@Tom Welsh -- Re: Depends which parts you are reading
Really, the Bible has something for everyone.
Perhaps so. But even if one leaves aside or disbelieves its content, the King James Bible of 1611 is a wonderful read. Anyone with even the vaguest interest in prose and literature has to be mightily impressed.
That the King James edition of the Bible was actually produced by a committee and turned out so well is, to my mind, even more remarkable. [Duh, perhaps the Divine intervened.] ;-)
[BTW, those modern Bible incarnations--'The Good News Bible' etc.--translations in modern prose/idiom (if you can call that translation at all) are made especially for Americans who don't or can't understand words such as 'thy' or 'thou', really are ugly and horrible. ...And, they really do read as trite fairy stories!
Well, perhaps it's understandable knowing the intended target audience.]