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Sunday Musings |
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.
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.
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!
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.
![July 2020 – Updates: Sunday Musings #86]()
review |
A little while ago I remember worrying about my falling Pinterest statistics and I found that it was happening to many other bloggers too. Not all of them, but a select few.
So I wrote to the Pinterest support, as someone suggested here, and I finally got an answer last week. Apparently there was a bug on their spam detector part and that was marking a few active Pitnerest-ers as spam. And they were working on it, as of last week.
But hey, things are looking a little bit brighter since then. My statistics have improved a smudge, so I am hoping that it becomes a positive trend. I just wanted to let you know of the update, and it might help others too.
What I read this week
Well, this was not a great reading week in terms of my reading challenge. But I did read. A LOT.
I have been working on my beta reading projects the whole week. So it was not like I slacked reading, okay?
What I watched this week
I am watching Marvelous Mrs Maisel on my one hour afternoon breaks that I am taking recently.
During the weekend, ie Friday and Saturday, we watched The Alienist on Netflix, which was good and nothing to complain about.
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
How To Feel Better About Yourself: 7 Tips To Help You Right Away!
35+ Questions To Ask Beta Readers: Getting constructive feedback on your manuscript
A book review of Sadie by Courtney Summers
Week That Whizzed Past: Sunday Musings #84
I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.
Pin me!
Let us chat
How was your week? How is Pinterest working for your blog? Have you ever written to one of these big companies and been replied within a week, barring the auto-replies? Let’s talk.
![July 2020 – Updates: Sunday Musings #86]()
Sunday Musings |
This has been one of those weeks. I can’t think of one solid thing that happened and yet seven days have whizzed past. We are still following the post CoVID routines, even though there are no more restrictions over here. Better safe than sorry right?
We are not going out unless it was for exercising or essentials and we are still working from home. Having that choice is a huge privilege and I am so grateful for that.
What I read this week
I finished reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi this week. The book set in Ghana and Alabama, USA, talks of the history of slavery and mistreatment of Blacks in the white world since 1700s.
The book was so intense and painful, I had a book hangover for the next two days. I definitely won’t be able to review it this week.
What I watched this week
I finally completed the community and guess what my goal to reduce the number of TV hours has officially been forgotten.
So, I am currently watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, (just started) and it looks promising. What else should I be watching?
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
15+ Motivational Quotes About Productivity And Time Management
Balancing Social Media And Blogging: How To Stay Sane?
A book review Daisy Jones & The Six
Pinterest And Traffic Statistics: Sunday Musings #83
I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.
Around the blogosphere
I went on blog hopping spree last week and these are the posts that I loved.
From the Insta-world
Here is what I posted on Instagram during the week. Give me a follow, will you?
Pin me!
Let us chat
How was your week? What do you do when all your days get lumped together? What are you currently reading and watching? Let us talk.
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Sunday Musings |
Last week was fairly normal and one thing that kinda threw a curveball at me was Pinterest. I love Pinterest, personally and for the blogging promotion. But the new algorithm has changed quite a bit and my numbers have fallen drastically in the past few days.
Normally, I would not have bothered but not knowing why it was happening is frustrating. I am working on it and have to check how this fall affecting my site traffic.
What I read this week
I am currently reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and I am loving it. I didn’t expect to like it as much and I was quite intimidated to read it. There will be a review shortly.
I am also between two manuscripts that I am commissioned for beta reading. Quite loving the change.
What I watched this week
Continuing my last week’s attempt to reduce TV binging, I spent only a few hours on watching TV.
I finished watching Line of Duty, a British investigative shop and alternating it with an episode or two of Community.
On my blog
In case you missed out on some of my posts last week, here is a quick recap.
My June 2020 – An Update: Sunday Musings #82
Here is a review of Normal People by Sally Rooney
On Wednesday I discussed the 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging
A quick round of quiz on Can Find The Famous Authors?
I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.
Around the blogosphere
Woohoo, I found some fabulous book blog posts last week. Here are some gems for your eyes.
I loved the post from Valerie on being a better ally on her blog Wellness & Wanderlust.
If you are a fan of “if you like this book, you will like that book” idea, then you should check out Wendy’s Book like this one.
Every book blogger should read about how much book blogging paid post from Angel at Avd Reader.
From the Insta-world
Feel free to show some love to my Instagram posts, pretty please.
Pin me!
Let us chat
How seriously do you take your traffic statistics? Are you on Pinterest and did this current change in algorithm affect you? Let us talk.
![July 2020 – Updates: Sunday Musings #86]()
Sunday Musings |
Usually I am a quick learner, but I spent quite a large part of the last two weeks of June 2020 trying to figure out the free opt-in email subscription on MailChimp and failed spectacularly.
It is not much about being unable to get it working, as much as it is about my ego, I guess. I mean ‘how can this happen to me’, you know? I would appreciate any help at all in getting it running.
What app or technology got the best of you? Tell me so that I would not feel so bad and miserable alone.
Quick June 2020 updates
On the other news, I still have not got my laptop back from the service center and I am not sure when that is going to be, given the CoVid situation.
Yet another month rolls by and we are six months into 2020. And things are crazy as they were in the beginning. Here is a quick recap of the month.
- I have been getting up at least an earlier than usual almost every day in June 2020 to catch up on some deep work and it has been doing wonders for my productivity.
- Talking about my obsession with productivity, I am writing a series on the blog on the subject of personal development and a better you. Let me know what do you think of it.
- I will remember June 2020 as the month I whined, complained and felt helpless about the computer. Usually,I am not one for complaining but I realized how dependent my work and I were on a working computer. I can’t wait for the nightmare to end.
- On the brighter side, the UAE has removed most of the restrictions regarding movement with respect to the Corona Virus pandemic. And things are still under control here. I am happy that people adhere to social distancing and hygiene rules, for most part.
- At the same time, the stories back from my home, India are scary. I can understand if it were due to literacy and education, but it seems like the problems of stupidity and sheer arrogance. Well, thanks to your stories from the other parts of the developed world (I am looking at the USA and the UK), I know it is not an Indian thing!
- June 2020 has been really testing my patience and making furious with the world in general. But one thing that kept my flickering hope alive was the increasing number of people talking and supporting the BLM and LGBTQ movement online and joining the protests in person.
What I read this month:
While my reading was slightly less than average, I loved everything I read. I am really hard to please reader, so this is a huge deal. How many have you read?
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Lord Edgware dies by Agatha Christie
What I watched this month:
Last month (May) I spent a lot of time in front of TV and lagged behind the work due to that, so I reduced the number of hours I watch TV consciously. It worked mostly. Here are the ones that I loved watching.
- Line of Duty S1 and S2
- Community S4 and S5
- Fargo S1 and S2
On my blog
I had an excellent blog post line up in June 2020 as well. In case you missed my posts, here is a quick recap.
Book Reviews from June 2020
Sunday personal posts from the month
Blogging discussion posts from June 2020
Other discussion posts from the month
I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.
From the Insta-world
Oh here are some pictures I posted on my Instagram. Share some love, will you?
Pin me!
Let us chat
How was your June 2020? What worked well and what didn’t? I can’t wait to read about your month and more. Let us talk.
