Looking for a Bible that's easy on the eyes

June 13, 2013 3:20 AM

Hello! I'm looking for a new Bible. I thought that with the myriad of editions available it'd be easy to find something that meets my criteria but it's actually harder than I thought! Here's what I'm looking for: NIV translation, large type (at least 12 pt font, preferably 14), single-column, and minimal see-through to the other side of the page ("ghosting"). I also prefer something cloth bound (basically sturdy and not just bound by glue!). Here's one Bible that comes close to what I was hoping for but the pages are a bit too transparent to be easily read (like the Norton anthologies to literature).
posted by lirael2008 to Religion & Philosophy (10 answers total)

Best answer: Bibles have lots of pages! To keep the weight and thickness down they have tended to use fine paper, large fonts would only result in thicker books. Maybe this, from the Cambridge University Press might help, they refer to something called Bible paper.
posted by epo at 4:09 AM on June 13, 2013

amazon search for "large print bible"

"...Plus, it features giant print type making reading more enjoyable than ever."

large print NIV
posted by colin_l at 4:44 AM on June 13, 2013

Best answer: Cambridge made a large-print NIV bible split into four volumes, which would probably indicate thicker paper.
posted by payoto at 5:21 AM on June 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This bible design blog may also be worth a look as he's reviewed and photographed many different bible editions (and is still active). He also discusses paper quality and single-column layouts among others.
posted by payoto at 5:32 AM on June 13, 2013

My mother-in-law loves her new bible on her new iPad. Not sure if that's an option, but it allows her to carry it easily, increase the size of the text, search for passages and make remivable highlighted sections.
posted by barnone at 5:49 AM on June 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Are electronic versions an option? My Bible is on my Kindle. A Kindle Bible would address the problems of font size and ghosting through the pages.
posted by Tanizaki at 6:56 AM on June 13, 2013

If you like getting all fancy scholarly, this is a pretty neat electronic tool that is visual impairment friendly.
posted by Blasdelb at 10:55 AM on June 13, 2013

Best answer: Yeah, if you're looking for an all-in-one Bible, it's going to be on thin paper or it'd be a foot thick! There are versions split into OT and NT, and some with even more volumes, as payoto suggests. Unfortunately, you'll have to decide which is more important: Having it all in one volume (meaning thin pages), or having nice, thick paper (meaning more than one volume).

There are also larger editions than the standard 8x10-ish hardcover size; they may be called "heirloom Bibles" or "family Bibles". I've seen some that were darn near 13x19 and weighed some 40 pounds or so. But, large print, gorgeous illustrations, fantastic paper.

If you have a local Christian bookstore, they can probably show you quite a selection for hands-on comparison.
posted by xedrik at 12:49 PM on June 13, 2013

Would it help to slip a piece of white paper or thin cardboard behind the page you're reading? Just a thought.
posted by aryma at 8:36 PM on June 13, 2013

Response by poster: Oh yes, I have a kindle but with the ebook version it's more difficult to annotate.

I thought of putting a backing behind the page but the white paper made the ghosting worse. Maybe the cardboard would be better.
posted by lirael2008 at 3:18 PM on June 14, 2013