In the Margins discussion

So I saw that this group is new and is for clean books… yay!!! I’m a Calvinist btw so I’m always up to a good theology conversation!!!!

Thank you so much for joining! I am a Baptist and I would love to discuss theology with you. I have taken many Bible classes over the years beginning at 12 years old. However, I still have a lot to learn.

There will always be more to learn because we can never know everything 🤗

I'm Penacoastal

Do you guys annotate your Bible?

Yes I do

Yes, each of my bibles is a different translation and I annotate each differently

That is so cool. I usually just read in KJV because of my school

i annotate and take notes in my Bible mainly during church but also sometimes in my devotions

Hullo!!! I am friends with some of y’all already here but I can’t wait to make new ones!!! I love the mission of this one!!

Hello!!! We’re glad to have you 🫶

Hello!! I’m Kait! I’m so glad I found this group! I’ve been looking for a community of other believers who only want to read clean books. I used to read books with smut, and it’s been a journey giving that up, but I feel much more mental peace when I keep my reading clean! 😊

Oh my gosh that is so good to hear! I am so glad you are pushing through and over coming your struggles. We are so glad you joined!

Hey! Brand new member, you can call me Addy (Short for Addict like my username). Can’t guarantee i’ll be super active, but i’ll try! <3

Welcome Addy

Yes welcome addy 🫶

Hi, I’m Riss! I’m looking to make bookish friends that can hopefully turn into lifelong friendships. I don’t really follow a denomination, I just go by what I read in the Bible and what I believe from that.
I started a bookstagram, but I’ve noticed a lot of people there read books that lean pretty heavily into smut. That’s just not really my vibe. I can handle small amounts here and there, like a closed-door scene, but when it gets over the top it’s just not for me. I'm 28 and I just bought a house in Florida with my husband of 3 years and our two dogs we adopted in Barbados! I'd love to chat and make friends so please reach out!!

Welcome!! I’m so glad you joined! It sounds like your life is full — with the dogs and a new house! That is super exciting. We love to make new friends in this group so hopefully we can all get to know you.

Yes so glad you joined, Riss 🫶

Eryn wrote: "Yes so glad you joined, Riss 🫶" thank you! happy to be here

ProseAndPetals🌷 wrote: "Welcome!! I’m so glad you joined! It sounds like your life is full — with the dogs and a new house! That is super exciting. We love to make new friends in this group so hopefully we can all get to ..." thank you for the warm welcome, i appreciate it!!

Hi Riss!!! Welcome!!! Congrats on the house in Florida!! I’m jealous!! My husband and I are also coming up on our 3 year anniversary in October and we REALLY love Florida!! We’re currently in NC but we want to move to FL as soon as we can save up enough!!

And I feel you with the bookstigram struggle. I’ve had to get off social media recently bc of all the smutty book recs and I’m really trying not to fall back into that addiction 😅

Kait✨ wrote: "Hi Riss!!! Welcome!!! Congrats on the house in Florida!! I’m jealous!! My husband and I are also coming up on our 3 year anniversary in October and we REALLY love Florida!! We’re currently in NC bu..."

Hello! Do you like NC? That was a place we had considered moving to actually. I'm originally from Illinois. My husband was Florida born and raised and we wanted to stay closer to family, but still an hour and a half away from both. Happy almost anniversary to you guys! Do you have anything planned to celebrate? Are you in booksta? I'd love to follow you!

NC is okayyy I guess lol. I was born and raised here, so I’m close to family, so that’s a plus. Also NC has mountains AND the beach, which a lot of ppl like. But my husband and I are both beach lovers and don’t really care about visiting the mountains lol.

Last year, we spent the week of our anniversary in an AirBnB in Jacksonville FL. We hope to go back this year if we can afford it again! 😅

I don’t have a booksta, but I’ve thought about starting one for clean romance book recs. Kinda scared tho 🙈

Kait✨ wrote: "NC is okayyy I guess lol. I was born and raised here, so I’m close to family, so that’s a plus. Also NC has mountains AND the beach, which a lot of ppl like. But my husband and I are both beach lov..."

Kait✨ wrote: "NC is okayyy I guess lol. I was born and raised here, so I’m close to family, so that’s a plus. Also NC has mountains AND the beach, which a lot of ppl like. But my husband and I are both beach lov..."

That was the appeal to me for NC was having both those options. I do miss the snow. It doesn't feel like Christmas when it's still 80 degrees out... I hope y'all get to come back! You should definitely start one if you want to. I think it's a good niche that's not over saturated. I don't even show my face on mine because Im nervous. Just read and post reviews because I thought it was fun 😂

I might work up the courage to one day 😅 And yeah I’m not looking forward to it basically being summer all year long lol

Kait✨ wrote: "I might work up the courage to one day 😅 And yeah I’m not looking forward to it basically being summer all year long lol"

Ohh and the mosquitos... They're bad. Do you have them bad in NC?

