Every January, gyms get crowded with new members, salad sales spike, and Bible-in-a-year reading plans get downloaded by the millions. And by this time in February… only the kale is still hanging on.

In 2025, Bible sales hit a surprising high. But with so many people buying it again, the deeper question lingers: How do you actually read it — not just finish it — and come away with something you understand?

Along with being a religious text, the Bible is the most quoted, banned, printed and translated book in history. Its influence is quickly evident in art, law, music, and pop culture—even among those who don’t identify with its message of faith.

It’s among those things we know more about than we actually know. That alone puts the Bible on par with Tolstoy and Shakespeare — opened with good intentions and quietly abandoned halfway through. Reading Genesis to Revelation straight through is like starting “War and Peace” because you liked a meme about Napoleon — great idea, rough execution.

Whether you added to the sales figures this past year or you’ve had several translations on your shelf for years, I want to encourage you to approach the Bible differently. Consider it for what it is: a library, not a single book. A total of 66 works of poetry, history letters and prophecy which collectively span several millennia. If you opened up The Lord of the Rings and started reading the appendices, you might judge Tolkien’s storytelling based on Elvish family trees. That’s how some people feel when they hit the book of Numbers in mid-February.

The Bible, at its core, is a story. And like any good story, it helps to know where you are in it.

You wouldn’t walk into a gym for the first time, wander past the treadmills, and randomly start yanking cables on a machine labeled “advanced resistance” without a clue what it targets. Well… some of us might. But we shouldn’t. The machine isn’t the problem. The confusion is. The same is true with Scripture.

Each part of the Bible has a purpose, a genre, and a place in the larger arc. Poetry speaks differently from history. Letters read differently from law. When you recognize that, the frustration level drops dramatically.

If you’re new to reading the Bible, start with the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Meet Jesus before you try to interpret Ezekiel’s wheels. Read a short letter like Philippians or James in one sitting. Notice themes. Ask simple questions: What does this show me about God? What does this reveal about people? How might this shape how I live?

You don’t need a seminary degree. You need patience and perspective.

So, if you’re still in Genesis — great. If you’re currently lost somewhere between Leviticus and late-night snacking — that’s okay too. Just don’t quit because you wandered into a section that feels like spiritual leg day.