I attribute my preference to KJV to my childhood. The pastor of my church preached from it, and it was the one we had at home. It's old and familiar.
Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Have read through the series as it has grown about once a year for 20 years (*choke*). She also has shorter novels about another character called Lord John which are in the same universe. Then there are the short stories and novellas about still other characters from the series. There are three companion books which are kind of like appendices. What I love most about Gabaldon is that she assumes her readers are intelligent and doesn't dumb down her writing. As you can see I have the series both in hard bound and paperback (not shown: I also have the nook version) There are also a couple of trashy romance series that I pick up when I need brain candy.
I believe in the attempt to modernize the KJV into more 'accessible' contemporary vernacular that some of the literal meaning in the original may be obscured. However, reading the KJV for many is an outright challenge to decipher a language centuries out of use. I have mixed feelings about the KJV, obviously, as many of these more 'reader friendly' versions (RFV? ) DO make the Bible more accessible to many more readers than the KJV. I personally prefer to read several translations concurrently for comparative study. Most textual critics for the past two hundred and fifty years would say that no doctrine is affected by these changes in these more modern translations. One can get saved reading the KJV and one can get saved reading the NIV, NASB, etc.
Nitpick: Unless you're reading in Ancient Greek and/or Ancient Hebrew with the perspective of the original writers, it seems somewhat unlikely that the literal meaning in the original is precisely conveyed in the text, due to the way language works across translations and time. This is not to say you will not find meaning in the text, or that the meaning you find will not have value in your life.
NIV is the one I struggle with the most. But I cross referenced them all including more obscure ones. Amplified was great for study and sermon prep.
Controversial in fundamentalist circles I know but I find the Bible to be more ethereal -- like poetry or looking at the flow of a river whose "literal" meaning for you in a given moment comes through the quickening of the Holy Spirit. All that being said, I need to get back to reading the Bible in whatever understanding or version.
Did not mean my commentary to be controversial, but I've been working for over a year on a large project, part of which details how a demand for a 'literal translation' of nearly any text is all but impossible.
As additional info, I find the KJV to be a little more challenging while reading the Old Testament than the New Testament....just me I am sure. However, what is important is to read and apply.
I did not. I meant that my view would be controversial if not down right heresy amongst the fundamentalists I know.
I registered for this... The Aubrey-Maturin series, by Patrick O'Brian. Twenty books that show an understanding of human nature and interactions to a depth I have never read elsewhere. Unfortunately, some people are dissuaded by the fact that they are set in a fictional version of the Napoleonic Wars. I'm reading them for the third time and will read them again and again. I consider them unequalled. Oh, and hi all. p.s. They were the basis for the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; the film gives many small satisfactions to the enthusiast.
I've read The Hobbit numerous times. LotR is not nearly as interesting, though. I've read many of Charles de Lint's books multiple times. He's the best urban fantasy writer out there. The Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. Fafhyrd and the Gray Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber. The Elric stories by Michael Moorcock. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. The Black Company series by Glen Cook. I plan to read the Malazan Books of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson again. They are huge books, but are the best fantasy I've ever read.
These come to mind as having had multiples readings. Lonesome Dove (McMurtry) Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) Gladiator-at-law (Pohl & Kornbluth) Memos from Purgatory (Harlan Ellison) The Spy who came in from the Cold (Le Carré) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Le Carré) Smiley's People (Le Carré) The Hunt for Red October (Clancey) The Holcroft Covenant (Ludlum) The Shining (King) The Stand (King) True Grit (Charles Portis) Dune (Herbert) The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
Some authors I have read and reread and reread: JRR Tolkien James Michener (Alaska, Poland and The Source were favorites.) Larry McMurtry James Lee Burke (The early Robicheaux books mainly) WEB Griffin (Especially The Corps and Brotherhood of War) Stephen King Tom Clancy Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Shannara series ( terry brooks) Read the these like 4-5 times each Xanth series ( piers Anthony ) Read them like 4-5 times each The love machine ( Jacqueline Susann) Read it like 7 times
I've read the Hitchhikers Guide series maybe six times. It would be a crime not to read Crime and Punishment once, and punishment to attempt it twice. I read Gilgamesh once, but that was a long time ago.
Some of my favorite re-reads: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Slaughter House 5 100 Years of Solitude Most of Mark Twains' writing. 1984 Fahrenheit 451