The Living Bible has for years been criticized as a "paraphrase" and not a "word for word" translation. Given the fact that almost every other translation includes some element of "paraphrasing" (See for example
Acts 26:10 in the KJV), this sort of criticism is kind of empty.
The NCV is an update of the International Children's Bible. It is aimed at young teens and youth readers.
Which type of Bible you use will just depend on what you are doing with what you read.
The 3:16 New Testament & Psalms is good for devotional reading and the notes help to fill in a bit of detail that you might overlook. The disadvantage is that it obviously doesn't contain the whole Old Testament.
If you were expounding or preaching the Bible in a preaching or teaching ministry then you might want to get a "more serious" Study Bible like a KJV, NKJV or one of the many others. These can also be found in different editions however that include devotional approaches as opposed to exegesis (preaching and teaching).
You might even try the local libary. Check out a Bible that seems interesting and if it's a good fit then you can spend the money for one of your own. Just a thought.
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