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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

so-so

Who‘s the monster? Is there a monster at the end of the book? It kind of seems like Ishmael couldn‘t make up his mind, and didn‘t want to leave the reader too certain either.
1/ ?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Despite the prevalence of horror movie motifs:
- mystery wacky character warns you off cryptically
-a zealot giving you bad vibes
-at some point it becomes clear based on the actions of your companions and the danger just faced that chances are slim you'll all make it out alive
-foreboding, fatal tales told about previous encounters with 'the monster' 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? While so much of this book is framed as ā€let me tell you ALL about whales so you know what we‘re up against‘, and veers into nauseating anatomy textbook like passages of harvesting ā€by-products‘ from the whale and much more charming National Geographic like passages on cetology, and the whaling industry (hazardous for hunter and hunted), it does pause infrequently to reassure you yet again that the revenge obsessed captain is suffering from an incurable madness whose singular focus is destructive to himself and all around him. We have characters who seem to exist solely to entreat Ahab to abandon this path, which only ends in reaffirming his murderous resolve. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? Whales depicted as monsters, unvirtuous enemies, by a whaleman, a narrator ostensibly making a living from killing whales and thus eager to justify such actions, is a craven kind of logic, but Ishmael's fascination with whales doesn‘t leave things in such a black and white, us and them space.
To that end, Ishmael seems to end each of the more positive passages on whales contrasting them with the more barbaric and corrupt aspects of humanity. 2mo

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Robotswithpersonality 5/? Ahab‘s mission then becomes not simply vengeance but a place for all the anger and hate that Melville states as endemic to man, and makes Moby Dick the age old story of prejudice against the Other (living being).
Lot of biblical references, so not that surprising that Melville is moralizing. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 6/? On the less overt side, observations:
The ocean is scary, we don't know all that's in it, and it often produces both creatures and storms that can kill us - funny how that mindset hasn't actually gone out of style.
I appreciated the pagan/mythological references because I understood a lot more of those than the Bible ones! 2mo

Robotswithpersonality 7/? While I was actually highly amused by the extensive pseudo-non-fiction digressions by ā€Ishmael‘, I can‘t help but wonder, especially based on the handful of chapters that were set up like a stage play might be (set the scene, stage directions, monologue/dialogue), what this story would be like if it took the tidbits of philosophy based on a contrast between humanity‘s actions and observances of the natural world, the explorations of Ahab‘s inner landscape, the comic relief of the capering crew, and the conflict between Starbuck (basically the angel on Ahab‘s shoulder) and Ahab, and condensed it down to focus primarily on the ā€we‘re on the boat, we‘re hot on the trail of Moby Dick‘ portion. I would go to that play. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality ā ļø¸RACISM (holy fuck it‘s blatant and it‘s never ending), xenophobia, classism, colonialism, details of whaling industry: hunting and harvesting by-products š¤¢, ableism 2mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Damned with faint praise or a recognized talent?

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

THAT is an understatement, Herman/Ishmael!

shortsarahrose It‘s so true š‚ 2mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Ah ha! I love it when a context-based hunch on unknown word's meaning pays off.
The internet confirms:
Anti-scorbutic: "(chiefly of a drug) having the effect of preventing or curing scurvy."
Fairly obvious why it's not in common usage today.

julesG Scurvy is called Scorbut in German. And it still occurs these days, not in sailors but people with low income. I think I've heard "scorbutic" a few times in medical jargon, not sure about "anti-scorbutic" though. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality @julesG Etymological bonus content, yay! Re scurvy occurrence: makes sense, instead of a vocation-led nutrition issue, now it's capitalism, how much you can afford to buy and where you live (food deserts). Wonder where the scholarship falls on that one: earlier eras, city vs. rural - was it easier to get all your vitamins as a subsistence farmer than a factory worker. š¤” 2mo

julesG Now I want to fall down a research rabbit hole. Can't imagine either having had a very varied diet, but would imagine the farmer had a few greens at least. 2mo

Robotswithpersonality @julesG Agreed! 2mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Please tell me I'm not the only person who read this and immediately imagined EITHER: a officious little fish in suit with briefcase OR some kind of strange paper/fish hybrid swimming about with scales and script intermingled.

