The new ESV Reader’s Bible is garnering a lot of attention.
See, for example, the excellent review by Bible design expert Mark Bertrand:
Even though I knew pretty much what to expect, the Reader’s Bible still surprised me. It’s a 5.5″ x 8″ clothbound hardcover that comes in a heavy duty slipcase, opens flat, and features a single column text setting in 9 pt. type with elegant accents in red — chapter numbers, headers, and page numbers. The big news, I suppose, is that there are no verse numbers in the Reader’s Bible. The page headers give a verse range, so finding specific passages isn’t all that hard. But this edition is meant for reading, not looking stuff up.
This isn’t the first Bible to be labeled a Reader’s Bible, but it is the first to reflect my idea of what a Bible designed for readers should look like. Let’s say there are two philosophies. One goes like this: most people who complain about not being able to read the Bible easily focus on the difficulty of deciphering small type, therefore a Bible for readers should have large type. The Allan Reader’s Editions have taken this tack, and they are basically large print reference Bibles. The design hasn’t changed; it’s simply been enlarged. The critical apparatus, the textual notes and cross-references, have been retained.
Take a look at the last prose book you read and see if it was a large print, multi-column reference work. Probably not. Most of the books we sit and read are formatted in a time-tested, reader-friendly layout designed to call as little attention to itself as possible in order to let the text itself shine. They are single column, paragraphed books with a minimum of distraction. The second approach to a reader’s edition involves designing the Bible to look like the kind of books we typically read for pleasure. That’s exactly what you find when you open the ESV Reader’s Bible. A book that sends no mixed signals, clearly intended to be read.
You can read the whole thing here, with lots of pictures. See also Mark’s notes on daily use of this Bible.
You can also download a sample of the interior.
WTS is currently running a sale where each edition of the Reader’s Bible is 50% off of the retail price:
- ESV Reader’s Bible: Hardcover Edition
- ESV Reader’s Bible: Walnut TruTone Edition
- ESV Reader’s Bible: Genuine Leather Edition
They are also giving away six copies of the hardcover ESV Reader’s Bible to readers of this blog. Go here to enter your name.