If you actually want to get into the Bible, stick to the Apocrypha and New Testament. Apocrypha has very interesting historical stories as well as theological life lessons like Bel and the Dragon. New Testament kindov goes without saying. For the stories of the LORD I would stick to reading Matthew (Levi) and John (The one whom Jesus loved), the two men who actually walked with The Christ before he was taken up. After reading the "main arc", you move onto Acts to learn about the early history of the Sect of the Nazarenes...
You learn more about Peter, John, Steven the Martyr (cool dude), and of course Saul of Tarsus. Saul (also known as Paul) and his epistles are very important reads for your understanding, and bring a much needed perspective, that of a repentant soldier who was once an enforcer for the Jewish High Priesthood. A man who dragged men, women, and children out of their homes and imprisoned them, or sent them back in chains to Jerusalem to be killed for worshipping Jesus. I feel like this man's story in particular is very significant. Other epistles were written by John and Peter, and are a beneficial read to get a better understanding of who they were as men.
Everything is wrapped up with the book of Revelation, beloved John's Sunday-tripping fever dream about the end of days. A gripping and interesting read if nothing else, and it gives some historical understanding of what persecuted Christians thought about Nero. It even calls some modern shit outright, like beast mark currencies being used to control and enslave people. John also names the Synagogue of Satan twice in warnings to the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia (fitting for Americans). The book ends with rage and hope for a "New and Heavenly Jerusalem", indicative of a long-lived man in exile lamenting the (often brutal) deaths of his friends, and the loss of his homeland.