Welcome to Christian Fiction Devourers!

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Elaine! I'm so glad you've found us. Poke around our threads and let us know if you have questions.

[Elaine]

Hi Andrea,

Could you tell me what " Shelf Name" refers to in the Book Reading Challenges? Thanks a ton.

[Lila]

Elaine, "Shelf Name" is how you categorize your books. If you go to the top (on desktop) and click on the "My Books" tab, you will see all books you have interacted with on Goodreads. You can add them to "Want to Read" shelf, and when you start a book, you can mark it as "Currently Reading." When you're done, you click "I'm finished" on your Home page, and it will automatically put it on your "Read" shelf. You can create as many shelves as you need. When you track a specific challenge, the tracker asks for your shelf name. For instance, for the reading through the Bible challenge, I named my shelf, "2021 Bible book challenge." When I finish a book of the Bible, I mark it as finished, and I also have the option to mark which shelves I want it to go to, so I will add it to this shelf. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions!

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Elaine, what Lila said explains it. :)

[Elaine]

Thanks a ton Lila, thanks Andrea.
I planned to join one of the challenges.
Appreciate the explanation .

[[deleted user]]

Hi. I’m Kaarin. I’m a teen who hopes to be a author or pastor one day.

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Kaarin!

[[deleted user]]

Thank you!

[T.K.]

Kaarin wrote: "Hi. I’m Kaarin. I’m a teen who hopes to be a author or pastor one day."

Welcome! I think both job options are excellent. It sounds like you love helping people.

[[deleted user]]

Yep, I do.

[T.K.]

Kaarin wrote: "Yep, I do."

That's awesome!

[[deleted user]]

☺️

[Bob]

G'day all!

This is the former Tito Kithes Athano. Now that I've released a book under my real name I don't have to pretend I'm Tito any more.

I've been out of sight for a few months as I've tried to wrestle long-distance with the publishing team in USA. Not easy from Sydney, Australia! But hopefully I've gained some wisdom as I scratch together a plan for my second book.

Bob

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome back, Bob!

[Loraine]

Welcome to all our new members and returnee Bob! We're so glad to have you join our wonderful group.

[Kimberly]

I like romantic suspense which is why I lean toward it in my writing. It's the page-turning twists that keep me coming back for more. What I'm not a fan of is the obvious conclusion. I need something to keep me hooked. What do you all think?

[Anna]

S.K. wrote: "Anna wrote: "Hi! My name is Anna. My reading taste have changed A LOT the past five years alone, but this last year, especially (and as my walk with God has changed), I have been drawn to reading m..."

Hi S.K.! I apologize as I didn’t see your reply sooner. =) I am definitely in a different place than I was before. I used to read a lot of secular PNR & fantasy but many of the books had a lot of cussing or could get graphic or dark. I think that I was just really drawn to the creative world building. I’ve had a really hard time finding decent Christian (or just clean) books in these genres, but I’ve certainly been on the hunt! In the meantime I’ve been enjoying Christian historical romances or contemporaries. I feel like there’s more creativity and quality to them than the secular HR books I used to read. I do adore history/historicals. “Regular” historical fiction can be hit or miss for me.

[Anna]

Summer wrote: "Hello and thank you for this group of Christian authors and books. Typically I would read anything & everything with no boundaries, but this year God really put it on my heart to start reading clea..."

I’m with you there, Summer! :)

[ClaraBelle]

Andrea wrote: "Karen Witemeyer's westerns are so much fun. Yes, they're romance, but they're also quirky adventures that I think anyone can enjoy. She's my go-to anytime I'm in the mood for a western."
I’ll have to check her books out as I love westerns!

[ClaraBelle]

Welcome and hi to Jinlo!

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

ClaraBelle wrote: "I'll have to check her books out as I love westerns!"

ClaraBelle, you may also like Mary Connealy's books, then. I recently discovered that her books are similar in style (western romcoms) to Karen Witemeyer's. I have enjoyed all three books in the Brides of Hope Mountain series. I'm finishing up Her Secret Song today, actually (that's book three).

[Abbi]

Hey! I'm Abbigayle, an almost-20yo Christian fantasy author & poet.
Thanks to Chaplain Steve for the invite! :)

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Abbigayle! You have a really unique spelling to your name. I love it!

[ClaraBelle]

Andrea wrote: "ClaraBelle wrote: "I'll have to check her books out as I love westerns!"

ClaraBelle, you may also like Mary Connealy's books, then. I recently discovered that her books are similar in style (weste..."

Thank you, I’ll check her out too!

[ClaraBelle]

Welcome and hi to Abigayle!

