It started with a trailer. This trailer: -
Awesome, right? The Movie is the US adaptation of the international bestseller THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Michelle had read the book and watched the Swedish movie before seeing the trailer and was excited to see the new version. I hadn't read the book or seen the original film but, not being either blind or deaf, I knew of the story and wanted to see what David Fincher (director of SE7EN, FIGHT CLUB and ZODIAC) would do with it. I just wanted to do one thing first: read the book.
Given that the trailer above debuted in June, I didn't think getting through the 538 page novel would be a particularly difficult undertaking before the film was to be released on 26 December 2011. Yes, I am a full time dad with a part time job and interests other than reading, but, by calculating my average reading rate, I have worked out I would only have needed 9 hours and 43 minutes within six months to finish the book.
As of last night, 3 December 2011, I had made plans to see the film, which had been released on Christmas Eve, with Michelle. It's rare for Michelle and I to share a night off due to our conflicting work schedules, and we were lucky to have someone available to babysit. So this was it, at 20:00 on 4 December 2011 we would be at the Odeon cinema in East Kilbride watching Rooney Mara bring the titular character to life. I was on Page 36 when these plans were penned in, leaving me with 502 pages to get through.
I started reading when I went to bed just after 1am, but got through maybe only 5 or 6 pages, before Nathan woke up unexpectedly. On the rare occasions when Nathan cries out in the night it is usually a very brief affair; a missing dummy, sore teeth, a heavy nappy, or a windy tummy. Last night was different. Nothing was wrong with Nathan, but he did not want to lie down in bed. All my little boy wanted was to cuddle into his daddy for a while, and though the hour was late, I was happy to oblige.
I had only lost an hour, but an hour between 1am and 2am when your trying finish a book, is a long time. As I started to read again I was fully aware of the mammoth task and the long night-into-day ahead, but I would try damnit! I could do it! I cou-
I woke up 4 hours later.
But I could do it! I could get though it! I… Ah forget it! I may not know when I'm beaten, but I know when I'm dead. My highly possible goal, to finish a book within 6 months, which had turned into very improbable task, was not achieved.
I got home from the film an hour ago with only 49 pages having been read. For those of you keeping count, of the 502 pages I had hoped to read last night, I only managed to get though less than 3% of that target: 13 Pages.
Go see the movie, it's excellent.