Oh great 😅💀 Yeah they’re pretty bad here in the summer. I got eat up by some last week being outside after dark for just 10 minutes

Yikes! That sounds horrible. It’s not too bad where I live, but I do get bit occasionally.

ProseAndPetals🌷 wrote: "Yikes! That sounds horrible. It’s not too bad where I live, but I do get bit occasionally."

Kait✨ wrote: "Oh great 😅💀 Yeah they’re pretty bad here in the summer. I got eat up by some last week being outside after dark for just 10 minutes"

Ugh when I take the dogs out, within the first 30 seconds there's usually at least 1 or 2 buzzing me immediately. My husband rarely gets bit though if we are out together. I think some people's blood is more attractive to them than others. Do you guys do the little cross thing with your finger nails to stop them from itching?

No I have never heard of that.

My father takes the dogs out when it is dark. We say it is because he has hair covering his arms 🤣

I’ve never of that either! And my husband didn’t get bit either! It’s so weird 😂

Kait✨ wrote: "I’ve never of that either! And my husband didn’t get bit either! It’s so weird 😂"

ProseAndPetals🌷 wrote: "No I have never heard of that.

My father takes the dogs out when it is dark. We say it is because he has hair covering his arms 🤣"

Honestly I think it could be the hair that stops them! But yeah if you take your fingernail and press it into the bite and make an x pattern, it helps a lot with the itching!

Hi yall! This group has been so fun so far and I just wanted to introduce myself formally here. My name is Lilli, I’m a barista from California and I just love Jesus! I don’t feel like I really “fit” into one denomination but love hearing more about it. I am 22 and have such a hard time finding clean books for “new adults” that’s not YA, smut, or 50+. I love contemporary books but spooky season means Mystery and thriller! Looking forward to getting to know you all more 🫶🫶 God bless ✝️✝️

Lilliauna wrote: "Hi yall! This group has been so fun so far and I just wanted to introduce myself formally here. My name is Lilli, I’m a barista from California and I just love Jesus! I don’t feel like I really “fi..."

Hi Lilli! Nice to meet you!

Welcome lilli

Hi Lilli! 👋🏻 I was raised Baptist, but I go to a non-denominational church now and I love it! 💖 And yesss finding books with main characters that are in their late twenties/early thirties that’s CLEAN is so hard. (I’m Turing 29 next month) I don’t wanna be reading about teenagers making out! 💀🙈

hey im bethany from the usa im pentacostal. I recently started reading clean romance i was a crime and thriller junkie for so long but needed something to calm my mind. I hate smutty books its hard to find one that is clean and wholesome

Hi Bethany!! I totally understand the feeling of wanting more mental peace! What we feed our mind matters!! I don’t read crime or thrillers because I get wayyy to anxious while I’m reading them 😅 And I don’t want to be thinking on murder all the time lol. I also get scared too easily, so it’s just not the best fit for me. I love a good clean mystery though!

Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” 💖

Great verse Kait. I agree with all of you. Finding clean romances are hard, but I have found a great site that sorts out that stuff for you. They are arcs on BookSirens. They have a category for clean books and they are completely clean and yk they are free!

Ooo I’ll have to check that out!! I always just ask ChatGPT if a book is clean before I read it or add it to my tbr.

I like BookSirens because it is really easy to use, free, organizes books, and supports indie/small authors.

Welcome Bethany I'm Penacoastal/aog also

Welcome Bethany! Thanks for introducing yourself! I too was in mystery/thriller for a bit before my clean romance/contemporary era 🫶🏻

Hi guys new member!!! I’m 19 and write on occasion but mostly reading tbr books I have and audiobooks!

Welcome!! 🫶🏻

Welcome 🤗

Hi, I'm Karin, non-denominational and have a BTh, but never discuss theology online.

I was looking for a book club that might read Christian dystopian and this one came up.

I grew up in Canada in the Anglican church but left that when I was very young. I'm a dual citizen living in the States now.

I've been reading a long time and have read many types of books, but realized that the fiction I read can affect me so am limiting stuff I read that's not Christian. I used to play competitive reading games, especially during Covid, but no more because I ended up reading too many negative books or books I didn't like.

Welcome Karin! I hope you enjoy this group. We have a vast diversity in ages and genres of books we read, but all connect through Jesus Christ our Savor. I’m glad you joined. it is cool that you have duel citizenship.

Hello! My name is Mia! I got on GoodReads after I saw Gab Smolders use it and it looked nice! I'm hoping that I can start clearing my bookshelf out (by reading them). I ABSOLUTELY LOVE art history books, the classics, and historical books and some mystery books! I would love recommendations if anyone has any!

Some of my favorite authors are
"Jessica Fletcher"
Lois Lowry
and many more

I am 18 years old and graduating in 2026! So I'm trying to read more to find what I like and understand literature