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

No idea what a 'stem-piece' is, but intrigued by the notion that this might mean a mast head of a copper-thorned rose rather than the standard mermaid. [My very shallow knowledge on the subject says mast heads were usually mermaids - but maybe there were all kinds of masthead figures, like old-timey hood ornaments! Off to Google I go! ]

Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

...for there is no folly of the beasts of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

The notion 'cool as a cucumber' has been around for THAT long?! š�’š²

julesG Shakespeare? I think it was good old Bill the Bard. š¤”š¤”š¤” 3mo

Robotswithpersonality @julesG So it's even older than I thought! Learn somethin' new everyday... 3mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Ah, yes, now let's take some time to pause the main narrative, AGAIN, and examine the appearance of the Whale in the various man-made art forms, and human-perceived whale forms appearing in nature. I can't help but wonder how long this book would be without these colourful asides. š’š¸¼ā€¨ā™‚ļø¸

shortsarahrose One of the things I really appreciate about this book is how the pace of the narrative mimics the pace of being on a whaling ship - bursts of action followed by long periods where nothing much happens. Anyways, I oddly love this book and need to reread it soon. 3mo

Robotswithpersonality @shortsarahrose I enjoy this perspective/parallel, thank you. I keep finding it weird how much I'm liking reading it when in theory this is the kind of pacing that usually irritates me. I think taking my time with it, and the quality of the writing, is saving me. Feels like it was made to read aloud. 3mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

"...(for immortality is but ubiquity in time)..."
When the phrase just hits.
I feel like I better understand the exhaustion given to vampires in certain narratives now, the idea of always being...makes me want a nap.

Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Just remembered this is the song Quint sings...is it just a well known sailor ditty, or was Jaws making Moby-Dick reference?! š¤”

Bookwomble I do think the white shark š¦ was Quint's white whale š³ š 3mo

Robotswithpersonality @Bookwomble Now on the lookout for further crossover/comparisons...š”¬š”¨ 3mo

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Current reads include two large books with whales on the cover. š³š‹
What could go wrong? š¤¦š¸¼ā€¨ā™‚ļø¸

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Sounds like a Shakespearean insult: 'Thou mealy-mouthed porpoise!'

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

"For we are all killers, on land and on sea; Bonapartes and Sharks included."

Certainly more profound observations than I remember getting in high school biology text books.

Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Ah, yes, having just introduced the character best known in this book, twenty-eight chapters in, having just barely set sail, NOW is the time to pause for a lengthy treatise on the different kinds of WHALES! Oh, Herman. š¤¦š¸¼ā€¨ā™‚ļø¸ Needless to say, the biology and taxonomy are not to be trusted. š¤Ø What makes no sense? I'm actually enjoying all of it! š¤·š¸¼ā€¨ā™‚ļø¸š�´

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Now y'all are just messing with me.
Any particular reason you couldn't have just made Chapter Twenty-Six longer, if you felt the same subtitle applied and were continuing to discuss the characters in the command structure aboard ship?!

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

So to summarize: You accepted a lower wage thanks to some fancy footwork on the part of your employers and you haven't actually MET your direct supervisor yet.
Not GOOD Ishmael!

