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

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

I only call it as I see it! xo

LOL You're weird too, so it fits! ;)

I am reading a book for Cheese, but do I add it to the Cheese tab? I put the # that's next to the letter but it didn't pop on on Cheese. Also, a cheese book can also be used for another task if it fits, right? I ask since Teddie has Hideaway on Cheese plus Mini-World Wheel. I don't know that my book will fit two but just wanted to check.

Angie and Jenny, thanks for the info! I'm going to pull that book for now and I'll keep it on the TT shelf for now. If something comes up that we need a quick one read and it fits, I can add it back. I just know I'm going to go over the 30 books before June 16 so I might as well only use the better page count ones.

I plan to read the BOTM, but I don't have it yet. It began May 18 so I was wondering how long do we have to read it and do the questions?

Since I've already read half of my cap, maybe we should remove Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz because it's only 141 pages. I'll keep it on my TT Shelf in case we need it.

MPG: Nonfiction, War, Poland (a mid country), Biography, History, Holocaust, Memoir, Biography. Published in January 2009.

If you guys think it should be removed and saved for just in case, I have other books with a lot better page counts I plan to read in June.

OK, thanks :)

Jenny wrote: "I just nabbed the D in SWEDEN, sorry.

Because of the book cap, what I have been doing with shorter books that I may not want to use is to put them on my TT shelf, but not on the spreadsheet. Unle..."

No need for apologies! Great idea! I'll check out the spell out. I just figure if someone has better page count books, I can wait to claim. I do have a 608 page count coming up. I have 3 books I HAVE to finish before the end of May, so I need to work on those.

Question: If I finish a book but it fits nothing at that point, is it better to put BANKED or just leave it blank or does it matter?

I have a book that I could use for the spell-out if nobody else is doing a D book. It also is illustrated, though. Mine is only 215 pages so that's why I haven't included it yet. I actually have another one that had 213 pages so I didn't add it either.


The Blue Salt Road by Joanne M. Harris
Narrator: David Rintoul
MPG: Fantasy, Mythology, Mermaids, Retellings, Folklore, Fairy Tales, Historical Fiction
Setting: Scotland


Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
MPG: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Time Travel, Sci-fi
Setting: Japan

Should I post either one?

Angie ☯ wrote: "Vicki, I meant for the note I added on the book line to show it was allowed as it was finished after the spin/tasks were posted! So sorry for the confusion.

The time for the task is EST and I note..."

Ohhhh, OK, I'm sorry for misunderstanding. No worries and thanks for explaining that for me. :)

I wouldn't lie about it. Thank you for having my back! :)

I didn't finish it until RIGHT before midnight PST. I was on my couch and had to finish it for another challenge by midnight and I barely made it. But if there's any question at all, feel free to move it and I'll find something else for it. I ended up not posting the book until this morning for my other challenge because I didn't want to get up and thought I'd rest for just a minute or two and then get up, but I fell asleep so I don't know if Brittany will count it or if it's okay as long as I finished it by midnight which I did...barely! lol I don't want anyone questioning it though, so please do whatever you are comfortable doing. But I definitely finished it after 11:30 MY time.

OK, caps, it looks like my Magnus Chase book was finished to late to use for the mini-3 wheel thingy. I am so sorry I didn't see the green spin date posted for the time it had to be finished by. Ugh...I'm just messing up all over the place! I'm so sorry.

I noticed the changes and it's so much better now! It gives us clear options we can use and add in case you and Jenny play TETRIS! :) Love the organization...never been my area of expertise!

Jenny wrote: "Vicki, I fixed your link, no problem, and deleted the Wheel task for the banked book."

Thanks, Jenny. :)

Angie ☯ wrote: "

Vicki agreed to SS Tetris, so I am swapping out her book on the World Wheels for the letter M with one of Leslie's books completed books."

YES! I would LOVE to win this challenge, so whatever is best for the team! As they say, there is no I in TEAM! Play Tetris all you want with my books. For the most part, I'm a team player for life! At least for this challenge and others on GR! lol

LaurLa wrote: "I finished a Non-fiction yesterday that I didn't put on the spreadsheet because they so very rarely work for anything... but I just saw a NF task showed up. Vicki claimed it but I'll go ahead and a..."

Please remove mine that I haven't read yet and put yours if removing is okay for that particular task. I was planning on reading it and it just popped up at the right time so I went for it. Put yours in its place and I'll find something else for my book when I read it or if something comes up. No worries!!

Jenny wrote: "We also have a new country to visit. Pack your bags for Sweden!!!

Remember to try to leave the spell-out letters for books that get finished after now, that don't fit other tasks. (No banked books..."

I might have just messed up. I had Picking Lemons banked and added it to the yellow and blue, so do I (or you) need to remove it? Dang it all to blankety-blank!

Maybe I should learn to check this thread prior to checking the SS for new tasks! That might reduce the number of errors on my part...the operative word being might!

To my awesome team captains, I have a minor issue. :)

My book I am starting to read is posted on the SS BOOKS tab, but it opens up to a weird site or something for prizes. I can't change it and I don't know if it matters but it's The Pear Field in case you want to check it out.

I was looking at post modern on listopia. Some good options are there, but knowing the parameters are super helpful. Thanks! 😊

Jenny, you go girl! 🙌🏻

Discussion Questions Day 1
Prologue - Part 1 Ch 5

1. The first line is “A letter changed my life.” Would you say this was a good start, cheesy start, or are you indifferent?

I don't know if I'd call it cheesy, but it certainly didn't grab me and make me necessarily want to see what it was all about.

2. Why do you think Tio Roberto wanted to immediately send Inez back to Egypt without even seeing her? Do you think he’s hiding something? Or do you think it’s just typical of men at that time to dismiss young women and enforce them being chaperoned and taken care of?

Tio Ricardo doesn't know his niece, but I found it off-putting that he sent a proxy in his place. While reading his letter to her, I felt something was off. I wonder if her parents are dead because their bodies were never found. I think her parents might truly have not wanted her there for reasons unknown, but her uncle might also have felt it unsafe for her to be there and was being protective, especially if he has an idea of foul play (or was involved in it) against her parents.

3. The ring scene with Thomas Sterling was definitely outrageous; I felt Inez's outrage and all of her shock. Do you expect to see the ring later in the story? Any guesses to its significance?

It infuriated me! The audacity (no matter what) to just take it off her finger was awful. But then for the conductor (ticket-taker) to simply assume the man was right because he has an official title was almost more enraging! Ugh...just awful! The ring must be a well-known piece of jewelry whether the thief was truly who he said or not, it must be worth a lot, possibly even just for the historical value.

4. What do you think of the writing style and the pacing so far? Are you enjoying the lyrical, rich descriptions or do you prefer a more fast paced story?

Personlly, I'm enjoying the pacing. I think the writing is lyrical and beautiful, so the slower pace works well with the plot so far.

5. In Ch. 5 we see politics at play, and we can tell this is just the beginning. How do you think this will affect your enjoyment of the book? Will it enhance the story for you or will you feel bogged down by the details?

I am iffy on politics in a plot. If it becomes too detailed or somehow pits one political view against another and even makes it evident that one political view is being dismissed, I don't want anything that mimics what our politics in the U.S. have been over the past several years. But so far I'm okay with it.