Bible Design and Binding

Anatomy of a Blank Bible

Matt Blair at The Foolish Galatian has posted a series of photos to Flickr documenting the step-by-step process involved in transforming a Reformation Study Bible into a multi-volume "blank" Bible. If you're curious about what a book binding looks like when the cover is stripped away, this pictorial is worth checking out. Matt takes a razor to the thing, separating the individual signatures. After looking at the photos, I feel a bit like King Agrippa -- almost persuaded. I'm still a little too squeamish to try something like this myself, though it looks like fun.

Cambridge 1662 Book of Common Prayer (Enlarged Edition)

Since the Book of Common Prayer has come up before, I thought I'd share a couple of photos featuring the enlarged edition of Cambridge's 1662 BCP, bound in brown goatskin with art-gilt edges. Aside from the blurred imprinting -- a common complaint these days -- it's beautiful. I wish they offered a Bible in the same brown goatskin.

The Message (Personal Size) Numbered Edition

I've sung the praises of NavPress before, citing the design savvy apparent in several editions of The Message Remix, and now I have to do it again. Like every publisher, NavPress turns out its fair share of tasteless kitsch, but every so often they show that with a little aesthetic know-how, inexpensive materials can be shaped into a superb finished product. The latest example of this is the new Personal Size Numbered Edition of The Message.

The Message, of course, is a popular paraphrase of Scripture by Eugene Peterson. I love Peterson's writing and have gained a great deal from him over the years, but I'm not a big fan of the paraphrase. It doesn't "speak to me," I guess you could say. So why is it the first option I investigate every time I'm in the bookstore? Because NavPress has done a great job of designing outside the box. The Message Remix hardback, for example, is a great, reader-friendly format that's become a bit of a postmodern classic.

Note: Personal Reference ESV with Sewn Binding

Just a note for those of you planning to purchase one of the new Personal Reference ESVs and then have it rebound. The genuine leather edition is the only one that features a sewn binding -- the TruTone editions have adhesive bindings. So the edition you want to start with for rebinding purposes is probably the genuine leather one.

UPDATE: Matt Morales spoke with someone at Crossway today who said that the Personal Reference edition would also feature better quality paper than previous editions. Presumably that means it will be more opaque. We should find out soon enough.

Coming This Spring: Deluxe Compact TruTone ESV

More exciting news from Crossway about future editions of the ESV. As we wait with bated breath for this month's debut of the Personal Reference edition, the ESV Blog announced Friday that a new version of the Compact edition -- dubbed the Deluxe Compact TruTone -- will be coming out later this spring. (The availability date from Crossway is April 30.) The particulars are all positive:

* A larger font (6.55 points vs. 6.2 points for the existing Compact TruTone)
* A different font (Lexicon No. 1 vs. Berkeley)
* A slightly larger physical size (3.875″ × 6″ vs. 3.75″ × 5.75″)
* A layout designed specifically for this page size
* The words of Christ in black (vs. the words of Christ in red)

What's more, the binding on these editions will be sewn. A small, pocket-sized ESV with a flexible TruTone cover and a sewn binding? A black-letter edition, to boot? I'm excited already. The four cover options, unfortunately, all have novelty designs on them, but I pre-ordered the subtlest of them, a grainy-looking brown with a cross design on the cover, and look forward to reviewing it here when it arrives.

Based on the page layout PDF, the Deluxe Compact TruTone appears to have a more readable layout than its predecessor, which had a reputation of being handy but hard to read (especially in low light). At 3.875 x 6, it should still be able to slip into a pocket easily, which is one of the traits I value in the original Compacts. Naturally, the sewn binding is a bonus -- and should make this the best rebinding candidate for people looking for a tiny ESV in goatskin or calf. (I'd love to see the Deluxe Compact -- and the Personal Reference, for that matter -- in Crossway's cordovan calfskin, too. But I'll take what I can get.)

Allan's ESV Now Available at EvangelicalBible.com

I received word this week from Paul at EvangelicalBible.com, a site devoted to retailing the English Standard Version, that they will now be offering both the black and tan editions of the ESV from R. L. Allan. They list for $169.99 each, and shipping is free, so you'll save a few dollars over having one imported from the UK.

In checking out the site, I found a chart assigning grades (A through F) to the various editions of the ESV, in categories like readability, durability and paper. I don't know that I'd agree with every assessment, but it's interesting to see someone making the effort. There's also a handy font size list for those of you who think 6 pt. type is too small to read!

Other than EvangelicalBible.com, the only site I'm aware of offering Allan's editions -- apart from Bibles-Direct.com, obviously -- is this one in Canada, which offers a couple of Oxford KJVs.

