July 2020 – Updates: Sunday Musings #86

In Dubai, we are in peak summer and the temperature is always above the 105 F (43C) and the humidity is 90%. Yes it is the humidity that is killing us! We even had a few mild dust storms during the week.

On the other news, we are having a 4-day long weekend for Eid Al-Adha. The weekend in the Gulf countries means Friday and Saturday, and currently we are having a break from Thursday to Sunday.

How was your July'20? Was it any better than mine? How is the weather in your city? Are you hating the summer yet? Let's talk. Click To Tweet

Usually this is the time we take a staycation but thanks to Covid19 we are not stepping out of the house during this 4 day holiday, cuz people are everywhere!

Quick July’20 updates

So there goes another month in 2020 and we know it is not getting any better. Let us take a quick look.

  • I finally stepped out of the house for reasons other than bare necessities. So I went to the beach twice because again, it is so hot and humid and we needed too cool it off a bit.
  • I started going to the gym last week after the pandemic break (yes, that is what we are calling it now). Well, there is a lot of wiping, cleaning, sanitizing and little of bit exercising. One can never be too careful right?
  • And I tried a thing with watching the television – I reduced my daytime binging to one hour a day for about 3 weeks this month and it was great. I am not sure if it is a sustainable practice though. There are just too many things to watch!

What I read this month

July’20 has not been a great reading month at all for me. I read only one book and I really loved the homecoming by Yaa Gyasi.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi featured

While I read three manuscripts that are not yet published as a beta reader, I do not count them for my yearly reading count.

What I watched this month

Here are my top picks from what I watched during the month of July’20

  • Line of Duty
  • Modern family S1 – rewatched
  • Community S5 and S6
  • Marvelous Mrs Maisel
  • The Alienist

On my blog

In case you missed the posts from my blog of July’20

Book Reviews from July’20

Sunday personal posts from the month

Other posts from the month

I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.

From the Insta-world

Here is what I posted on Instagram during the month. Give me a follow, will you?

Pin me!

elgeewrites July 2020 - Updates: Sunday Musings #86 SM86P

Let us chat

How was your July’20? Was it any better than mine? How is the weather in your city? Are you hating the summer yet? Let’s talk.

38 Comments

  1. Kate @ Bitch Bookshelf

    Gorgeous photos as always. I can’t imagine the weather. I have been suffering in the US with our temperatures in the 80s and 90s F with 70 humidity!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you! It is the humidity that kills.

      Reply
  2. Bianca

    I’m loving your insta picks. Also it’s currently winter here and I do not miss the heat😂

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you. Oh I wish we had winter too, here.

      Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Stormi

    Lovely Instagram posts!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you!

      Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Whispering Stories

    Gorgeous pictures, you are very talented. I also don’t know how you cope with the heat, though the UK isn’t geared up for heat as 99% of homes don’t have air con so we just melt in the summer.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you. I can’t think of a day without the AirCon.

      Reply
  5. Caffeinated Fae

    Your instagram photos are absolutely beautiful!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you! You made my day!

      Reply
  6. Aj @ Read All The Things!

    Ug, humidity. I’m glad I live at high altitude where’s there’s barely any humidity. I went to grad school in the south, and it felt like living inside a swimming pool. Enjoy your long holiday weekend!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I wish we could trade some!

      Reply
  7. Literary Feline

    I hope you are enjoying the long weekend. The weather here is in the triple digits as well, although we do not have the humidity you do, thank goodness. I am glad you were able to get out to the beach this past month and to the gym. The gyms here opened up for a short while only to have to close again. There’s one rogue gym in the city that refuses to close though and isn’t requiring anyone to wear masks.

    I am glad to hear you enjoyed Homegoing. I have a copy on my TBR pile and hope to read it one day.

    I hope you have a great week. Stay safe and well.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Oh my, why are people when going to that gym anymore? They should be fined severely.

      Reply
  8. Heather @ RandomRedheadedRamblings

    That is hot! My mother and father in law still talk about a stay at the Jumeirah Beach hotel, they had to get a golf buggy across the beach as it was too warm to walk on. It’s hot here in Scotland but it’s only low 20s!

    Stay cool and stay safe!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Hot and 20s! You live the dream Heather. And yes, when did they visit Dubai?

      Reply
  9. Andreea

    There are so many things to watch on TV!! I also rewatched Modern Family in the beginning of the pandemic because I simply needed it. But nowadays I am limiting my TV time too and focusing more on my reading time.

    And, yes, you can never be too safe at the gym! I am not going back yet, but I wish I had a beach where I live.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Oh I am currently re-watching Modern Family and I am loving it too.

      Reply
  10. Rachel

    We’ve had over 100 temps too, but I don’t think our humidity is that high. My sympathies! I understand why you’d need to cool off at the beach. Good luck with your exercise routine. Your Instagram photos are beautiful!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thank you!

      Reply
  11. Tânia @MyLovelySecret

    Those are very high temperatures! I hope you are enjoying your 4-day long weekend.

    Happy readings!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Yes we are. Thank you!

      Reply
  12. Mareli @ Elza Reads

    Hi there Gayathri! I’ve marked your blog in my diary, lots of posts I want to stop at. I just gave you a follow on Instagram! You’ll find me there.

    We used to live in a small town in SA where the humidity was also sky rocketing and temperatures 40+ degrees. So I feel for you…!

    Hope you will have a good week and a great August! Here’s my The Sunday Post

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Oh thank you. You just made my day. I will see you on Instagram soon!

      Reply
  13. jessicabookworm

    We can’t claim the same temperatures as you, but we had a mini-heatwave of 34C on Friday of this week – It was making me want to jump in the neighbour’s children’s paddling pool (if hadn’t been for social distancing ) 😅 Good to see you have been able to get out and about more and minimise your TV watching a bit, but sorry your reading has been lower than usual. I hope it picks up soon! Take care and happy reading. 😀

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      34C sounds dreamy for me right now. The heatwave sounds bad though.

      Reply
  14. Greg

    Humidity is the worst, I’m not a fan either. And I hope you have a great holiday and staycation! People are out everywhere here too and it makes me leery. Also yay for the beach! 🙂

    I love the Towers and Resort pics!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      You stay in too and safe!

      Reply
  15. Lori @ Food For Thought

    I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything higher than 100 degrees! How can you manage!? Please stay cool and safe!

    I also recently read Sadie by Courtney Summers! I will head over to your review and see your thoughts promptly. I still can’t decide if I want to pick up Daisy Jones and the Six. Is it overhyped?

    You pictures are absolutely stunning! I hope you have a fantastic week!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      No you should read Daisy Jones. It was great! Pick an audiobook if you are able to, I hear they are fabulous. I read it though.

      Reply
  16. Kristina

    Oh my god thats way too hot.. I can’t stand anything over 20/25 degrees celcius! 😂 although it had been gravitating more towards the 35/50s here too.

    Im not much of a beach person though.. although just the 1hrs ish drive to even get to the sea is absolutely turning me off .. mother caved in and bought my weeins a kiddy pool! So if anything, id just go sit right in it hahaha 😅

    Reply
    • kristina

      Omfg. I meant 35/40** 🤦🏽‍♀️

      Reply
      • Gayathri

        Got it!

        Reply
    • Gayathri

      Right! One hour drive may not worth it. And yes, it is definitely being too hot.

      Reply

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Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!