10 books where an author does something for a year
There is a book about having sex every night for a year, there is a book about eating locally grown food for a year, there is a book where a Julia Child recipe is cooked every day for a year, and there is a book where life is lived according to the Bible’s rules for a year.
They are called annualism books and have been a publishing phenomenon for the best part of a decade. Check out more so called annualism books and our interview with AJ Jacobs, the author of The Year of Living Biblically.
1 Heat by Bill Buford
(learning to be a chef for a year – lots of cuts, burns and shouting. Also this is the best book on this list by a mile.)
2 The 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Dawn Smith & J.B. MacKinnon
(eating locally grown produce for a year – not very easy)
3 Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
(cooking a Julia Child recipe every day for a year – didn’t Julia have really complicated recipes?)
4 The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
(obeying the Bible for a year – I really wouldn’t want to do this one)
5 365 Nights by Charla Muller; Betsy Thorpe
(having nookie every night for a year – it’s impossible, of course)
6 How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly
(like it says on the cover….I was a student once and did, indeed, do this)
7 A Life Stripped Bare by Leo Hickman
(living ethically for a year – I feel guilty just looking at this book)
8 Chastened: No More Sex in the City by Hephzibah Anderson
(not having sex for a year – this one is easy)
9 Self-made Man by Norah Vincent
(a woman being a man for a year+ – don’t people do this all the time now, there’s a special operation)
10 My Jesus Year by Benyamin Cohen
(a Jew is a Christian for a year – this will never catch on)
He may be moody and not that handsome but Mr. Rochester from Charlotte Brontë’s 
