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

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

Teddie wrote: "@Vicky - I know you and I have played on a team together before, but I can't remember which challenges :) How is Rocky dealing with the young pup Daisy? We recently introduced a feisty tuxedo kitty..."

Rocky is an old man now and not getting around as easily as before, but he's good with Daisy's playfulness 99% of the time. He's had a few "leave-me-alone" barks/growls and 2 (I think) "leave me alone or I'm going to kill you" more than bark/growl moments...thought he was going to kill her if we hadn't been there. But overall she's learning when she can or can't bother him. He likes to play too but not as rough as she does. lol

Hello District 7 Teammates. Following suit, I'm Vicki (she/her/Mrs.) and this is my first time playing with some of you (maybe all of you). I can rarely remember with whom I've played unless I play with specific people regularly.

I'm a retired high school teacher of 25 years. I taught English and yearbook. I'm happily married (most of the time lol), I have 3 daughters and 2 sons, 12 grandsons and 10 granddaughters, and 3 great grandsons and 3 great granddaughter...soon to be 4 great grandsons! I live with my hubby and 2 dogs, Rocky (border collie/lab mix 14 years old) and Daisy (AKA Crazy Daisy, Havanese, 7 months old.) I live in California, USA, in the PST zone.

Favorite genres: historical fiction (along with most any sub-genre), mystery, thriller/psychological thriller, romance (not erotica), some fantasy (Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer Armentrout), a few memoirs/nonfiction during the year, but sci-fi and horror are my least favorite...IF the horror is blood and guts or demonic.

I'm looking forward to this challenge. I've never done this one but I think it's new, right? I'm ready to play!

Laurie, thanks. :)

Jenny wrote: "This is not a TT challenge from what I gather. And, I assume that you have a shelf called "crazy-book-people" or something just waiting for the right circumstance, yes?

I don't honestly remember w..."

No, I don't have a shelf like that but I can create one. lol Thanks, Jenny. :)

I was wondering if anyone knows if this is the Tower Teams Challenge or a brand new challenge replacing TT since it usually starts mid-May. I don't know what to call my shelf. What are others doing for their shelf? What confused me is it said we could use a pre-existing shelf. Like what? lol

Not sure what I did wrong, but I signed up for GOTM but linked it to the wrong challenge and now I can't find it. Is there a GOTM in this group?

~ 111 pages
Personal Total: 111

Current Total: 1,891

Serious Readers Challenge 2024 - Level 1
Shooting to Read and Remember to Post Here

Progress: 23/100

💥1. Whisper of Bones 1/01
💥2. The Butcher and the Wren 1/04
💥3. Yellowface 1/07
💥4. Go as a River 1/16
💥5. Don't Let Her Stay 1/21
💥6. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? 1/28
💥7. The Storm We Made 1/15
💥8. The Frozen River 1/25
💥9. No One Can Know 1/23
💥10. The Invisible Hour 1/17


11. Maame
💥12. Shark Heart 2/11
💥13. Someone Else's Shoes 3/20
14. The Bee Sting
15. The Collected Regrets of Clover
16. The Connellys of County Down
17. The Wishing Game
💥18. Tom Lake 2/26
19. Wellness
💥20. Banyan Moon 3/31


💥21. The Covenant of Water 1/06
💥22. Yours Truly 1/15
💥23. I Have Some Questions for You 1/11
💥24. Live, Local, and Dead 1/08
💥25. Bones Under the Ice 1/03
💥26. The True Love Experiment 1/06
💥27. Christmas Ever After 1/03
💥28. Dear Jane
💥29. Chasing the Boogeyman
💥30. Mercury


31. Hello Beautiful
32. Evil Eye

💥33. Love, Theoretically 1/30
💥34. Fragile Designs 2/01
💥35. The Lost Village 1/31
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YAY! I think this is either the first or second time I was on the team that won. I just love this challenge! Thanks again for hosting it!

Around the World 2024

Reserved

Around the World 2024
SS: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Travel Itinerary #23

1. Easter Island (CL) - Colorado Springs (US) Read a book where the kindle version is less than 300 pages
by Melinda Leigh 1/1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Colorado Springs (US) - St Lucia (LC) Read a book where a character is a demon
3. St Lucia (LC) - Glasgow (GB) Read a book with the name of the tarot card "The Star" in the text or title
4. Glasgow (GB) - Hurghada (EG) Read a book where the title starts with the letter C
5. Hurghada (EG) - Novyj Urengoj (RU) Read a book where a character's first name starts with the letter U
6. Novyj Urengoj (RU) - Tawau (MY) Read a book where a character is an undertaker
7. Tawau (MY) - Sunshine Coast (AU) Read a book where the title starts with the letter T
8. Sunshine Coast (AU) - Easter Island (CL) Read a book with a pink cover

