The CSB Reader's Bible

When I first heard about Reader’s Bibles I was pretty skeptical. I wasn’t sure that I would find a Bible that doesn’t have chapter or verse numbers useful. The truth is, with my first Reader’s Bible, I let it sit on the shelf for quite some time before I ever really gave it a chance. However, when I finally gave it that chance, I enjoyed the experience much more than I anticipated.

Today I’m reviewing the CSB Reader’s Bible in brown, genuine leather. Reading Scripture in a Reader’s Bible gives you a completely different, immersive experience. A Reader’s Bible allows you to read the Bible like a book and not a reference work. If you’ve never read the Bible this way, it is certainly worth giving it a try.

This Bible is genuine leather. The back cover says it is goatskin, but it doesn’t feel like the premium goatskin you’d find on a Schuyler or Cambridge. The leather is smooth with very little grain. The spine is embossed with no foil, which gives it a very minimalist look. It includes two ribbon markers—one brown and one red. The page edges have a gold gilt. The Bible has a smyth-sewn binding, which is what you want for durability and longevity.

Inside, the Bible has a brown paper liner. The pages themselves are very white and seem to have a reasonable amount of thickness. There is some ghosting especially in poetry sections, but I’ve seen much worse. The text itself is line-matched, which minimizes distraction and ghosting while reading. Paired with a dark, black text, This Bible really does provide a pleasant reading experience.

The font is a 10 point, which is really nice. With a Reader’s Bible focusing on the text, you definitely want a font that feels easy on the eyes when reading. Names of the books appear in a turquoise blue. You find this same color beginning the first letter of each chapter. This creates chapter distinctions, which some may like and some may not. It depends if you want a true, uninterrupted reading experience. There are no section headings to indicate chapters so Holman chose to go this route. At the bottom of each page, you’ll find the page number in black as well as the book and chapters that are on the page in the turquoise blue.

At the end of the Bible your standard maps are included. I’m not typically a fan of maps in any Bible, but I think I would have especially left them out in this Reader’s edition. That being said, there must be those who like them because every Bible continues to include them.

All in all, I think this a great edition of the CSB. The focus is on the text and it is a pleasure to read. The 10 point font jumps off the white page and you’ll find yourself immersed in the Scripture. If you’ve never experienced a Reader’s Bible before, you won’t go wrong with this edition. You can find it as well in hardcover and later this month, in a box set.

You can pick up the CSB Reader’s Bible from Amazon (affiliate) and Lifeway.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Holman in exchange for a fair and honest review.