A couple thoughts from a religious studies graduate and a current pastoral student.
While I would suggest owning a Bible, I'm not sure how I would suggest reading it. It isn't like a novel or a work of nonfiction that you open up, read Genesis 1:1, then read through until you're at the end of Revelation. By the time you get around the middle of Leviticus, you'll want to kill yourself, especially when the majority of the laws therein make minimal sense within the context of modern perspective. It is a collection of works formed by two related religious movements that were later compiled into a collection for future generations. Remember that these are religious texts, not historical documents, and that the purpose is more than simply providing answers to the where, what, when and how of things happening, and is far more concerned with the why.
As far as translations go, stuff like the New Living Translation and the Message are easiest to read but also take broad liberties in trying to modernize the language. King James is popular for being very poetic and "proper" sounding, but it also is very long in the tooth and difficult for both casual reading and deeper study, as the translation is marked by deep political implications as well. Probably the best translation for both reading and serious study is the New Revised Standard Version, or NRSV. This translation is the most extensive creation by a group of translators since the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek that most all following translations are based upon. (The Jewish Publication Society has their own version of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, that is translated directly from the original Hebrew. I often refer to this, but most of the differences between that and the NRSV text are mostly minor, though the JPS version is much more explicit when talking about sex and violence in particular.) It is worth pointing out that religious and nonreligious (read: atheist) linguistic scholars both worked on the NRSV for nearly 15 years, and is widely considered by Biblical scholars as the most :"accurate" biblical translation in modern English, with most items of discussion/contention well documented and footnoted.
A final note/suggestion is that when buying your bible, make sure you get one that has copious notes. I'd recommend the Oxford or Harper-Collins study bible; I use the latter, and the footnotes and pre-chapter summaries are very enlightening when studying a difficult or obfuscated text, and is very good at pointing out connections between disparate bits of scripture, especially in regards to when New Testament authors are making allusions to Hebrew texts. I don't own an Oxford Study, but I have heard nothing but glowing reviews. If you want an even MORE in-depth view, there are meticulous (some might say obsessive) commentaries and deconstructions for any individual book in the Bible you might have a fancy for. Avoid versions of the NRSV that have some weird additional name (last one I can remember seeing was "The Stage" or some otherwise trite bullshit), as most of them are either filled with poorly researched or agenda-heavy footnotes and annotations.
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