Let’s Do Better.

July 20, 2025 Bob SnyderLeave a comment

I’ve read a lot of news articles on different sites over the years. I’m sure you have as well. I’m wondering if the writers graduated from school? It seems like they’ve forgotten how to write a sentence, paragraph, and essay. Reading their articles leads me to believe they haven’t graduated, or the standards have been lowered.

Let’s start with what you need for a sentence. At a minimum you need a subject, and a verb. The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea, the sentence is about. The verb is the action word. An example of this would be, “I ran.” It is a very short sentence. We usually want to convey more information than the bear minimum. To make it more informative, we could change it to say, “I ran quickly down the street to the store.” We added an adverb, which describes the action. We added an object. That would be store. The object is the part of the sentence that receives the action. To sum up, we have subject, verb, object. This is just a short explanation of a sentence.

A paragraph is at least three sentences long. The first sentence should be the theme of the paragraph. The following sentences should support the first one. Once the point has been made, the last sentence should sum up the paragraph. That is how a paragraph is formed.

An essay is a written work that seeks to inform the reader, or to make an argument. An essay is composed of at least three paragraphs minimum. Usually an essay will have five, or more paragraphs. The first part of the essay functions like the first part of the paragraph. It is used to present the thesis, or main idea. The following paragraphs are used to support the thesis. The final paragraph is used to conclude the essay. It should restate the main point, and sum things up.

Now that we’ve went through the basics, I expect you all to write a bit better. I don’t expect perfection, but if a New Plymouth High School graduate can do it, a professional journalist should be able to do it much better. Let’s all have higher standards for the writers who work for us, or we can just wait for Artificial Intelligence to replace them all. I hope that never happens.

Bible Reviews

Review of the Holman HCSB Electric Blue Large Print Compact Colormax Bible.

October 28, 2014 Bob Snyder2 Comments

This is kind of an odd little Bible. It is odd because of the cover color, material, and size of it. The cover is smooth and shiny. It reminds me of candy apple blue car paint. The cover is smooth and shiny like the corfam oxford dress shoes the Marines wear. You know the ones that never need polishing.

It is flexible, but the binding is stiff. I think that’s because it’s a tight binding. The cover is lined with some blue paper.

On the spine of the Bible the word, “Colormax” is printed in silver colored letters, and then the logos on the top and bottom.

The pages are gilded with silver colored foil.

The size of the Bible puts it in between a true compact and a small reference Bible. It is thicker than most of the compact Bibles. This is good in the sense that the font can be larger, but it doesn’t lend itself to going into a pocket or a bag as easy. I would say it would be good in a lunch box, or backpack. I think that was kind of the idea with this one. The cover is obviously aimed at younger people.

This is a red letter edition of the HCSB text with 7 point font.

The printing is clear and legible and the pages are opaque enough to limit ghosting. The read text is bold, but not distracting. It is dual column paragraph format. There are limited references at the bottom of the page this makes more of the page real estate available to font size. This makes it easier to read.

This Bible was made in South Korea.

It seems the quality is better than many of the Chinese made Bibles. There is one ribbon marker that matches the color scheme in silver.

This Bible was shipped in a white plastic bag. The retail packaging is a multicolored card-paper sleeve.

The topical concordance and “where to turn” index were very limited, but helpful, especially for younger or less mature Christians. You should already expect that when buying a compact. The fact that it has any extra features is a bonus value in my mind. It also includes, presentation page, eight maps, a, “how to use the Bible” page, plan of salvation, table of weights and measures, Titles of Jesus, and HCSB introduction and bullet notes.

After using this Bible for a while it loosened up a bit. The cover still doesn’t close right after bending it up a bunch.

You kind of have to wait for it or put something on it. The good news is that it appears to be a sewn binding. So regardless of if you like the cover or not the Bible should hold up pretty well. I kind of got a kick out of bringing this little Bible to Church last Sunday and showing it around to some of the fellas. For the price, under twenty dollars, this is a nifty little Bible. I think it would make a great Bible for the young person in your life. Inexpensive enough to not be worried about the rigors of youth, and decent build quality to hold up to some abuse.

