to fund nonprofits. It gives great information about researching organizations before giving them money, time, or stuff. Then it encourages kids to get involved. The second part is an index of 100 nonprofits that are involved in missions that appeal to kids. It's a creative approach.

Freddi Zeiler. A Kid's Guide to Giving. 2006. Norwalk, CT: InnovativeKids