Also I hope you guys had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and happy New year to you all!
Quick December’20 updates
We began the month with a fabulous five day week end for the UAE national day. The weekend had a lot events happening and a spectacular fireworks show at Le Mer.
December 2020 also saw the beginning of the voluntary mass vaccination program all over the country. I love how proactive and involved the government is in the control of Covid, unlike many other countries from what I hear.
I also met my book club in person after almost a year. It was the first and only time I got to meet them in 2020. Though we had quite a number of Zoom meetings, it was not the same.
Finally about the New Year’s Eve. We stayed overnight at the Crowne Plaza (using some reward points, the prices were sky-high) mainly to watch the spectacular fireworks and not drive home after the party. The fireworks left me breathless and it was fun to celebrate the NYE with strangers. Of course social distancing protocols were followed, though not to the T.
What I read this month
Nothing works like a last moment panic right?
In order to complete my reading challenge of a measly number of 46 books, I went on stupor and a reading spree. Look at the number of books (11) I got to read this December 2020.
Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon
Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story by Debbie Tung
Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares, A by Krystal Sutherland
Silent Patient, The by Alex Michaelides
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
Heartstopper 2 by Alice Oseman
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Two Boys Kisssing by David Levithan
Heartstopper 3 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper Mini by Alice Oseman
What I watched this month
Thanks to the long weekend and the holidays in between I spent a lot of time on the Netflix and the other streaming platforms.
Here are my top five things that you have to catch up soon.
The Scam
Delhi Crime on Netflix
The call on Netflix
Flight attendant
The night of
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
Okay I will say it for all of us! None of us can believe me September’20 is already done and we are in October already. And I can’t wait to see what the tenth month of 2020 is gonna throw at us. Actually just kidding, I wish there was not any more surprises.
And this week has been a little weird for me. I have not been able to focus on anything, especially on my blog. I hope things will be better this week.
Quick September’20 updates
Let us a quick update on what September’20 was like.
I worked on a few a lot of changes in my website and I am loving the entire theme. There are a few more kinks I have to focus on.
The weather is finally getting better these days and we hit the beach more than once during September and I am considering this a win.
This was a great reading month for me. More on that in a bit.
What I read this month
As I mentioned already, for me September was the month I actually got out of the slight slacking I was doing in terms of books.
I read about 6 books which is a big deal, considering what I have been doing in the past few months. I am so glad I got back into the groove.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin ⭐⭐⭐
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Guest List, The by Lucy Foley ⭐⭐⭐
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Extraordinaries, The by Klune T.J. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2020 A to Z Reading challenge – update
On other news my attempt at A to Z reading Challenge is going on really well and I have only a few more letters to catch up.
So if you have any books starting with the other letters, send me your suggestions.
What I watched this month:
I have not been spending much time on watching the television. But this is what I watched through the month.
Umbrella Academy Season 1 and 2
The Boys
Tenet
Suits (Rewatching)
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
On other news, the last week staycation was great and I hadn’t realized how much I needed that. Of course I was (almost “over the top”) cautious and followed all safety precautions. I will attach some pictures for you guys to enjoy!
Now on to the review of the month aka August 2020 wrap up!
Quick August’20 updates
I had a below the average reading month because I spent most of the time reading manuscripts as a beta reader. I think August and July were the most busy months ever in terms of commissioned for beta reading work.
Staying in for most of the summer worked but I still managed to get sunburnt more than once. I am probably a tarnish to all the dark skinned Indians who have probably never used the sunscreen in their entire life.
We finally took our two day vacation at Ras Al Khaimah and spent almost every possible moment on the beach and the pool. Much needed cool off.
What I read this month:
As I mentioned earlier, it has not been a good reading month and am terribly off the Goodreads challenge charts – not to say anything about the A to Z reading challenge as well.
I am still hoping to catch them up in the upcoming months. I just read two books this month and I have already reviewed them both on the blog.
Henna Artist, The by Alka Joshi
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
What I watched this month:
I didn’t watch much this month except for Modern Family, which I loved to bits.
What else should I be watching on Netflix?
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
How has your August been? What are you watching and reading these days? Don’t forget to link me to your monthly wrap up post so that I can take a look at them. Let’s talk.
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
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.
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.
