AMG Handy Size Giant Print KJV Bible Review

The handy size giant print format strikes a perfect balance for a Bible that’s easy to carry and read for those, like me, who prefer large typefaces with an overall size that’s still easy to manage. They don’t have a lot of space for extras, so they usually have either end-of-verse references or no references at all. I like this because the focus is on the text where it belongs. The text doesn’t have to share horizontal space with columns of tools that I only use every now and then. This makes for a much more readable text. The AMG Handy Size Giant Print KJV is one such Bible.

Binding

The cover is bonded leather. It has an interesting grain stamped into it, but the material looks more like plastic than leather. There are a few wavy creases that seem to have creased the pages underneath. It’s a minor issue and doesn’t bother me at all, but I wanted to make sure mentioned it for the sake of being thorough. It does have some interesting finishing touches though… there is a line embossed around the perimeter and there are raised hubs on the spine. The lettering is stamped into the front and spine in gold. The stamping is sharp and detailed. The AMG logo includes grains of wheat that are clearly defined. This cover is much better than I expected at this price point. I like the look of it.

The liner is paste-down vinyl. It’s sewn, but due to the stiffness of the cover it wants to close in Genesis. It has broken in some since I’ve started using it and I believe with use it will lie open with no problem. Speaking of sewn… it has overcasting in the front and back. This process is almost never seen on Bibles in this price range. I’ve seen Bibles at 10x this price that didn’t have overcasting. This text-block is very much worthy of rebinding when the bonded leather wears out, and I plan to do both – use it so much that I wear it out, and get it rebound.

This is a personal size edition. The overall size is 8.5 x 6 x 1.5. The book-block is 8.25 x 5.5. I’ve become very fond of this size and format. The text is large enough to read and the Bible is small enough to carry and use. It strikes a perfect balance for me. It weighs 2lbs 4oz. I haven’t had any issues with carrying it or holding it for long periods of time. It has a single ribbon that’s long enough to pull to the corner and open the Bible with it. The Bible is printed in South Korea.

Paper

This is some extremely opaque paper. You can see show-through where the lines don’t match (it usually does match) or where there isn’t text on one side of the page, but it’s nowhere near as bad as most Bibles. There’s no glare at all, so it’s easy to read under direct light. It has an ivory shade of white.

To my fingers it feels like it’s in the mid 30’s for gsm. This makes the pages easier to turn. It doesn’t have any page-curl. For comparison I used other Bibles and when I started seeing their pages curling I picked up this AMG and could not get the pages to curl. I went back to the others and they immediately had page-curl. I put them back down and read the AMG.

I think this paper would be great for highlighting. I wanted to keep this one clean for reading, but I love this Bible so much that I plan to buy another one to highlight for preaching and teaching. In the back there are four pages for notes. You can also write on the empty space at the end of books because each book starts on a new page.

Typography

This is a double-column verse-by-verse format. Drop-caps are the first letter of the first word. Verse numbers are indented. This makes each verse look like its own paragraph (and there aren’t any paragraph markers), but it also makes verses much easier to find. Verse numbers are the same size as the regular text. And speaking of text size…

The font is 11 point with a nice amount of leading. It’s not bold, but it’s a lot darker than most Bibles. I prefer darker fonts and to my eye this one is perfect. It’s consistent throughout. The red-letter is a darker red than most red letter Bibles. I prefer this shade of red or darker because it’s easier on the eyes. The style of font is easy to read for long periods of time. The text is very clean and easy to read without many distractions. There are no pronunciation marks. It does have italics for supplied words. References are marked with an r but there aren’t many of them.

The columns are 2” wide and have 36 characters across. The words never feel scrunched and doesn’t have awkward spaces between words. There isn’t an overuse of hyphens either (which can hurt readability, especially for reading aloud). For comparison, Genesis 1 has 7 hyphens.

The inner margin is wide enough to help bring the text out of the gutter. This is helpful for preaching and even gives a little bit of space for very small notes. The margins are .5” all around. There isn’t a lot of room for notes, but you can write at the end of many books and you might even get a symbol or reference in the margins or at the end of verses. There is enough room between the lines for underlining.