[Rich]

Hi, everybody! My name is Rich Sezov. I joined Goodreads from my Kindle about a year and a half ago, and have apparently only been using it to rate books and to show what I'm reading. Now that I know it's a real website and not just a Kindle ratings system, I'm here to look around and see what's happening around here.

10 years ago, I published a computer book, which has ratings here that I knew nothing about. As you can see, I'm still sort of clueless.

I recently published a Christian novel, but I read the guidelines and I'll promote that in the appropriate place, once I figure out how to do that. Basically, I'm just getting started with Goodreads. A friend at church recommended this group, and so I've joined in the hope of getting good recommendations, good fellowship, possibly some new readers, and patience with a guy who is still figuring things out and will likely make mistakes.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome Rich!

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Rich!

Here's the link to the Author Promotions & Giveaways thread.

Here's the link to the Introduce Yourself & Your Books thread.

Please let us know if there's anything else you need help figuring out.

So glad to have another author in our group.

[ClaraBelle]

Welcome and hi to Rich!

[Lyvita]

Hey Rich, I started the same way and Iam still learning. Have an adventurous exploration of good reading 🤣☺️. Welcome to the group.

[Bonny]

Welcome, Rich, from your friend at church! =) So glad you've joined our group!!
By the way, one of my favorite things about CFD is all the great challenges, which are a lot of fun, and also excellent opportunities to find books that fit specific genres and interests. If you scroll down to the "Reading Challenges 2021" section, many of the challenges are sorted by topic. For instance, if click on the "Visionary 2021" thread, members have posted about a variety of books in the Christian Fantasy/Sci Fi genre, while the "Around-the-World" challenge can help find books set in specific foreign countries, etc.
Feel free to reach out with any questions about navigating Goodreads!!

[Rich]

Thank you all! I definitely feel welcome. I posted my author intro, and I'll start poking around some of the other threads.

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Julia! Have you yet read Kathryn Cushman, Camille Eide, or Robin Lee Hatcher? I've enjoyed several of their contemporary books. Poke around our threads and let us know if you have any questions.

[Carolyn]

Welcome Julia, I'm also from MN near willmar area. is it romance you like to read? Jen Turano, Jody hedlund, karen witemeyer, are a few I have enjoyed. Having been raised on a farm, I like prairie country reading, amish suspense, but not romance. enjoy becoming familiar with good reads; you will see a ton of references for good books

[Alejandro]

Hello all!
Glad to have found this group. I am from Crazy Cali bred n buttered.
Blessing to all from good ol Chula.

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Alejandro!

[Loraine]

Welcome Alejandro! Is that Chula Vista? I had a college roommate from Chula Vista.

[Lorraine]

Hello!

I'm so pleased to have found this group! I love books about Ireland and Irish fiction of the chick lit sort. I'm looking forward to branching out to other sorts as well!

God bless :)

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Lorraine!

[Loraine]

Well come Lorraine with 2 r's! I am one of the moderators here, and I am Loraine with 1 r!

[Denis]

Hi all! This message is 1 year late but here I am. It’s good to be here. I’m still finding my way around to see what’s here and there. I’ve written a fiction called “A Journey of Sacrifice: It is beginning,” about a kid named Yeshua, a fiction that challenges our imagination. Hope to hear what people have to say about it.

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Denis!

[Vanessa]

Hi Everyone! Soooo I’m brand new here and I’m somewhat confused as to where to find a “bookshelf” or list of previously read books for this group. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Beth]

Hi, Gloria - over toward the upper right side of the group page, there is a list with "Group Home," etc. One of those options is Bookshelf. That will take you to the shelves, where books are separated by the year that we read them as a group. Hope this helps!

Also, if you're on the app, it's not really great for browsing the group shelves. It's best done on the desktop.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense!

Also, welcome to the group - we're glad to have you here!

[Dassah]

Hi everyone! I’m happy to be here and to spread the love of Jesus! Can’t wait to join in on the fun, and to share with y’all the joys of reading!

[Loraine]

Welcome Gloria V and Dassah. We're glad you are joining us. Gloria always feel free to ask questions as both moderators and other members are happy to help!

[Jonathan]

Hello Loraine and fellow readers. God's peace to all. I am a recently retired local church pastor and recently published a novel in short stories. If it's appropriate, Loraine, I'd be glad to introduce my book to the group.

[Loraine]

Welcome Jonathan. You are most welcome to introduce your book. Please use this thread to do so:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Bridget]

Hi! My name is Bridget. I joined about a week ago. I am still trying to wade through all the good stuff in this group. I am glad I found this group. Looking forward to reading with other Christians!

[Andrea, Hospitality Coordinator]

Welcome, Bridget!