Like chapters in a book

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1-2 Samuel 

1-2 Kings

1-2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon 

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

1-2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1-2 Thessalonians

1-2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1-2 Peter

1-3 John

Jude

Revelation

1. Above is the Protestant canon of Scripture. One problem with Catholicism is that because Catholics think "the Church" gave us the Bible, they don't consider how the books of Scripture go together. 

There's a certain logic to the arrangement in the Protestant canon. The OT canon is roughly chronological and topical. 

However, it's somewhat arbitrary because there's more than one logical way to arrange them. For instance, the lives of the prophets overlap the Historical Books. And the Psalter spans the entire history of OT Israel.

In principle, you could splice sections of the prophets and Psalter into parallel columns with sections of the Historical Books. And that would be illuminating. 

The NT begins with historical narratives. And these are chronological: the life of Jesus followed by apostolic church history. Then there are letters grouped by authorship, capped by Revelation. 

It's logical but someone arbitrary. Luke/Acts could be grouped together. John's Gospel and 1-3 John could be grouped together. 

2. In a way, books of the Bible are like chapters of one book. There's an overarching plot or storyline with subplots or intermezzi. 

Now, if you never read the Bible, and some books were missing, you might not notice the gaps. But if other books were missing, it would be very choppy. 

In addition, if you were very familiar with the complete canon, then some books were removed, you'd notice gaps even if you wouldn't notice the same gaps in case you never read the Bible. And not just because you remembered the missing books, but because, having read through the entire canon on multiple occasions, you have a sense of flow that would be disrupted if certain otherwise "dispensable" books were removed. You might not notice their absence if you never read the Bible before, but having read the Bible with those books, they fill in many background details. Although some of them can be removed without disrupting the overall plot or storyline, they make a subtle, felt contribution to the flow. 

3. Put another way, a journey has a linear continuity to it.  But sometimes the traveler stays in certain locations along the way for extended periods. It's not just a place to eat and sleep, then resume the journey the next day. Maybe winter's approaching, and he has to make camp before he can cross the mountains in the spring. Or maybe some locations are especially scenic, so he lives there for a few weeks or months to take it in. 

Likewise, the Bible isn't just a journey through time and space. The pilgrims settle down here and there to reflect on what they've experienced thus far and what lies ahead. They take stock of where they are, where they've been. The obstacles they overcame. Losses along the way. It's not a nonstop journey. Some books of the Bible provide depth of field. It's not just about moving forward in a straight line, but taking a breather to savor the present moment and give thanks for past deliverance. Striking a balance between the here-and-now as well as the hereafter. Each day isn't just a steppingstone but of value in its own right. 

4. You could rearrange some chapters, and it would still make sense. A different kind of sense. Continuity isn't everything. Take nonlinear narration, like flashbacks. Those are different ways to tell the same story. Both foresight and hindsight provide insight.