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

Pfft. A choice way to prod the pious. š

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Penguin English Library Moby-Dick (UK) | Herman Melville

How does one survive reading a classic from the 1800s? Focus on the cuddles.
[There are some amusing slices of life in amongst the frequent xenophobia/racism, prominent profiteering off species and blatant Christian messaging (the chapter before this one was entitled The Sermon, it was an ACTUAL sermon about Jonah and the Whale!) š’š™„]

SamAnne I‘m two-thirds through and I was not expecting the humor! 3mo

Robotswithpersonality @SamAnne Right?! 3mo

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Roary47

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Gandalf is my reading buddy today for my daily Serial read. š�°š’›

RaeLovesToRead Gandalf š�°š�°š�°ššš oh he is too adorable! 4mo

Leftcoastzen So cute!š» 4mo

Ruthiella š»š»š» 4mo

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Roary47

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Going to start a summer habit to get more classics read. Withering Heights and Scarlet Letter I‘ll finish in July. š�°š’›

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Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Call me Ishmael. Some years agoā€”never mind how long preciselyā€” having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.
#MobyDick #HermanMelville #firstline #openingline #book #books #bookmark #bookmarks #bookmarket #bookmarkets #bookmoment #bookmoments #Classics #Fiction #Literature #Adventure #HistoricalFiction #Novels #American #19thCentury

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HeartOfBabel

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

ā€Be sure of this, O young ambition, all mortal greatness is but disease.ā€¯

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Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

#MobyDick #HermanMelville #book #books #bookkeeper #bookkeeperlife #bookkeeping #bookloot #booklist #booklust #booklove #booklover #booklovers #bookloversunite #bookz #bookzesty #bookzilla #bookzine #bookzone #bookxcess #bookcase #bookcases #bookcover #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign #bookcoverdedigner #bookclub #bookclubs #bookvibe #bookvibes #bookvsfilm #Classics #Fiction #Literature #Adventure #HistoricalFiction #Novels #American #19thCentury š§�š§�

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julesG

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

#Ihavequestions @RaeLovesToRead

1) tough question. I bail on books that "don't spark joy" or let's say any kind of interest. The tagged book I had to read for uni. Definitely did not like it.

2) Colleen Hoover - skimmed one. No thanks.
Lord of the Rings - bailed before the Hobbits got to the Prancing Pony.
A Song of Ice and Fire - bailed after 200+pp, read like an endless prologue.
Secret History - I'm going to be exiled for this.
+So many more

RaeLovesToRead Hahaha, epic books are THE BEST though!! š¤š¤ Wish I could learn how to bail. 8mo

julesG @RaeLovesToRead Learning to bail was tough, but it's literally freeing. As for epic, there's boring epic and there's interesting epic. I bore easily and if a book doesn't hook me by the third chapter I tend to give up. 8mo

TrishB Secret History š 8mo

Laughterhp Yes, I refuse to read Colleen Hoover too! 8mo

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Sharpeipup

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

#ihavequestions @raelovestoread
1. Tagged. Just no.
2. Anymore CoHo.

RaeLovesToRead Glad I'm not missing out on Moby Dick! š… 8mo

Sharpeipup @raelovestoread you‘re only missing out on the mind boggling confusion why this is considered both worthy of printing and classic status. š¤Æ 8mo

RaeLovesToRead I just remember in the comic, Bone, the MC kept reading it out enthusiastically and everyone fell asleep š¤£š¤£ 8mo

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Soubhiville Ugh Moby Dick was pretty awful! 8mo

TheBookHippie No CoHo š¤¢ and I still have nightmares about not doing my Moby Dick book report š¤£ 8mo

Sharpeipup @soubhiville glad it wasn‘t just me. 8mo

Sharpeipup @thebookhippie what makes CoHo worse is that she‘s my sister in laws favorite so that‘s all she wants to talk to me about. (edited) 8mo

TheBookHippie @Sharpeipup š¤¢š¯š™ you have my sympathy ā€¦ yuk. 8mo

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Ha! Moby Dick. That book was difficult to get through. 8mo

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breadnroses

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

pick

Wow. After 4 months, I‘m finally done. I‘ve never taken this long to finish a book, but I‘m glad I took my time & annotated so thoroughly. D.H Lawrence was right, it is ā€one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world.ā€¯ š5/5š

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Susanita

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

I don‘t finish every book I start. Some books I circle around and finish them eventually, but others I intentionally abandon.

The specific reasons might be varied (boring story, characters doing things that don‘t make sense, can‘t figure out what‘s going on, etc.) but usually boil down to I just don‘t care what happens.

#sundayfunday

BookmarkTavern

BookmarkTavern That‘s an excellent way to think about it. If I don‘t care, why continue? Thank you for sharing! 8mo

kelli7990 I like to finish every book I start but if I don‘t like the writing style or I‘m not emotionally invested in the story then I‘m more likely to bail on the book. 8mo

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JLaurenceCohen

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

I love a good Norton Critical Edition

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Moby-Dick | Herman Melville

Yes! I enjoy books that are aesthetically challenging & books that can challenge any preconceived notions I might have. It sounds cliche, but one of many reasons that I read is to have my horizons expanded. I have posted about the tagged book numerous times. After wanting to read it for years & years, I finally did so last year & it wound up as one of the greatest reading experiences of my life.
#sundayfunday
@ozma.of.oz

shortsarahrose This is my favorite book. I‘ve read it multiple times, own multiple copies, and am due for a re-read š‹ 9mo

vivastory @shortsarahrose I will def be reading it again in the future & plan on buying myself a ā€niceā€ copy at some point as the one I read last summer is now all marked up 9mo

BookmarkTavern I definitely need to give this one a reread! Thank you for sharing! 9mo

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rachaich

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Apologies for the terrible photo, new phone causing angst!
So, first up for 2023 is this classic, chosen by book club.
I've tried listening to it, some years ago, and failed. I'm now 30% through the kindle version and taking some of it in š¤”šš“–

BookHoarder32 Enjoy! For an american fiction class in college, I read that and

Ahab's Wife

9mo

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Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

#MobyDick #HermanMelville #book #books #booktattoo #booktree #bookthief #booktopia #booktoday #bookyourself #bookunion #bookutopia #bookunicorn #bookunicorns #bookunhaul #bookish #bookishfeature #bookishfeatures #bookishlife #booksoflitsy #bookobsessed #bookobsession #bookoholic #bookoholics #bookperson #bookpeople #bookpassion #bookpicture #bookphoto #Classics #Fiction #Literature #Adventure #HistoricalFiction #Novels #American #19thCentury š’š’

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stevesbookstuf1

Moby Dick (Collins Classics) | Herman Melville

pick

No. 11 in my '22 Modern Classics reads. Haven't read this since high school, and I don't remember it being this long! But I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if by today's standards it's a bit of a muddle. Because of Thanksgiving holiday travel I compromised and listened to parts of the book through Librivox and can highly recommend their version narrated by Stewart Wills. But I think it's best read not listened to.

Full review: https://bit.ly/rvw-Moby

SamAnne I‘m halfway through. Had no idea it had so much humor in it! 10mo

stevesbookstuf1 Yes, I almost think the humor has aged better than the tragedy. š¤“ 10mo

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BookmarkTavern

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Moby Dick. And I don‘t really know why. Maybe to seem impressive? š…

#SundayFunday How about you?

TalesandTexts I used to say that about Anna Karenina till last year. I just couldn‘t get myself to get through the book. So in order to not lose face in the Reading community, I would nod along when people would talk about it š«£ Then last year, i decided to get the audio version and finally finished the book. š… (edited) 10mo

DGRachel You‘re not missing much with Moby Dick, IMO. It took me an entire summer to get through it in college. I had a professor who said every student of literature owed it to themselves to read it. I idolized her, so I read it, and I cursed her through every page. š‚š‚ 10mo

ImperfectCJ I don't have a particular book like that, but I do have a class of 6th graders who all said they'd read Moby-Dick. When I dug a little deeper, it sounds like they'd all read an adaptation so I don't have to feel too embarrassed about only having read parts of it. 10mo

AnnR No, not books I haven't read but maybe a partially read book. I got near the 50% mark in War and Peace but just couldn't force myself to read another chapter. 10mo

SamAnne LOL. This is a hilarious question. Second Sex. I‘ve pretended to read that. 10mo

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SaraC24

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

Stopped by Barnes and nobles cause today is the day I went full out in actually treating myself since that hasn't happened in literally months. The Moby dick copy is not only pretty but soooo heavy that it's a legit brick. Very pretty brick. Will post more about it cause omg! The others are also pretty! Like omg! xD

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego

Sharpeipup

Moby Dick (Collins Classics) | Herman Melville

Started this whale of a book after a recent cruise to the channel islands.

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TheKidUpstairs

Moby-Dick, Or, The Whale | Herman Melville

#OnThisDay in 1851 Moby-Dick was first published. Like many works of art, the novel would remain unrecognized during Melville's lifetime, selling only 3715 copies and earning the author a mere $556.37 before his death in 1891. A posthumous reprint garnered some critical interest, and slowly a following was built, leading to Carl Van Doren's 1921 claim that Moby-Dick was "one of the greatest... in the... literature of the world." #HistoryGetsLIT

vivastory Have to say I agree with Van-Doren š³ 11mo

LeahBergen I‘ll take that edition, please. š‰ 11mo

TheKidUpstairs @LeahBergen it can be yours for a mere $65,000! 11mo

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Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

š’Æ

Ruthiella š‚š‚š‚ 12mo

mcctrish š¤£š¤£š¤£ 12mo

LeahBergen š†š† 12mo

Chelsea.Poole Omg š† 12mo

UwannaPublishme š†š†š† 12mo

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Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

I will write a full review this weekend, but having just finished I want to comment that spending the month with this has been one of the richest reading experiences of my entire life. š’™š’™

DGRachel My American Lit professor would love you. I was a disappointment. š‚ 1y

vivastory @DGRachel Although I strongly believe in classics (contemporary & traditional/ Western & non-Western) being part of the classroom curriculum, I am firmly opposed to assigned reading. One of my fave college English classes involved a major paper on a book of our choosing off of a list that was several pages long that the teacher was familiar with. 1y

merelybookish Congrats! It is always wonderful to read a classic and understand why it has endured! It doesn't always happen but satisfying when it does. I look forward to your review. 1y

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vivastory @merelybookish Thanks! More often than not, I find that they are def. worthwhile. It's just a matter of making time in my schedule to be in the right headspace for them. 1y

Branwen I'm glad this was such a great experience! 1y

vivastory @Branwen I'm thinking of starting Ulysses on Bloomsday š¤” 1y

DGRachel It wasn‘t assigned reading for me. My professor, for whom I had immense respect, said that every student of literature owed it to themselves to read it. So, I read it. It took me an entire summer. My ex would tell you HE suffered through it even though I‘m the one who read it. š¤£š¤£ 1y

Branwen @vivastory YES! That's awesome! And super exciting! I'm hoping to be finished it by then! 1y

Addison_Reads I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It is in my top 5 greatest books ever read. 1y

vivastory @Addison_Reads I can see why! I even became a bit more intrigued by Starbuck by the end. Certainly not a favorite character, but he is more complicated than I initially thought 1y

LeahBergen Damn it. You‘re going to make me read it now. š¤£ 1y

vivastory @LeahBergen Mission accomplished š³ 1y

Megabooks Wow! So glad you enjoyed it! 1y

79 likes13 comments

Moby-Dick | Herman Melville

ā• I have to say that despite having a second life as the name of a corporate coffee chain, Starbuck is one of my least favorite characters.

Leftcoastzen He‘s pretty annoying 1y

KathyWheeler I always think of Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica. She was one of my favorite characters, but I agree with you ā€” this Starbuck is not. 1y

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Moby-Dick | Herman Melville

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Susanita

Moby Dick: bķlį velryba | Melville Herman

š«I started the tagged book but didn‘t get very far. I think I bought it expecting to read it ā€some day.ā€¯š¤¦š¸»ā€¨ā™€ļø¸
š¨‘š´š´
š«‘The Island of Sea Womenš
#wondrouswednesday

Eggs

Bren912 I loved the island of sea women!!! 2y

Eggs Loved Island of Sea Women 2y

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