This is my FIRST bible...or...at least as far as I could remember accurately. It was a gift from the church.
It was a baptism gift from the Catholic Church where I was baptised. And that was like 15 years ago! O how time flies!
This is the first bible that I BOUGHT for myself. It was a KJV. The funny thing was, I DIDN'T know there was MORE than one version of bible translation! I bought it cuz it was *ahem* the cheapest in the bookstore. It cost me something like RM20 plus.
I bought this on Nov 30, 2002. It was the beginning of my journey in getting to know the LORD.
And boy, was I disappointed when I started to read - LOL - I mean it WAS 17th century english after all!
Shortly, I bought a NIV.
This is my first SERIOUS bible! It was not just BIG (photo here not showing the size accurately due to wide angle lens used), and heavy, and it was expensive too (thus the protective plastic cover.) Cost me something like RM140 plus.
Then I had to find a smaller one...then I gotta find another different version...then a different color...then a different cover...and a different...U get the drill.
Before long, I decided I prefer "leather" than hardcover. But sadly there aren't much options available here in the local bookstores. Not even in KL or Singapore. Bonded leathers or imitation leathers are the norm here.
This one is my first TRUE-TONE (imitation leather) bible. It was beautiful and soft to the touch. But as u can see from the photo, the cover couldn't last. The bonded leather types are slightly longer lasting but would eventually start to crack and peel away too...with one exception though...
I have a bonded leather NKJV Nelson thinline (3015) bought in Dec 02 - despite heavy usage the cover is still in excellent condition. (But another Nelson bonded leather reference version crumbled after a couple of years.)
Beside cover peeling away, another common problem with the bibles I have is *gulp* as above! Imagine I spent RM200 plus on this Life Application bonded leather and this was the condition 6 mths later...
For the past 2 years, after I got to know about there is such a thing as - GENUINE leather - I have been "searching" hi-n-low at my local bookstores... until I took the courage to order ONLINE! (Funny what took me so long to order bibles online since I had been buying books from Amazon for quite a while...)
This is my first GENUINE LEATHER bible - a MacArthur Study Bible! It was the most beautiful thing in my sight!
So quickly, I order another genuine leather bible - a Ryrie Study Bible by Moody.
But ALAS! This genuine leather bible has a "defective" cover. From the photo, u can see CLEARLY my result in trying to "fix" the problem. It was a "disaster"!!! But I have since overcome the "disaster" for the CONTENT is where the real meat is. Right?
Btw, I truly LOVE my Ryrie Study Bible. So now I classify the "disaster" as "CHARACTER".
THEN I discovered Cambridge & Allan bibles.
Not that long ago, I took courage and "pulled the trigger" on 2 Cambridge bibles (a NKJV Wide-Margin & a NASB Pitt Minion) from Amazon. My confidence was from all those mouth watering 5-stars reviews found in Amazon. But then I decided - just to be safe - to check if I could find any other reviews on the Cambridge bibles I just bought "unseen" and "unheard of".
And this is what I FOUND: The most AWESOME bible review website! And thats where I discovered Allan bibles.
I bought my first bible, a KJV, sorta by "mistake" BUT now KJV is one of my favourite bible translation! Funny how things come full circle. And here is a photo of my NEWEST KJV bible in HIGHLAND GOATSKIN, an Allan Long Primer, next to my "ancient" Nelson cheapo KJV ;)
A BONUS discovery - my super ancient FIRST bible has 2 (TWO) ribbons! This is supposedly a LUXURY feature nowadays! LOL!
to be continued...
