By the way, I've read most of the Bible, in the original Hebrew.
Rote memorization is not a virtue. Big freakin' deal. I know plenty of people who have memorized the entire Bible AND the entire Talmud (in Aramaic) from simply studying it thoroughly.
And many of them are our greatest Hachamim, such as H'Rishon L'Tzion Ovadia Yosef. I'd say that it's certainly a big deal to memorize the entire Tanakh and Talmud-- definately demonstrates a high degree of intelligence, and a commendable knowledge of the Law.