The header includes the book name and the first (left page) or last (right page) chapter that starts on that page, page number, and page summary.

References and Footnotes

At the end of some verses there are references or footnotes. There aren’t a lot of them. They’re all marked with an r and the reference or note is given at the end of the verse. Genesis chapter 1 has 11 references and 1 note.

Presentation and Family Pages

There are several pages in the front for presentation and family records. They’re printed on thick glossy paper and are decorated with brown and gold. Pages include:

Presentation – 1 page
Births – 2 pages
Marriages – 2 pages
Deaths – 2 pages
Special Events – 1 page

Book Introductions

Book introductions take most of a page and give an overview of the book. It discusses key characters and events, the setting, key passages, who the book was written to, how it was used, etc. They’re informative and help you get a good feel for what the book is about and give you some key information that will be handy for study and teaching.

Table of Weights and Measures

This is a single page that includes weights, length, and capacity in both dry and liquid measures. It shows the biblical unit, US equivalent, and metric equivalent.

Concordance

The concordance is 98 pages and has 2 columns per page. Here are a few sample entries with their counts:

Christ – 0
Christian – 3
Faith – 122
Faithful – 33
God – 51
Godliness – 10
Praise (n) – 14
Praise (v) – 10
Pray – 19
Prayer – 17

There’s enough here for looking up something major without having to go to another source.

Concordance of Proper Names

This is 78 pages and includes proper names, a pronunciation guide, a definition, and a reference to a verse where the name is used. The pronunciation marks show the breakdown of the syllables and which syllable gets the emphasis. I like that this guide is in the back rather than placing the pronunciation marks within the text. For one thing it makes the text cleaner. For another it gives more information about the name.

Daily Reading Plan

This is a reading plan that gets you through the Bible in one year. It provides a single reading per day and takes you through in biblical order. The last 7 days of the year is a review of key passages. They’re from Micah, the gospels, Acts, Romans, Psalms, and 1 John. They’re labeled by month and day of the month, but if you wanted to start at any time all you have to do is mark them as you go and ignore the month.

Maps

There are 8 full-color maps on glossy paper. They’re from mapquest.com. There isn’t an index but they are labeled well and it was fairly easy to find what I was looking for. The maps include:

World of the Patriarchs
The Twelve Tribes
The Kingdoms of David and Solomon
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
Assyrian Empire
Israel in the Time of Jesus
New Testament Jerusalem
Paul’s Missionary Journeys

The maps cover distance, topography, borders, types of cities, etc.

Using It

I’ve used it for daily reading, carrying in the car, taking to Churches on visits, and for preaching. I’ve enjoyed it at every step of the way. I never once had a problem with its size, with the paper, or with the typeface. The readability is top-notch. For preaching, I could read it without having to strain my eyes or get close to it. I could read from my normal preaching stance. I didn’t have any trouble turning the pages or find verses quickly. I plan to highlight the text and make small notes where I can.

If I Could Change One Thing

I very badly want this Bible with real leather. The higher the quality the better. I realize that would double the price, but I’d pay it in a heartbeat. This is the kind of Bible that I want to use for many years as a carry and preaching Bible. My plan is to wear it out and get it rebound. While I’m at it I’ll add a few extra ribbons and maybe some more sheets in the back for notes. When I do I’ll post pictures.

Conclusion

Even though it doesn’t have translator’s footnotes or very many references, this is by far my favorite personal size Bible. The typeface and paper are nothing but amazing. As I get older I need larger and darker fonts, but I don’t want to carry around a super large Bible. This one has the font and paper that I need with a clean text (I just have to do without the extras), in a size that’s easy enough to handle. I can’t recommend the AMG Handy Size Giant Print enough. At its price point it’s worth buying as a carry and reading Bible. If the bonded leather tears, then it’s cheap enough to buy another one. If you like to buy Bibles to rebind, this is a great choice. It’s especially good for reading and preaching.

You can see it at AMG’s website here or buy it from Amazon here.