In the beginning was the word ….
Well, in fact those words come well over halfway through this, The Book. I started reading a little bit each day just over a year ago, as sort of a 2022 project, and have just finished the last chapter of The Revelation of Saint John the Divine this morning. And since I’ve been tracking my ‘books read’ since oh, about 2015, I get to tell you that this is the thousandth book I’ve completed since the start of that silly tracking enterprise … though as is so often the case, there’s a caveat. As I have told you before, I do not count in my ‘official’ ‘count’ any comic books or graphic novels or suchlike items. And if we leave those to one side, this version of The Bible (KJV, and in very helpful large print) is Book #884 in my all-time (well, since 2015, anyway) reading list. However, it seems worthwhile both to note that I finished reading The Bible cover to cover, and to give it a pride of place as the 1000th book read, even with an asterisk. (Don’t think I’m humble-bragging; I am quite aware that I’m just out and out bragging.) (Oh, and yes, I did manipulate to some extent my reading so that this would be #1000, dragging out Malachi (see below) and reading a few quick mysteries to get up to the requisite number.) (And oh, again, at least this asterisk is in no way as shameful as that that should be applied to every place the name of Barry Bonds. May Hank Aaron’s name be hallowed forevermore.)
But anyway, I really did read the entire Bible in the last year and past few weeks. I attacked the tome along three fronts, beginning at … well, the Beginning (Genesis), as well as the start of The New Testament, and also the Psalms. Thus I was able to balance a few of the lengthier ‘begats’ with some nice poetry and another telling of the passion of Christ. I had tried once or twice a recommended sequence from some Bible site or other, bouncing from here to there, but it never took hold of me and I found it not as easy to follow as just plodding along from book to book as I did. Anyway, I found The Holy Book quite worth reading, and filled a quote book full of … well, you can find better commentaries than mine, so I’ll just shut up now, and get back to reading The Action Bible, a comic book version my son-in-law gave me for Christmas. Until next time, then.