Noteworthy Collection TNIV New Testament

When the Journaling Bible came out with its Moleskine-inspired look, I figured it wouldn't be long before others appeared. Yesterday, David Swain tipped me off to the "Noteworthy Collection," a new edition of the TNIV New Testament coming out in August. It's a Moleskine-style format (6.63 x 3.13) complete with elastic strap and accordion pocket in back, featuring a single column text setting on one side of the spread, and a black page for notes on the other. They'll be available in bonded leather -- black, burgundy and tan. I've pre-ordered a tan one and will review it when they come out.

This strikes me as a particularly clever approach, combining the "blank Bible" concept with its interleaved pages, and the elastic strap and accordion pocket of the Moleskine. It's a shame they won't be offering a hardback, or polyurethane covers instead of bonded leather. But there's good news for TNIV readers who don't like the odd font choice featured in so many editions. The PDF page proofs reveal that a less "scripty" serif font has been chosen for the typesetting.

I don't think I've ever seen a New Testament with interleaved pages for note-taking. Whether it will work depends a great deal on the quality of paper. With a wide margin, any notes that bleed through show up in the margin on the opposite page, but with an interleaved edition, they'll mar the text itself. You probably wouldn't want to take many notes on cheap paper. But if the bleed-through is addressed, I could see this being a very clever format. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

ESV Journaling Bible in Calfskin

If the National Security Administration's sophisticated anti-terrorism software could be calibrated to zero in on the phrase "I wish Crossway would do this," imagine how many e-mails, blog posts, and telephone calls would be intercepted. They'd have to hire extra staff. Considering how recent a translation the ESV is, it has a lot of fans. And some of us are, for lack of a better word, obsessive. We focus in on details most people would never notice. We are demanding. As a result, we tend to dwell on what's wrong and sometimes lose sight of what isn't. At any rate, I do.

One thing Crossway has done a fantastic job of is offering its editions in a variety of covers. The original Classic Reference setting, for example, is now available in more than a dozen editions. There are over twenty thinline editions to choose from. You even get two options on metal-bound ESVs, choosing between the sleek refinement of "brushed aluminum" or the grungy authenticity of "weathered metal."

The Journaling Bible is no different. My money's always going to be on the original, Moleskine-inspired edition, which I've reviewed here. But if that doesn't float your boat, there are four other options to choose from -- a plum hardcover, a terracota/sage hardcover with elastic strap, a brown leather flap-and-strap cover, and the black calfskin featured here.

Rethinking Worldview: A Commercial Break

Every so often, I horn in on the discourse here to engage in a little shameless self-promotion. I hope you'll forgive me. Authors have to shine a light on their books, even if they aren't bound in goatskin!

Today Mark Tubbs at DiscerningReader.com has posted an extraordinarily positive review of my book Rethinking Worldview, as well as an interview he conducted with me after reading the book. It's hard not to blush in response to such lavish praise: "...my only complaint about this book and this author is that there’s only one of each." I'm especially pleased with his assessment of the way I've handled Scripture in the book, since it was very deliberate:

Rethinking Worldview definitely isn’t short on doctrine, but it’s not the hit-you-over-the-head kind. Bertrand freely admits where his theological and intellectual allegiances lie – be warned, he’s not afraid of labels. But there’s never an inkling of superiority in the text, which is as it should be, since Bertrand is trying to usher the reader towards a humbler, holistic – and dare I say, humane – approach to worldview. His nudging is always in concert with, and never opposed to, the fundamental doctrines of the faith. The biblical passages he brings to bear on his insights (or more accurately, the biblical passages that have informed his insights) never pop up extraneously; rather, they are seamlessly woven into the text and appear only in appropriate and helpful places. Bertrand never shoehorns a biblical reference into the text for the sake of having a biblical reference.

The interview is well worth reading, too. Mark probes into my take on "mystery," explores the importance of reading, and makes me defend my view that creative contribution should be the culmination of good worldview thinking. If you've read Rethinking Worldview, the review and interview should stimulate your thinking -- and if you haven't, then perhaps they'll inspire you to pick up a copy.

Will it take more to convince you? Byron Borger at Hearts & Minds Books named Rethinking Worldview one of his favorites of 2007, and a recent review at Reformation 21 said, "Among recent contributions of this kind, Rethinking Worldview is most assuredly a mark above."

Kenton Steryous Shares His Stack

Kenton Steryous has taken a beautiful photo of some beautiful Bibles:

From top to bottom, here's a list of what's in the photo, along with Kenton's notes: