And now I’m reading differently.
Jay got me a Kindle for Christmas.
My favorite thing so far is that I found a cheap Ben Hur (paid for one that was indexed) and a free ESV translation of the bible.
When I described to my writing friend that I was basically writing Christian fiction, she urged me to read Ben Hur, even loaned me the book, but it was hard to get into.
Ditto with the ESV, which was discouraging becasue that’s the translation Jay wants our family to memorize in, and I need to read in it to collect the rhythm.
Anyway, both tomes had small print without enough leading or kerning for comfort in extended reading.
But with the Kindle I can change all that, and have.
I’ve gotten farther and read longer in the days since Christmas than I did in the weeks before it.
My current bible-reading plan, facilitated by the Kindle: 15-minutes/morning (set a timer) picking up where I left off the day before.
I like a length of time better than a length of text because it lends itself to a more patient reading.
And 15-minutes sounds short, at least to me, but whether you’re sitting in the quiet of a house asleep, or attempting to be the island of calm in the mists of an active family, a stretch that long on any one thing seems like time eternal.
And I started in the Minor Prophets this time, since I’ve probably read Genesis more than any other book in the bible. The prophets are amazing for their word pictures and analogies.
My church uses the ESV. I have to confess I like the NKJV better. How do you like the ESV.
Eh, I could take it or leave it. I think it takes itself too seriously, which doesn’t recomend it to me.
My current favorite translation is the Holman Christian Standard bible, but it’s not very broadly read, so if my kids want to compete in any memory contests (like the Bible Bee, when they’re older) they’d have to do it in a different translation.
I asked my husband just to pick one, since I was overwhelmed with the options, and ESV is the one he went with. (He reads HCSB half the time himself, but I’m having such a hard time memorizing I figure I need to be reading it more than the other, so I don’t confuse myself.)
You should update your gift list!
http://helmericks.net/Blog2/?page_id=539
Oops, you’re right.
But it’s not like anyone’s actively using that. It’s more like I reminder to me when I see something I *have* to have, and then I can stop and say, Do I really want it more than any of these things I’ve been waiting on longer?