Book Reviews

The Book of Psalms and Doorposts

by Timothy R. Botts

In both books, Timothy Botts uses expressive calligraphy and watercolors to create beautiful word pictures of passages from the New Living Translation of the Bible. His creative expressions are both informative and interpretive and have been very meaningful for anyone seeking spiritual inspiration. These books are wonderful gifts for anyone who is in love with scripture and seeks to view it from a different perspective.

The Saint John’s Bible has been called the “American Book of Kells.” Using tools and materials employed by scribes for thousands of years, Donald Jackson and an international team of artists and scholars embarked on a monumental seven-year journey: to create the first handwritten illuminated Bible commissioned since the invention of the printing press. With feathers, eggs, calf skins, and hand-ground inks along with gold, silver, and platinum, the seven volumes of the Saint John’s Bible were created with the intention of putting readers in communication with the Infinite. There are seven volumes: Gospels and Acts, Pentateuch, Psalms, Prophets, Wisdom, Letters and Revelation, and the Historical Books. Price per volume ranges from $55.25–$63.75  (retail $65 –$75). 

The Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Song of Solomon includes 130 pages of extraordinary illustrations by the artist Marc Chagall. Chagall began illustrating the Bible in 1931, and it became his lifelong passion. His illustrations reflect his Jewish heritage and his view of the complex relationship between God and humans. Originally published in France, this chunky, hand-sized book is a combination of the popular artist’s evocative style alongside the most familiar stories from the Bible. $17 ($20 retail).