I have to confess that I haven't read every book I've reviewed. Some have been audiobooks. A gold star to whoever figures out which ones.
The Message has gotten a lot of flak over the years for the very loose quality of its translations. It reads very well, though, and sounds even better spoken. The author himself has said that it was not a Bible and shouldn't be used as one, but it's been heavily marketed that way by NavPress, who I hold fully responsible.
All that to say this: I liked it. I don't see using it as a Bible, or giving it out on one, but it was refreshing to hear things put very differently from what I've used to. The Bibles I've been accustomed to have all been in the King James tradition (KJV, NKJV, and ESV), so it was very interesting hearing the New Testament in unfamiliar language.
In fact, that one thing I didn't like was that it had so many readers. None of them were terrible, but they weren't great either. I understand why it made sense from a marketing standpoint, but as a listener it didn't help.
Overall, I recommend it. If you're young and haven't read the New Testament, that is a good introduction. If you've read it a thousand times, it never hurts to hear it with fresh ears.
Besides, it's never a bad idea to hear God's word.
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