Catholic Notetaking Bible

I would give this Bible 4.5/5 stars.The presentation of the Bible 5/5.Ease of readability 5/5.Font size 4/5. Some I can see having issue with the size. For this 30 year old the text is still readable.4/5 I wish they could have put a different color when God or Jesus are speaking.4/5 I would have liked to see the titles or headlinesof chapters bolded or in another color too to maximize the readability.5/5 I enjoy having the footnotes at the bottom and they are easily referenced.5/5 page quality is thicker than the average biblewhich is lovely since I am using mr pen bible pens and highlighters and they don’t bleed through. The only disadvantage for me is I am left handed so I have to be careful when I highlight and write so I don’t personally smug the pages. The beginning and end of the Bible will be a bit of a challenge to write notes and highlight because of my lefthandedness but I don’t blame the Bible or pens for that, just my genetic makeup. Haha.4/5 the cover is of great quality but perhaps the thickest could be more given the book is thicker than most due to the single column and space for writing. I’m a fan of the black so the lack of color options for the cover doesn’t bother me.4.5/5 the Bible itself is sturdy and quite heavy but that’s because of it being of the journaling type which is to be expected since the paper is thicker. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest but it could for some that are looking for an on the go bible. I plan to take my bible with me on travels and I don’t think the size will impact too much. If the weight of the Bible doesn’t bother you then this Bible is for you. I thoroughly plan to enjoy this bible. I can’t wait to fully dive in and begin to write and take notes to help enrich my experience of the Bible. The tabs aren’t included and in fact are tabs for the Great Adventure Bible but they work as a great add-on for this Bible.

This bible is not perfect but I like it a lot! This is my daily use bible because I love to highlight and take notes. The words are tiny. This doesn't bother me personally, but definitely something to consider. The notes are the NAB notes. I would prefer if they made the text bigger and omitted the notes. People usually get note-taking bibles to write what has been revealed to them or things read in commentary, so I feel the notes are not necessary if you have other study bibles. Some may like this addition though. The pages are thicker than standard bible paper and the bleed through is minimal writing with a thin-tip marker. I love the blackish gray cover so I can personalize it and make it my own. The cover is not the sturdiest but has lasted me many months of daily use so far. It does wrinkle easy, but overall holds up. I recommend this bible because it is budget friendly and isn't full of "fluff" such as decorations and pre-drawn doodles. It begs you to make it yours. stickers, stickey notes, markers, tabs, doodles, anything! I've had so much fun with this bible so far and hope to keep if for a long time. When its full, I'll order another and start over!

Most beautiful Bible, such great quality and am so grateful to find an official approved Catholic Bible (contains Imprimatur and Nihil obstat) with lines for note taking!

I feel like this was a good deal at about $25, there was just some highlighting, I bought it used. It's a nice thick Catholic NABRE bible with all the books I was looking forward to reading. This will be the bible I will be journaling, making notes, living in, as I read it for years to come. Mine is a very comfortable used good quality NABRE Bible with soft leather book covers. Maybe someday a Douay-Rheims Challoner version will be produced in the same fashion.

Overall: Spent months looking for a Catholic Bible (NABRE) that 1) had space for journaling, 2) was leather/leather-ish. Picked this one because it has those 2 things and I was tired of searching. I'm beginning to think the darn Protestants have the monopoly on quality, attractive personal bibles....Pros:1. Pages are great quality. I don't have issues writing or highlighting.Tips: Gel Highlighters work great and have ZERO bleed through. Sharpie brand highlighters work well, have the highest level of bleed through, as show in the picture. Zebra Midliners are my choice @ the moment - but only the lighter pastel colors. Pen wise, I have a Pilot .38 that I use along with a trusty ballpoint I got for free somewhere. There's also very little pressure transfer - aka you can feel the writing on the other side of the page but it's not like braille.2. Column-Style of Text: This is really nice, especially when I'm reading the story and I don't want to have to skip around.3. No Interruptions: My former Bible had "Faith Connection" Blurbs which interrupted the text. Many times they only vaguely related to the passage. This Bible doesn't have that in the books - it's just scripture. *However* there are introductions at the beginning of each book. There are also divisions of the book, for example, the John has "the principal divisions of the gospel are the following" arranged in what looks like a 2002 Powerpoint Slide graphic.4. Topic Divisions: Very great topic divisions in each section of chapters. For example, in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1: "John the Baptist's Testimony To Himself", "The First Disciples", etc. That space is split up by paragraph.5. Great Footnotes: This is mostly due to the translation itself (NABRE), which is known for its extensive (aka ENDLESS) mini-commentary on word meaning, situational stuff, etc. I LOVE this translation. It's FANTASTIC. I can't count the # of times something hasn't made sense until I'd read the footnotes. This NABRE has fantastically arranged footnotes. The pingbacks - (what I call the references to other verses) are arranged by letter in italics, and the footnotes are represented by an *.When you go down to the footnotes, the verse and the phrase in question that warrants the footnote are BOLD. This is a BLESSING, especially when you're in Mass and trying to take notes on the readings/homily/gospel and only have time to underline something until you can get back to it later.Also, the footnotes and pingbacks are kept separate so that there's less visual confusion.6. Tasteful Cover: So tired of all the stuff on the covers! This one is good for men or women. It's only got a "Holy Bible" and a cross on the front. Additionally, it's imprintable! :)Cons:1. AWFUL Glue Binding - This binding is objectively terrible. As you can see in the last photo, the binding is already separating from the back cover of the book. I just got this Bible for Christmas. That's unacceptable. Maybe I'll tape it? Still.2. There are no maps, prayers, indexes, or commentaries. The Bible's last page is the last verse of Revelation. My prior Bible, a Catholic Youth Bible, had Reams of that stuff. While I couldn't care less about then, I miss it now.3. MICROSCOPIC FONT: I am young. Even I struggle to read this font at times. It's probably like 8 pt, TNR. Of all the ridiculous fonts to pick, TNR??? They could have gone with something easier on the eyes.4. NO BOOKMARKS: h o w could someone decide to make a bible without adding bookmarks??? It's absurd. I have no words. The bookmarks in the picture are some external ones I picked up at a Christian bookstore.5. SO HEAVY. It’s not even funny how heavy this thing is. It’s big. It also Flops around really easily.Suggested Improvements:1. Reduce Weight and Thickness by making the Journaling Columns extend only to the level of the Footnote area.2. SMYTH SEW THE DANG BINDING3. TWO Bookmarks inherent to the Bible.4. Create some kind of rigidity to the Bible? Maybe use a thicker/harder cardstock in the cover material.5. Give us MAPSTL;DR: This is the best thing I could find that is able to be imprinted. I love it but it's very delicate because of the glued binding (vs. Smyth Sewn). I can't just throw it in a bag like my old Catholic Youth Bible. If imprinting matters to you, get this one. If it doesn't, get the other Our Sunday Visitor NABRE Bible, which is cloth bound and looks grey-blue, and is hardback.