Reindert's Birthday Present

Stage Four Lockdown: Day Five of Five

Mood: Reasonable. Level. Glad we're coming out of lockdown tomorrow.

I'm out of the habit of buying gifts for people, but I do try when in comes to occasion birthday. For friends in Australia, it's often an experience present - a trip to a winery, dinner, a gin tasting, a theater ticket - something we can do together, as we all know, by the time you get to my age, you have most things you want. 

Then there is the dilemma of what to get friends who are overseas - and Reindert, bless his running socks, is turning 50 next month - and it is time to start thinking about what to get him for his birthday. 

For my 50th he bought me a number of books, all themed around my year of birth. There was the amazing The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - as Junot Diaz was born in 1968. There was the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners for that year and a best seller as well. It was a cool present.

So it is my turn to reciprocate. And as Amazon can ship to Yankeeland for free, even better. 

So what do I purchase for my dear friend in honour of his 50th birthday, which no doubt, he's in deep denial about?

So I'm sorting my cart at the moment, having a good think, knowing I have a while before his birthday, 

In the cart so far:

Elif Shafak's extraordinary Ten Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Elif Shafak was born in 1971. It is an amazing book, set in Istanbul. An amazing tale. 

Dominic Smith's The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. Written by an Australian author, an incredible book about art (and he like's art), but a lot of it is set in Holland, from where Reindert is from originally. A brillant read as well. 

Next on the list, The Lost Man by Jane Harper. This is here as it's a very Australian book, and it shows the best, and the worst of Australia. I'm not a crime reader, but this is very consumable. 

Of course, 1971 would not be complete without Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Reindert currently resides in Colorado, he's used to the bizarre nature of The States - I think a bit of Gonzo journalism will do him the world of good. 

And last but not least, there's Behrouz Boochani's incredible No Friend But The Mountains. That it was written by text on a mobile phone, and translated bu a friend from Farsi to English while Boochani was in immigration detention on Manus Island makes it all the more incredible. That it won the Victorian Premier's Prize for Literature even better. 

I hope he likes - I'll get them sent off in the next week or so. His birthday isn't until the middle of next month - but we do have to plan these things. 

Also to my lockdown challenge. 

I didn't do to badly: 

Let's see how I did. 

 1) 10000 steps a day.  Well, there are 49000 steps recorded on my fitbit, so I'll give that a good enough. 

2) Finish my book group book. Currently reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Yes, that's finished, got finished this morning. Stunning book. Have just started Laura Jean McKay's, The Animals of This Country. Done. 

3) 500 words on the novel a day. I got 1000 words written - better than nothing.

4) Hoover the flat, mop the floors. The hoovering got done. I hate mopping. Half done. 

5) Clean my desk. Did that. 

6) Paint the doors. Nope. Really not feeling the painting at the moment. I think the weekend will be the time to get it done. 

I like these mini-challenges.

Right, to bed. Back to the office tomorrow. 

Today's Song: