Vicki’s Comments (group member since May 01, 2018)

Vicki’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Silje, in retrospect, I'll let you add my other task because I don't want to confuse you and mess up what you have in red. OR you can give me the go ahead and I'll do it.

I used task #86 Read #4 in a series, and it's #4 in the Accidentals series

Silje wrote: "Vicki, you've chosen task 32, "Read a book with "morris dancing" (variants like dance/dancers OK) in the text" for your book Accidentally Demonic, but you're reasoning only says it is dancers in th..."

No, I don't think it had "morris dancers" and I have NO idea what that is. LOL So when it said, "variants like dance/dancers OK" I thought just plain dance or dancers was OK. I'll have to look to see, but if not I'll change my task. Sorry about that!

Silje wrote: "@Vickie, sorry, but the tags need to be accurate, only singular/plural versions are accepted (mermaid/mermaids, etc.)"

No worries, I wasn't sure. I thought it might work but if not it's all right.

Thanks!

Another question (LOL sorry): I have a book I'm going to read and it has "exploring in the ocean" tagged by only one person (not me). Would that work for our tagged word of "ocean"? If so, do I somehow also need to link it to that page?

Also, there is "dragons-mermaids" so would that work? Tagged by 1 person (not me).

Silje, when I went on my phone it looked like I hadn't read it so I added it as read again. Anyway, I think I got it fixed now. Can you look and let me know, please?

Home safe and sound after 7 1/2 hour drive, then another 1 1/2 hours to get our dogs. Ready to relax and read tonight. lol

I don’t know what happened bit I will look when I get home. Is that going to cause s problem?

Silke, is Red Dragon ok now?

My husband didn’t sleep well last night and he has been taking a nap, so I took that time to go ahead and answer the questions. Most of my family is down on the beach but I am enjoying the weather and my book from my patio while I listen to the waves and look up and see them once in a while. The weather is absolutely perfect at 77° and with a nice breeze.

Silje, I went on over and posted the rest of my answers to all the daily questions so you can count my points. :)

Day 5 Questions - 83% - end

22. At the beginning of this section Viv is kind of freaking out over what she did. She starts to call the police, then changes her mind. Then she hears a car pull up and footsteps coming toward where she is. What would you do in this situation?

OMG! I would obviously have a heart attack! I'm afraid I would panic and literally freeze, not knowing what to do but I'd surely hide.

23. When Viv and Marnie are taking care of Simon Hess, another car pulls up and it's Alma. Did you anticipate her reaction to what was going on? Why or why not?

No, I really thought she'd handle it differently, what I'd consider better.

24. Carly is being followed by Callum McCray (sp?) and loses him by pulling into Alma's driveway. Why does Alma cringe or flinch when she hears Callum's name?

Knowing who he is, she might've been worried that he would be like his grandpa.

25. One of my favorite scenes was near the end when a ghost in a suit comes in to the motel lobby to check in. Carly doesn't want to touch the ghost so she snatches a key from the case and passes it over the counter. The ghost says "Oh good 209. My old home." I got the shakes just hearing it. Did you anticipate that ghost making an appearance?

LOL Oh, heck no! Those things give me the creeps; however, just like in some movies...you know it's going to appear again but you never know when.

26. Carly figures out what Viv did and gets to meet her aunt. Were you happy with the end of the story? If not, what would you have liked to see?

I don't know that it was totally realistic, but I did like it and I was glad that she got to meet her aunt.

Day 4: 64% - 82%

17. Some of the major and minor questions developed throughout the story have been answered in this section: why young, pretty Helen was meeting with average Robert (Helen and her husband had planned to blackmail Robert); the connection of the girls' murders and their murderer (Simon Hess targetted women who were lonely); and why the murders had stopped after Viv had vanished (Simon was stabbed by Viv so he couldn't hurt any more girls). Did you see any of this coming? What clues gave it away?

I have to be honest. I would be a terrible detective! I did not honestly see any of it up until right before it happened. I did think Viv would use the knife in some type of self defense or I didn't think the author would've included it other than to create suspense.

18. Both Viv in 1982 and Carly in 2017 mentioned that Tracey might have been alive had her parents kept her in the house. This echoes the warnings that Fell parents have been giving their daughters: don't go jogging or don't work nights. What do you think of such advice? What else could Tracey, her parents, and her school have done to keep her safe from a predator?

Wow, that reminds me of when I was growing up and my dad would always tell my sisters and me to always keep a dime in our shoe when out. That was in case we had to make a pay phone call for him to come get us. LOL I guess that dates me! The parents and school should have given a straight forward warning and made sure she knew to always keep in touch/let the parents or someone know where she'd be at all times. You can't lock them up (though you might want to) but you can make sure they're totally aware of the dangers and how to defend themselves if necessary.

19. "The Sun Down Motel" has been tagged by 336 users as "Horror." What has been the most horrific scene for you so far? Is it a supernatural one or one connected to the murders?

I'm not sure horrific is the adjective that I would use because for me it was the eerie supernatural scenes. I am more freaked out by the unknown.

20. At the end of the last chapter set in 2017 in this section, Carly claims her aunt may have done something wrong (alluding to the stabbing of Simon). What do you think of Viv's actions? Do you think she was right or wrong, justified or unjustified in her actions?

I think that I have no idea what I would've done in her shoes unless I was confronted with the same situation. I know personally I truly don't think I could ever kill a person, even to defend myself, but I don't think she was wrong. I do think she might've been able to make a different choice though and had it still work out for society: call the cops!

21. With only 18% of the book left to go, what do you think will happen? Do you have an idea of what happened to Viv after she stabbed Simon? Do you think Marnie and Alma know what truly happened to Viv? Do you think Carly will find out what happened to Viv?

I definitely thought Carly would find out from the get-go due to her determination and passion to figure it out.

Day 3 - July 4- 42%-64%- (edited to correct percentages)

13. Thoughts on Viv telling Mrs. White that her husband cheats on her. Do you think this is what gets her into trouble?

Too many times the messenger gets shot, so it is possible it at least contributed to her problems.

14. We have another encounter with the angry man ( this makes at least 3) Who is he? Why is he important to the story?

I'm definitely was not confident about who he is or why (at that point), but I have thought he was important to the story considering how he keeps popping up. Like he might know something.

15. Which story line (Carly or Viv's ) are you enjoying more? Why?

Hmm...good question. I think I've enjoyed Viv's more because it was something that happened to her at the time and it was mysterious for me for quite a while. Carly's is more of the cold case investigator and I'm not so much into cold cases. I really liked the story line between she and Nick though.

16. The ending of this section just raises more questions for me. If Viv buys a knife, didn't she get a chance to use it?
Where is the knife? Was it mentioned in the police reports? What do you think?

I don't really recall specifically if it was mentioned. I thought the knife was just one more way to create suspense and I only thought she'd use it it in self defense.

Silje wrote: "It is great that so many have read the BOM, I wanted to read it too, but couldn't get hold of it=(

Remember: In order to get points for BOM participation you have to answer DQs from three parts of..."

I will do mine. It's a busy week having a family get together. :)

The Black Wolf is on my shelf now.

Silje, what time do we need to finish and post our books? I have a Y book (not sure what else yet) that I'm reading today that I can use. If I don't need it too soon.

Silje, I added Written in the Ashes to my shelf and I had to change the task because I had it down for 3-word title but it's 4-word. So it was task 179 and now it's 143. Plus, I found the one that you had forgotten to take off last time. :)

DQs Day 2
21% to 42%

6.) This section opens with some spooky stuff going on. If you saw literal ghosts in the creepy place you worked, would you split right away? Would you of left with sketchy-past Nick? Would you go back to work or think the overnight creep factor was making you see things that weren't really there?

If I literally saw that and believed in my mind that it was definitely real and not possibly imagined, I think I would have run for the high hills!

7.) Viv listens to guests' phone conversations. There is the saying 'people who eavesdrop are seldom happy with what they hear'. Or something close to that anyway. Do you think she may over hear something that results in her disappearance? Would you listen in if you were Viv?

I think that back then and at her young age, I probably would've eavesdropped. Now, no way. It's definitely possible that she overhears something she shouldn't and that leads to her disappearance, or she is so inquisitive she might've gone on detective investigating and ended up in trouble that way.

8.) There really have been several deaths of young women in Fell, especially factoring in the size of the town. Do you think they are all connected? Connected to Viv's disappearance? Do you buy into the police stance of no connection between any of them?

