One week into the New year and I am still pumped up with motivation and buzz. I have been making goal tracking spreadsheets not just for me but for friends as well.
In case you missed the memo, I am a total spreadsheets addict who tracks everything from blog traffic to daily to do lists. Hit me up if you have any spreadsheet queries.
On other news, my interview got featured in the UAE national daily Khaleej Times this Friday. Of course I spoke about books, in case you had the slightest of doubts about it.
What I read this week
I finished reading One day in December this week. I read for the 2020 A to Z reading challenge and ticking off the January mini challenge hosted by Ginger Mom and Company.
What I watched this week
I watched Toy Story 4 (finally) and I loved it, as expected.
I have not watched TV or Netflix in a while, so that may be a good thing I guess.
On my blog
In case you had missed, here is a quick recap of what I posted on my blog this week.
I finally got around to blog hop a bit and found these brilliant articles from these brilliant bloggers.
Xandra’s post on Starry Sky Books about her love/hate relationship with blogging resonated well with me. I went through almost a similar journey around last two years.B
This week was a fast blur for me. We just moved apartments and the whole house looks like a mess currently. And I am expecting guests on Tuesday, so I need to get settled in two days. So God help me!
On other news, I finished my first 5K on Friday for the Dubai Run, part of the Dubai Fitness Challenge 2019. And I had so much fun because I did with my friends and I can pretend it didn’t hurt.
What I read this week
It may come as no surprise that I didn’t get much reading done. But I am buddy reading Bridge of Clay by MarkusZusak with Huda, and I all am hoping for is to not let her down.
And I am sure I will catch upon more reading in the following week.
What I watched this week
I know I am late to catching up on the Mindhunter season 2 and I loved it so much. It was worth the wait.
I loved the earlier seasons of Netflix’s Atypical and as soon as I saw the trailer up I binged on it.
What else should I be binging on? Let me know.
On my blog
In case you had missed this week’s post on my blog, here is a quick recap for you.
What better way to meet you all after a long gap than a monthly update post? So here I am with the October update.
While I feel like have to search for words to type and things to say, I am sure it is just that I feeling a bit rusty and it would get better soon. Here we go.
I flew to Macau, China for getting my recovering cousin back home to India. Thanks to the flight schedule and the time zone changes, I went about 33 hours without sleep, my longest ever.
I also traveled down to Langkawai and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a well deserved holiday after the hectic and emotional months.
Got out of the stupid reading slump and I am currently on a reading spree. (More on that below.)
And last week I joined a fitness gym and am hoping that I would hit it often enough to get my money’s worth.
I am holding the best for the last. The summer in Dubai is long gone and we are hanging on to that shortest period between summer and winter which means the weather is pleasant and the sky is blue. And am loving it.
I know it has been quite a while since I wrote a review. Don’t worry I will be giving a detailed update on what kept me away from blogging and my readers in my Sunday Post, but for now you have an Indie review of Vices/Virtues to catch up on.
Vices/Virtues revolves around the dominatrices working in a sex dungeon in New York and their lives. Our main character Cristela works as a domintrix but in secret. She even creates an alter ego to keep her dual life apart.
Her coworkers also have secret aliases and they do not see each other outside the dungeon. We also read about their backgrounds and their vices and virtues.
The book has a bunch of mini stories each named after a vice or virtue about the related inner conflicts the characters go through, while the sex and BDSM just offer a backdrop. How far would Cristela to protect her secret forms the rest of the story in Vices/Virtues.
My initial thoughts
I quite recently watched the Sex education on Netflix. So I picked this book up because I was intrigued by the premise and I was not disappointed. While there is no linearity among the flow of the story, the format, as a collection of short stories, worked better for me than it would have as a novella.
There are some references made to Hindu deities which were not correct and definitely will seem distasteful to religious people. Thankfully, there were just few of them. I wish the author would have discussed about this representation with a sensitivity / beta reader before she added to the book.
Things that worked for me
The premise was unique and I like how the kinky sex dungeon was just a background.
Read it like a bunch of short stories, instead of one long book and you might enjoy it better.
The writing was interesting and I liked how the writing style changed when there was a switch between POVs.
Things that didn’t work for me
I wish it were funnier, given the bizarre nature of the premise.
You may love or hate the philosophical discussions about the vice/virtue nature of each chapter – there is no in between.
Bottom-line
If you are looking for a light, not-so-clean read about a sex dungeon and the lives of dominatrices, Vices/Virtues could be your choice. You can read the author’s guest post on Tips To Writing Characters In Poverty here on my blog.
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Let us chat
Have you read this one? Do you have a recommendation with a similar premise? I promise I won’t keep you waiting long for my next post. Let us talk.
The weather is finally getting better and the summer is finally receding. With the heat and humidity are slowly falling back, I am getting back to my routine, of sorts.
So today marks the first day of Navaratri or Dussehera, a 9 day Hindu festival. We usually arrange dolls made of clay and wood, which have been usually passed on in the family for generations. Well, another thing that I will be missing out on, staying away in a different country.
What I read this week
I read two books last week and I FINALLY GOT OVER MY READING SLUMP. So that is a good news I guess.
Vices/Virtues by Beatrice De Soprontu
The Bookish life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
I am currently reading What you did by Claire McGowan. I have heard mixed reviews about this one, so I am holding my judgement until I finish it.
What I watched this week
I am slowly catching up with all the series that I had missed during my holidays.
Stranger things Season 3 – What? How did it end so soon? Okay I didn’t love it, but it wasn’t bad either. It was better than season 2, I guess.
Cable Girls Season 4 – I liked that a main character returned but it wasn’t as good as the last season.
I watched Crawl during the weekend and enjoyed watching it, surprisingly.
And did anyone actually like “In the shadow of the moon” on Netflix? I loved the premise but the film as a whole was a big meh for me.
On my blog
In case you had missed any of my posts from last week, here is a quick recap