Dimensions: 5.67 X 4.00 X 1.13 (inches)

ISBN: 1433614448

ISBN-13: 9781433614446

I was given this Bible for free to review on my blog and am not required to give a positive review.

Bible Reviews

Review of the Holman, New King James Version, (NKJV) Large Print, Personal Size, Reference Bible, in Brown Genuine Cowhide, Indexed, Red Letter Edition.

October 21, 2014 Bob Snyder9 Comments

Not too many Bibles from large publishers like Holman surprise me. This one is the exception. I am accustomed to receiving Bibles from big publishers that are for lack of a better term, “disposable.” Many of them seem to make Bibles that you can use for a couple of years and then have to throw it away when it begins to fall apart. This Bible truly surprised me. It came in the mail packed in a white plastic bag-elope. I was immediately expecting some substandard, mass produced, mail abused, Bible. I opened the bag and didn’t notice any damage to the box… bonus! I was glad that the corners weren’t mashed. I opened the box (keep the box for storage) and was presented with black construction paper.

I seriously hoped that wasn’t the cover. Upon closer inspection I determined that the black construction paper was there to protect the supple and soft genuine cowhide cover. It smelled like a new leather jacket and the texture was very pleasant.

One of the most important parts of a Bible is the binding. Naturally I checked that next. I was pleased to see that it had a sewn binding. This makes a Bible last longer and lay flat when you want to read it.

Have you ever had to struggle against an intrusive and rude cover made of bonded leather, always trying to close on you? Have you ever had a fake leather cover get stained, scuffed, or torn? Well I have, and that is why I love genuine leather and goatskin covers with sewn bindings so much. This Bible’s chocolate brown colored leather cover is lined with a vinyl sheet matching the cover’s color. The lining is glued down. This is pretty typical. I was hoping to see it lined with a higher quality material sewn to the cover, but for the price of this Bible and the features it has I can’t complain.

This Bible can be purchased for about $48.00 on a couple of different web sites. Christianbook.com has it here and Amazon.com here. I was a bit surprised to see that this Bible was made in China.

I was surprised because they seemed to have put it together pretty well. There is a slight problem with the binding at the bottom, but that could be one of the drawbacks of having it banged around during shipping from China to the States. It didn’t look like a manufacturing problem as much as shipping damage. The pages are gilded and indexed.

The indexes caught my eye as they are rectangular with rounded shoulders. The usual ones are crescent shaped. The New Testament ones were red and the Old Testament ones were black. The spine is gilded with the, NKJV in a circle at the top, and, “Holy Bible” in the middle, with Holman’s logo at the bottom. The spine has decorative hubs.

When you open this Bible up you first have the normal presentation and records pages as well as the publishers information. Then there is some info on the NKJV translation and a page with the plan of salvation. I was expecting cheaper paper that was more translucent, smaller font, and more ghosting. (text from the page behind showing through) I was very pleasantly surprised again. The paper was pretty opaque for a less expensive Bible. Well, even for some more expensive Bibles it was pretty opaque.

The font looks to be twelve point and is clear and legible. The Bible is a double column, paragraph format with some foot notes and references at the bottom of the page. This was a smart move. Doing it this way enabled them to print some large font while keeping the size down. This was going to become my daily reader until my dear wife picked it up. I think to quote her she said, “Oooh this is so soft and nice… Can I have it?” What can you do? This Bible has one ribbon marker matching the color of the cover.

It opens nicely and is very easy to read. I love the accuracy of the NKJV. This Bible has some colored maps at the end. I highly recommend this Bible for those looking for a daily reader without a bunch of distractions. It is comfortable to hold and easy on the eyes with the opaque paper and large font. All of this with the low price makes it an excellent value and asset.

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Dimensions: 8.13 X 5.38 X 1.13 (inches)
ISBN: 1433613190
ISBN-13: 9781433613197

I received this Bible free of charge for the purpose of writing a review and am not obligated to write a positive review.

Bible Reviews

Review of the Cambridge Pitt Minion Bible in Black Calf Split Leather

October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 Bob Snyder4 Comments

The Pitt Minion Bible from Cambridge came in a clamshell type box.

