Genesis

Internet isn't as available out here in the land of the Afghans as much as I'd like, but I am a staying true to my word and making progress...

I just finished Genesis, and I've realized I need to start taking notes, but a few things strike me in particular about the chapter.  I'm amazed that nearly all of the the classic "bible stories" that we all pic up, Christians and non-Christians alike, come from genesis.  I had no idea that the stories of Adam&Eve, Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Joseph were all part of the first book.  Now, more than anything, I'm curious what's left in the rest of the bible (save for all the stuff about, ya know... HIM). 

Key things that stick out to me...
1.  Lot's daughters getting him drunk and making babies with him.  Is this supposed to be significant?  More importantly, as a believer is anything about this discomforting?

2. When it comes to cosmology and interpretations of genesis, I often hear the argument that the term "day" could be interpreted very differently when it comes to the creation, yet within the same book the term "day" is used quite often in what is seemingly the context one would expect.  Is there any contradiction seen here?  If not, please explain.

3. I noticed there is no devil, nor is the serpent in Eden ever referenced as anything but the serpent.  I've heard before that Satan/the Devil isn't actually in the bible, so things like this tend to stick out to me.  I'm very interested to see if this holds true.

I'll be tearing through Exodus as fast as I can, and hopefully the next post will come sooner than this one. 

A humble beginning

A non-believers first journey through the bible.

A little background... I was raised in a non-religious household.  My parents took us to a non-denominational church, but I stopped going around the 6th or 7th grade.  Nothing I learned at church ever really struck me, and I never had an experience where I felt "saved", "born again", etc... However, my grandfather is a very devout Christian, teaching Sunday school at a United Methodist Church for decades with my grandmother playing piano at Sunday services.

Coming of age without belief, I've found the term atheist to being derisive and avoid it if at all possible.  I subscribe to Sam Harris's views that the term is inherently nonsensical as we do not conventionally describe ourselves in terms of what we don't do, that is that nobody would describe their beliefs as "analchemy" or "anastrologist".

So, why is this blog here?  Most of my knowledge of the bible has been gleamed from /r/atheism and other non-believer sources, and I've decided to read it for myself.  I have not started yet, so I'll take this opportunity to ask Christians a few questions:

1.  Is the King James Bible 1611 the version I should be reading?  It's what I currently have on my kindle, and it seems to be the most wide-reaching version and historically influential version, thus my pick.
2.  Is the best way to read it straight through or is there another way you'd recommend?

I can't guarantee much timeliness as I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan, and updates will come as I make progress.  There won't be any "Hey, haven't written in awhile but I'm still here" filler posts.

Thanks in advance for all the advice/suggestions!