In late April, I received the CDs of the Breathe Bible Audio New Testament from Tyndale House Publishing for the purposes of an honest review. It came with the ability to download/listen in a Bible app on my iPhone as well.
Let me begin with the app. I confess that, as an avid audiobook listener, I would rather be able to listen to this New Testament in my Audible app. I wish I could be given a key so that I could download it there, the same way when I buy a movie on DVD, I often can download it to my iTunes library to watch on my iPad. The Audible app is familiar and easy to use.
I found the Breathe Bible app from Tecarta to be somewhat confusing and not as user friendly, especially since it continues to offer me the purchase of the digital version in the app for $7.99, even though I can already see and read the digital version on the screen as I listen. However, given a little time and use, I don’t dislike the app as much as I did at first, although I would still prefer a download to my Audible app.
As for the dramatic audio version of the NLT New Testament, I love it. And trust me, that is saying a lot. I have not, in the past, been a fan of dramatized versions of the Bible (and I have owned more than one version, including on cassette tapes another lifetime ago). The dramatizations have often felt overdone to me. Not so the Breathe Bible. Sometimes the music and/or sound effects go on a little longer than I would choose. Overall, listening to this audio version is a pleasant experience that encourages you to listen closely to God’s story.
I do not recognize all of the actors who do the readings, but the voices I have listened to have been excellent. In order to hear as many as possible, I have purposely bounced around, from the Gospels to the letters of Paul and of Peter to the Revelation of John. I have enjoyed everything.
If you like audiobooks and want to have another way to enjoy “reading” your Bible, I can recommend the Breathe Bible to you. My CDs are going into my car so that I can listen to them on-the-go.
~robin