It would be good to hold onto and use for storing this Bible. The calf split leather is much more durable and rigid than then a Bible bound in goatskin leather, or faux leather, however, it is more flexible than one bound in bonded leather. Bonded leather is made from leather scraps, and dust. It is bonded together with adhesive and formed into sheets. This type of Bible cover is usually very rigid and you have to fight against it to keep your Bible open, or to make it lay flat. Being made of scraps makes this type of cover very inexpensive. The Pitt Minion from Cambridge I received for review was covered in genuine calf split leather. It has durability and flexibility, granted it isn’t as supple as goatskin, or top grain leather but, it will hold up much better than just about anything out there. It lays flat on the table, yet it is also rigid enough to be held up and read. It is also pretty small.

This is great if you are sitting in a chair and reading. The inside cover is lined with what appears to be typical vinyl lining.

The binding is smyth-sewn. This is the major factor that contributes to its durability and flexibility. Sewn bindings are more expensive to manufacture do to the many steps that are taken to produce them. The pages are folded into pamphlets called journals. These are then stacked and sewn to journal tapes. These are all sewn together. This is more time and resource consuming than glued bindings. Most inexpensive Bibles that fall apart after a couple of years are made with glued bindings. Even the best glued binding cannot compete with a good sewn binding in durability and flexibility. If you want a Bible you can hand down to your children, buy one with a sewn binding.

Let’s face it, if you are interested in a Bible this size it is because you want one to carry around with you. It isn’t for the size of the font. The font for the Bible text is 6.75 point. The lexicon font is 7 point. This is pretty small. It is printed clean and sharp. It is a consistent black that contrasts well with the paper it is printed on.

It is printed by Jongbloed (Youngblood) of the Netherlands. Jongbloed is famous for their high quality and attention to details. They have been producing luxury Bibles since 1880. The quality of the print job does make it easier to read than less expensive, lower quality printings. Other companies skimp on paper quality. The paper is too transparent and not opaque enough so the text from the other side of the page bleeds through making it more difficult to read. This is not a problem on the Cambridge Pitt Minion. Even with its small font it is easy to read compared to its competitors. I have a Trinitarian Bible Society Bible, Royal Ruby Text Bible. It is smaller and has smaller text. When you compare the two the difference in the font size is obvious. It isn’t much of a difference, but it makes a huge difference in the work you have to do to focus and read. Hopefully most of us are buying Bibles to read.

You can see it in comparison to the Cambridge Clarion in the pictures below.

The Clarion is bigger all around. It is more to carry and too large for some situations

The Pitt Minion has gilded page edges and spine. The spine is rounded and imprinted with, “Holy Bible” “New American Standard” at the top and “Cambridge” at the bottom.

The first and last page is glued up higher to keep the text block firmly attached to the cover. This also keeps the pages in the front and back from falling out or separating as easily as they do without this detail.

There are five blank pages and one presentation page in the front of the Bible.

The text is arranged in paragraph format in dual columns with references in the center column. There are footnotes as well. Chapters have headings and the Chapter numbers are bold and larger in size.

There is one black ribbon marker.

The words of Christ are in red. The red ink is not offensive in its brightness or contrast. It blends in with the text around it. Of course the entire Bible is the word of God so highlighting part of it as the word of God can seem silly to some, yet to others it is a nice feature to have. It helps them recognize when the 2^nd person of the Trinity is speaking.

At the end of the Pitt Minion there is an 83 page concordance and color map index for the 15 pages of maps. At the end there are 7 blank pages.

I have to admit, after carrying this Bible around with me for a while I can appreciate the size and convenience it offers. It has some very important features and the attention to detail makes the higher price less of an issue. The only thing that disappoints me a bit is the paragraph format. I am a fan of the verse per line or the verse format. It helps me look up and identify the verse I’m after more quickly. It is a small thing in comparison to all you get in this Bible. You can spend the money for this one up front, or buy a new $20.00 Bible every couple of years. This one makes more sense in the long run. We should invest in God’s word. I know I would have loved to receive my Fathers Bible after he died. It would be a nice feeling to read the word of God from the same Bible as he held in his hands for many years. Unfortunately, Dad never had access to Bibles of this quality. I hope to leave some well-worn Bibles to children when I go on to glory. I hope you feel that way to.

Here is a youtube video from Jongbloed’s facility; http://youtu.be/5r_CzfaCAOg