The Deadline.

 It is 11 pm in Darwin. 12.30 am AEDST. 

I have book group tomorrow night, online at 6.30 pm Darwin time, 8 pm AEDST. 

At present, I have read 60% of the book. 

It's not a very hard read, but it does require some concentration. 

I was hoping to get a lot more of it read on the plane on the way up, but the 6'5" FIFO, with extra broad shoulders, and who smelled like stale KFC, who kept elbowing me in the ribs on the way did not help matters. He couldn't help being stuck in the middle seat on the full flight, but still, it's not conducive for reading a book. The new noise cancelling earphones went in. Nup. Didn't help.Too uncomfortable to read. 

The other thing was tonight I was looking forward to coming home (the apartment) and reading. Mid-afternoon I got a message from a friend. Did I want to do dinner? They were up here for a conference and were at a loose end before their plane departed in the early hours. We've been trying to catch up for months. As Darwin is dead on a Monday night, I suggested joining my workmates for dinner at the Cavanagh Hotel - it wouldn't be the first time I've brought a rando along for dinner (I'm well known for collecting random people along the way). They agreed, and after walking them back to their hotel, I got back to my room for 9 pm. 

This doesn't help with the reading. 

The book is The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. It deserves a closer reading that I'm giving it. 

Another thing driving me to finish this is in the 15 plus years I've been the proxy manager of this book group, I've only not finished two books. The first was Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I never started that - I was overseas at the time of the meeting. 

The other was Brendan Cowell's Plum, which I put down to unreadable drivel. 

I'm really good at doing my book group reading - which is maybe penance for all the reading I didn't do during my undergrad degree in the eighties. 

Anyway, if I finish this, read until half twelve, then wake up early, and read for half an hour before work, then come home at lunchtime for 45 minutes, make my lunch and read, then maybe, just maybe, I'll get this read.

It's going to be a stretch. 

Serves myself right for not starting it sooner.

Today's song: