The Expanded Bible

Published by: Thomas Nelson

Okay, so unlike “The Voice” New Testament which I recently reviewed, The Thomas Nelson Expanded Bible is NOT a devotional bible. At least, not if you’re easily distracted.

This is best described as an amplified Bible and the amplifications are great. Very helpful when studying, though hard to just sit down and read.

Case in point, Romans 1:1: “From Paul a servant [slave; bondservant] of Christ Jesus. God called me [L…called] to be an apostle [messenger] and chose me [set me apart; appointed me] to tell the Good News [Gospel].”

I reviewed the electronic version of this Bible and I can say that it is definitely not the easiest e-reader Bible I’ve tried to navigate, but its not the worst either. There’s got to be a better way…oh wait, there already is! Why can’t the publishers settle on an efficient way to make it so us avid e-readers can enjoy the Bible on our devices I just can’t understand…

I think I would have enjoyed the hardcopy version – it’d be a great resource to have on the shelf or take to a Bible study. But as an e-reader? Not so much. Devotional Bibles are great on an e-reader because you can just read through them page by page, but when you’re trying to study the Bible, you’re often going from book to book, chapter to chapter. To have to go back out to the Table of Contents each time and labouriously go through the process of getting to the reference is a real chore.

Get the hardcopy. If you like the Amplified, you’ll like this.

The Voice New Testament: Revised & Updated

Published by: Ecclesia Bible Society

This is probably best described as a devotional New Testament put together by proponents of the Emergent Church. Very much like The Message, the translation is dynamic and original with much of the text laid out in playwright format or prose. This Bible also has quite a bit of commentary thrown in here and there to explain or add to some of the more difficult sections, as well as quite a bit of commentary included right in the text of the scripture as an aid or amplification of what the editor’s felt the passage was attempting to convey.

In order to produce a fair review I decided to abandon my tried and true NKJV Women’s Study Bible (which I love…) for a full week and do my morning and evening readings using only The Voice so that I could really get a feel for it.

I really enjoyed reading from the Voice. It was a captivating narrative and made some of the passages come alive in new and interesting ways. It was easy to get into and when I went through some of the sections that I was worried about how the editors would interpret (i.e. mangle) them, I was usually pleasantly surprised to see that they had usually been quite true to the script – much more so than the Message, which is awesome (I also enjoy the Message, don’t get me wrong, but it has serious shortcomings).

However, I was very disappointed with some of the commentary added to the text. In many places the editors have interpreted very controversial passages in one way without even acknowledging that there are other valid interpretations. For instance, their commentary on Revelations 7 states categorically that the 144,000 Israelites refers to all mankind. Case closed. Okay, I can see where they’re coming from and I think that’s a supportable premise, but there are other equally strong theories on this passage yet The Voice makes no allusion to this. Pompous and somewhat misleading if you ask me.

That reservation aside, however, I really enjoyed reading with the Voice during my week. I was able to get through most of the Gospels and several letters and I really enjoyed how they made the voice (in the letters especially) come alive for the reader. Interestingly enough, during  a recent plane trip I was reading from The Voice and my seat-neighbour noticed and asked me what it was. When I told her she was so intrigued that she took a picture of the book with her iPhone so that she could go home and order one. So it’s a great evangelistic tool! I’m looking forward to passing this Bible on to a friend, who is an unbeliever and I think would benefit from a Bible that she is more likely to actually read.

The Last Hunter: Pursuit -- By Jeremy Robinson

(Book 2 of the Antarktos Saga)

Well, I have just finished reading book 1 and book 2 of the Antarktos Saga and I have to say, I am hooked.

Unlike with my last book review (The Final Summit), it is imperative that you  read the first book in this series before reading the second. Trust me.

In book 1, Solomon Ull Vincent is a 13 year old boy living in the states who is the only child known to have been born on Antarctica. He’s always been geeky, small, and awkward, and he has always been obsessed with learning about his home continent. When his father and mother surprise him with a birthday trip to Antarctica, he is thrilled. But before long, he is kidnapped, and finds out the truth about his lineage and begins to change in startling ways. I won’t give up any more of this book, but you should read it, its good.

In book 2, Solomon is older and is still fighting against the Nephilim, the evil half-human half giant race of people living underneath the surface of Antarctica and planning an imminent attack on the rest of humanity.

The story is fast-paced, exciting, and graphic. The characters are intriguing and engaging and the twists that the plot takes are enjoyable. If you enjoy this type of fantasy, I think you will like this one, I know I did. I’m looking forward to the next installment from this excellent author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.

The Final Summit – by Andy Andrews

The Final Summit (Subtitle: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity)  is the second book in a series beginning with “The Traveller’s Gift”. You do NOT need to read the first book in order to enjoy the second though, as I found out unwittingly.

The story is essentially a fantasy wherein main character is David Ponder, a man chosen by God to head up a summit (conference) -- of people comprised of hundreds of notable characters from world history – to attempt to use their collective knowledge, insight, wisdom, and faith to answer a question put to them by God. The task is crucial because only if they find the correct answer will humanity be saved. The question asked is: What must humanity to, both individually and collectively, to restore itself to the path of successful civilization?

After reading this book I felt compelled to look up some of Andrews’ other titles from the library and read them as well and I can tell you, his writing has improved by leaps and bounds between The Traveller’s Gift and this book, The Final Summit. But he’s still got a long way to go. In addition to some awkward points, I found that a lot of his content from other books was repeated word for word in this one. But I would suggest you give this book a chance because I would say the best presentation of his insights are found in this book and they ARE really great insights. They’ve been helpful to me and to the others I recommended the book to immediately after reading.

Two things about the book bothered me though. First, although this book has  a Christian lean, the message of the gospel is conspicuously absent. And that surprised me since it plays right into the “ultimate question” that is posed.

Second, the end is a little…anti-climactic? I can’t really say anything more than that without spoiling. But beware – you will be absolutely blessed through reading through the book until you get to the end…then you may be a little disappointed…but you’ll still be able to go back to what you learned in reading it in the first place and it will still have been worth it.

I suppose one thing to keep in mind is that this book is unique in that it seeks to be a self-help book first and good fiction second. And I think that’s an awesome way to get a message across. You’re intrigued by the characters, but what they’re teaching you about yourself is what Andrews wants you to focus on, so sometimes he sacrifices on plot in order to focus on that.

All in all an excellent read. And you’ll learn a lot about some pretty amazing figures throughout history along  the way.

My First Review: Diary of the Displaced - Glynn James

This first post is going to be short. I may add to it later.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from "Diary of the Displaced" when I read the description, but it was captivating from start to finish. At first I wasn't sure about the whole "zombie" theme, because I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be taking the plot seriously or if I should be laughing at it the whole way through, but it becomes clear fairly early on that the author means for it to be taken seriously and viewed through the eyes of the person making the diary entry (i.e. James Halldon) as he is just as incredulous as to what is going on as the reader is.

I thought the plot was quite imaginative and kept you guessing without being confusing. It was a unique zombie story though the end seemed to be a bit rushed. But it was (somewhat) satisfying in the end. All in all a great read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.