[20] She was a member of Mensa International – a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile of IQ – but left within a year of joining.

Abdullah was an occasional guest on BBC Asian Network's DJ Nihal show and spoke about a range of subjects, from drug abuse and gender inequality to dealing with culture and identity as a British-Asian writer.

[27] In 2012, Abdullah joined global publisher Penguin Random House where she worked on travel brand Rough Guides.

In 2014, Abdullah quit her job to found Atlas & Boots, an outdoor travel blog read by 150,000 people a month.

[28] Abdullah has contributed to Lonely Planet[29] and Rough Guides[30] and has spoken about her travels on television, radio, print and online.

[39] In July that year, Abdullah founded Asian Booklist, a website to help readers discover new books by British-Asian authors.