Author Alphabet Challenge 2024
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2024

Progress: 9/26

💥A - Abraham Verghese The Covenant of Water Read 1/06
💥B - Mercury 1/20
💥C - Christina Lauren The True Love Experiment 1/06
D - David Grann The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
E - Emilia Hart Weyward
F -
G -
H - Heather Marshall Looking for Jane
I - Isabel Allende The Wind Knows My Name
J - Jessica George Maame
K - Kate Alice Marshall What Lies in the Woods
L - Lisa Jewell None of This Is True
💥M - Melinda Leigh Whisper of Bones Read 1/01
💥N - Nikki Knight Live, Local, and Dead Read 1/08
O -

💥P - Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? 1/28
Q -
💥R- Rebecca Makkai I Have Some Questions for You Read 1/11
💥S- Shelley Read Go as a River Read 1/16
T- Tananarive Due The Reformatory
U -
💥V - Vanessa Chan The Storm We Made Read 1/14
W - William Kent Krueger The River We Remember
X -
Y -
Z -

BOOKS READ:

New 2 U Authors 2024
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2024
Level: Devil May Care

Progress 5/25

January
💥1. Author: Alaina Urquhart
Book: The Butcher and the Wren
Read: 4 January 2024
💥2. Author: Marie Benedict
Book: The Personal Librarian
Read: 1 January 2024
💥3. Author: R.F. Kuang
Book: Yellowface
Read: 7 January 2024
💥4. Author: Vanessa Chan
Book: The Storm We Made
Read: 14 January 2024
💥5. Author: Shelley Read
Book: Go as a River
Read: 16 January 2024
6. Author; Nicola Sanders
Book: Don't Let Her Stay
Read:

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

BOOKS READ

Oh, Tammie, you just might be sorry you offered! lol I won't forget!

That is fantastic, Rebecca! I read so much more when I am doing a challenge like this one and I rarely am on a team that wins first place either. But I definitely am pushed to read a lot more because for the most part I don’t like reading at my fastest speed I am capable of, especially if I am reading a book that is not what I call a fluff book! Anyway, it was nice having you on our team and I hope to be on another team with you in the future. Hopefully this one next time.! 😂

M I hear ya! Me too! lol Happy New Year to all of my Classical teammates! :)

Good point, Tammie! I'm glad we all stuck together, too. :)

We took first place? Wow! :) I love this challenge and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Thanks everyone for all of the reading you did, and a special thanks to Tammie and MN Lisa for all the work you did to captain and co-captain.

Oh my gosh, Tammie, I am SO glad you reminded me about the BOM!!! I was obviously (as you know) in Arizona this past week and came home Thursday but thought I'd have yesterday to do my BOM DQ's but ended up absolutely needing to watch my grandchildren which I rarely do on Fridays. Long story short, I literally forgot about doing those questions so with your reminder I just now finished them in the nick of time! I'm so glad I saw your post to me! I was in AZ on the day I read Anxious People, so I think putting the date read in my phone just didn't save or something so I didn't know that either. Whew! Bet you can't wait to work with me again! I know I hope to work with you again! :)

DQ Day 4 Chap 32-45
(Finished with the book.)

15. We finally see Martha start college! Before she goes in, she starts to question herself and it's Mrs. Bowden who gives her a pep talk to actually go. Would you need a pep talk to restart college again? Can you sympathise with Martha and what emotions & memories college brings up for her?

I think anyone could use a pep-talk/support for going back to college. That being said, I didn't! lol I can see why others would definitely need words of encouragement to embark that journey.

16. The book brings one of the darkest parts of Irish history to the forefront with the Mother & Baby Homes. If you knew about them, do you think this was an accurate portrayal of the institutions? If you hadn't heard of them previously, how did the cruelty from the staff to the women make you feel?

I'd never heard about them before, but it seems obvious to me that anyone in today's society who is a decent human being would find them atrocious, as do I!

17. Henry ends up coming back to Ireland looking for Martha after leaving to end his engagement. Henry finds out that Martha never got his note. Would you accept this explanation?

Uh, NO! These two just didn't make any sense to me!

18. Opaline's baby was taken from her before she was able to even see or hold the baby because the child was born with the cord around her neck. Do you think the poor child is dead or that they lied to Opaline?

I thought they lied.

19. While in the asylum, Opaline shows a lot of compassion and empathy with the other women. Do you think over time she'll lose yourself and become hardened?

Trying to think back to this point in the book, I don't think that I thought that would be in her character to become hardened. That being said, I know that extreme circumstances can change just about anyone, so that would be something that (had I read this question at that time) I would like to have contemplated more.