Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

Books of the Month Guidelines

Nominations for the Books of the Month will run from the 1st to the 15th of the month. Voting will then open on the 16th to the last day of the month. The book with the most votes will be the Group Read and will be for 2 months ahead. For example, nominations for January’s group read run from November 1th to 15st, then voting from 15th – 31st. This will give members the entire month of December to get a copy of the book in whichever way they choose and time to read it before the discussion opens in January.

The book with the second most votes will be a Group Buddy Read, and the discussion will be found in the "Read with a Buddy" section.

Here are a few items to remember about nominating:

-Please do not nominate a book we've already read as a group. You will be asked for a different nomination if you do. If you are unsure as to whether we have read a book as a group in the past, feel free to check out our Group Read shelves here:

2011: http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...
2012: http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...
2013: http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...
2014: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
2015: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
2016: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
2017: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

-Remember that a book must be out for 3 months or more to be eligible for nominations and voting

-Try not to nominate an author that we've read this year already

-If it is a book in a series that is not the first book, make sure you know that it can be read as a standalone and doesn't require the previous books being read to understand and enjoy.

-authors: please do not nominate your own book

-please note that there may be more reasons that a book is not a good fit for nominations or group members as a whole, whether it be availability, cost, accessibility, etc. The moderators reserve the right to make these decisions. Thank you for your understanding! :)

Try to nominate books that are available both as a print book and ebook. The book’s Goodreads page is a good place to find out information about the publishing date and whether or not there is more than one type (ebook, print, etc). We want members to have as many chances as possible to locate a copy, be it library, ebook, second-hand or new. Some publishers aren't as accessible as well, so that is a deciding factor on whether or not the book will be included.

For the discussion itself, the moderator may initiate questions but members are also welcome to make their own points and ask their own questions as they wish. Feel free to discuss as you’d like. There is no “right” way to do it, other than being courteous and kind and remember that everyone has their own opinions. Typically, Loraine and I start posting questions and discussion items around the 15th of the month. Please be aware that closer to that time, there may be possible spoilers for those who haven’t finished the book(s) yet.

We want this to be laid-back and stress free! There is no minimum participation requirement for this group—you do not have to participate in the group reads to be a part of this group. We understand that everyone has different schedules and may not always have time to read along with us. Hopefully these guidelines don’t strike anyone as harsh – we’ve been doing this for a while and promise they are here for the good of the group as a whole. I do encourage you to participate if you voted - that's what makes the discussion fun!

If you have questions at any time, please feel free to contact mods Beth, Loraine, Cheryl, and Kalena.

Sound rules!

I will probably stick to reading. The rules are clear, but a little complex also. I will be 79 this year but I do read a LOT! I am hoping that when the other women ( and men?) nominate books, they would include just how much or little 'Christian, Biblical, scriptures, and application of scriptures are included. Maybe just saying 'light' or 'substantial'. Personally, I do not like reading light Christian novels. I often read on Amazon people praising an author for not being "preachy'...but I really like, ahem! so-called preachy! If I didn't I would read secular novels ( I do not read any). I joined awhile back, but got 'busy' so this is my first real time here. I will read Irish Meadows as soon as I finish the novel I am 1/2 way thru.

We don't require members to rate the depth of faith of the books they nominate.

If a book isn't to your taste, that is perfectly fine. Feel free to stop reading it and try another. If a book is to your taste, that's awesome!

The group reads are a great way to dip your toes in and see whether or not a new-to-you author might become a new favorite.

Happy reading!

I often suggest books for the book of the month that I haven't read yet. So, it is a bit difficult to predict how deep into the faith the books go since I would have to go based on the description. Like Andrea said, the reads I've seen win or even nominated but didn't win help me a lot to discover new-to-me authors. I have found a number of true gems that way. I hope you find something that you love as well.