Reading Merkel

How to digest a lifetime's worth of memories in a week

Angela Merkel’s “Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021”. Out on 26 November with Macmillan.

It’s often said that women are very good at multitasking. I personally think this is an urban myth that needs urgent debunking. I certainly couldn’t multitask if my life depended on it.

If I’m on the train, reading a book and the conductor asks for my ticket, I already feel like I’m in one of those military stress tests they sometimes show on TV – you know, the type where snarling dogs snap at your ankle whilst you're trying to crack a complicated code, blindfolded and standing on one leg.

I like doing one thing at a time and properly. And I think many other women do, too. But working on things in sequence presents its own challenges, especially when it comes to reading and writing enormous amounts of text. My spellchecker cheerfully announced the other week that I had written 52,000 words in the previous 7 days.

This week, my challenge is to read 720 pages, form an opinion on them and write said opinion up for a major national newspaper. Naturally, without abandoning my usual chaos. It appears a bit of multi-tasking is in order after all…