About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

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 this episode of #SundayPost, I talk about my love for spreadsheets and about getting featured on the National Daily! What was your week like? Click To Tweet

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. 

Spreadsheets

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.

One day in December book

What I watched this week

I watched Toy Story 4 (finally) and I loved it, as expected.

Toy story 4

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.

The One With 2019 Updates: Sunday Musings #61

Spreadsheets

On Monday I reviewed The Dinner by Herman Koch

Spreadsheets

On Friday I wrote a discussion post on Why Don’t Book Reviews Get Much Engagement?

Spreadsheets

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

Around the blogosphere

I finally got around to blog hop a bit and found these brilliant articles from these brilliant bloggers.

From the Insta-world

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Spreadsheets

Let us chat

How was your week? How is your new year resolutions going on? What are your current reads and watches? Let us talk. 

About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

A week that was a fast blur: Sunday Musings #60

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 Markus Zusak 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.

Sunday Musings #59: One With The October’19 Updates

elgeewrites A week that was a fast blur: Sunday Musings #60 SS59F

I reviewed an indie book Vices/Virtues on Monday

elgeewrites A week that was a fast blur: Sunday Musings #60 Vices F

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

From the Insta-world

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elgeewrites A week that was a fast blur: Sunday Musings #60 SS60 P

Let us chat

That is all up here folks. So tell me about what is happening in your life and books that you are guys reading. Let us talk

About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

One With The October’19 Updates: Sunday Musings #59

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. 

What better way to meet you all after a long gap than a monthly update post? So here I am with the October update about my holidays and travels. #SundayPost #October19 Click To Tweet

Quick October’19 updates

  • 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.

What I read this month:

So I beat off the slump I was talking about in my last post and  I did good in October, almost back to my normal reading I suppose. 

  • What you did by Claire McGowan 
  • On the come up by Angie Thomas 
  • Dinner, The by Herman Koch 
  • Unhoneymooners, The by Christina Lauren 
  • Elevation by Stephen King

Now if only I can get my ass to start reviewing them as well!

What I watched this month:

Between the long travel time and the slump I had a lot of movies that I caught up with. 

  • Booksmart – With that name, obviously I had to watch it but felt let down.
  • A simple favor – It had Anna Kendrick who is a vlogger and enjoyed this one.
  • The Book Club: (You seeing a pattern? Well, I am a book blogger.) I was so bored and I did not like it. 

Oh I found this animated series called Larva island on Netflix and I am totally in love with it. 

On my blog

And hey I published a post this week. 

So take a look at the review of Vice/ Virtues by Beatrice De Soprontu here. 

October

From the Insta-world

I am slowly getting back to posting on Instagram so if you have not followed me yet, please consider giving me a boost, pretty please. 

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October

Let us chat

So how has your October been? What did I miss? What are you currently reading? Let us talk. 

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

About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

Vices/Virtues – A book review

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.

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. #IndieReview #Indiebook @desoprontu Click To Tweet

About the book

Vices/Virtues

Book Name: Vices/Virtues

Author: Beatrice DeSoprontu

Genre: Fiction – Drama

Characters: Cristela/Clara, Daisy, Virginia, Justine, Griselda, Noelle 

Setting: The United States of America

The plot

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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Vices/Virtues

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. 

About spreadsheets and my interview: Sunday Musings #62

Navaratri And A Better Weather: Sunday Musings #58

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

Indie Guest Post: Tips To Writing Characters In Poverty by  Beatrice De Soprontu

Navaratri

Sunday Musings #57: Back from the break; Maybe?

Navaratri

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

From the Insta-world

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Navaratri

Let us chat

So what was your week like? What are you reading currently? Let us talk.