M1D2. Busy Times are no Excuse

December brings holiday cheer, but also dreaded finals. I'm dedicating the bulk of my time to my Analysis of Algorithms final, one of the toughest I'm likely to face. Meanwhile, I have to juggle a business project, an opinion piece, and an upcoming law final. As such, my time is saturated with work.

No excuses, though. If I'm ever to consistently match the breakneck pace I plan to at the end of the month, I need to prove I can do it in small doses right now. So I'll be reading 50 pages a day, and trying to do so in an hour each time.

I'm shooting for these milestones:

1. December 7: 300 pages (50/day)
2. December 15: +600 pages (85/day)
3. December 22: +1200 pages (170/day)
4. December 29: +2400 pages (340/day)
5. December 31: +1800 pages (600/day)

Right now, I'm reading A Man of the People, by Chinua Achebe. It's a fun book about a Minister in a fictional African nation. It's narrated by a young English instructor, Odili, who holds a curious combination of esteem and distrust for Chief Nanga, the aformentioned minister and central topic of the novel.

So far, there's been political, social, and especially romantic intrigue. Achebe does a great job of showing how Odili's carefully cultivated sanity and decorum come into conflict with his emotions. Makes for a narrative all us introspective folk can identify with.

Chief Nanga is an interesting character for his strong parallels with Trump. It's why the book was recommended to me. I'd say he's a more jovial character than our president, and probably better company. But he holds the same scary power over the people - who will forgive him anything and fail to see any "ill will" in even his harshest rhetoric.

I'm 60 pages in, aiming to pass 100 before I call it for the day.