It doesn't seem feasible that there is no connection, and I wonder if the police department/sheriffs are corrupt and hiding something. If this turns out to be something very paranormal, it's highly likely they are in on it.

9.) What do you think of the complete laxness of management and staff at The Sun Down Motel? Anyone else wonder how the heck that place is still open? And more importantly, why?

I didn't really wonder that, but mainly because of the fictional setting. In real life, you'd think there's no way it would still be open; however, I've seen many people who are employed and I can't for the life of me figure out why! Or how they keep their job, so I'd believe anything.

10.) Any thoughts on the candy machine? It keeps popping up in both timelines. Maybe nothing, but in this type of story, who knows.

I don't think it has any real significance, but who knows. Candy machines are typical in hotels/motels. But it's definitely possible whoever supplies and maintains those vending machines could be a culprit in the girls' disappearances.

11.) Marnie and Callum are interesting additions to the character line-up, thoughts? Did you think it was strange that Marnie won't talk with Carly? Callum local nice boy-helper dude or creeper?

He is most definitely a total creeper, at least to me. I thought it was a little odd that Marnie didn't want to talk with Carly, but at the same time it's been a long time. I always tend to think that someone who doesn't want to talk/take lie detector tests, must be guilty of something, even just hiding some information.

Silje wrote: "Vicki, you don't have to find book for A specific, it is one of the easier letter to find a replacement for=) I did not remove the task from the task tab, I forgot. But we'll find out which it was ..."

Yes, I guess that's true. LOL Okay, thank you.

Ashleigh wrote: "Vicki, we're gonna take your book Attracting Aubrey out as it doesn't meet the minimum page count. Have you got another book for that space?"

Yeah, I totally messed that one up! Sorry. :(

I can find another book, but it looks like you already covered it. Since it's been removed, I'm not exactly sure where it was. I was also wondering if you removed the task from my list so that I don't have it covered anymore and don't remember which task it was.

Do you still need me to find another A book since we still have 5 more days till the end of round 2?

Day 1 DQ's: 0-21% (ends "he opened the door.")

1. The Sundown Motel...what a perfect name for a motel! Have you ever stayed at a motel before...something like the Sundown? What was the name of the motel...Any interesting experiences come of that?

I thankfully haven't stayed anywhere that gave me creepy vibes or that I thought was haunted; however, I did go to a yearbook camp with my staff when I was yearbook adviser (prior to retiring) and we were leaving our house and as I pulled out of the driveway I saw this little "House on the Prairie" type girl, dressed like they do. She was literally there one second and gone the next, and I was not the only one in the van to see her. I had 8 students with me and several of them also saw her. That was very eerie.

2. Viv is young and working alone. I don't think I would tolerate my daughter doing anything of the sort. What were you thinking from the 1st few pages? Viv comments..."Being with people was easy, but being alone was hard. Especially along in the dark. The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one's own thought--that person was stronger than anyone else. More ready. More prepared."

I have to agree with you, especially alone in a hotel where everyone who comes in is a stranger, off a lone highway, and you have no real defenses. I couldn't stop my 20 year old daughter (I have 3 but my baby is now 41 lol) from working where she wants, but I'd definitely have (and many times did) advise against specific jobs/places, types.

3. What do you think the significance of the door to number 103 banging open/shut is?

I've always felt there is a "good explanation" for things like that, so I'm not sure. But in a fiction book, there probably is a ghost or something.

4. So far Carly's mom's reaction to seeing the newspaper clipping..."Vivian is dead" has really bothered me. What's your take? Have you already solved the case? Is Vivian dead?

I thought she was dead at first, but now I'm not so sure just because of the spook factor. I hope that Carly finds out the truth. I think she's been abducted and is not with aliens but something of that nature. LOL

5. What did you think about the dual timeline between Viv and Carly? In what ways are Viv and Carly very similar? How are they different?

They are both stupid! LOL Okay, seriously, I love that Carly cares enough to be looking for answers about her aunt. Highly unlikely she'll find her alive and well after 35 years though. They're similar because even though they knew they shouldn't have taken a job at that hotel, they did. They were both spooked but stayed. Different because I do think that Viv was more unafraid than Carly, but Carly was on a mission.