"Chapter XV- Chowder"

[ealgylden]

Ever since I first read it in junior high, I've been terribly fond of Moby Dick. My family finds this amusing, since the book is notoriously boring, and copies of it generally serve as doorstops or tools for spider killing.

"Have you gotten to the ten chapters on coiling ropes yet?" they mock.
"Ha ha. We'll see who's laughing when we all get attacked by a giant, insane whale," I say.
"We live at least eight hours from the ocean," they point out, "so we don't think that book will be very useful against giant, insane whales."
"It's very, very slashy," I say, and since they're my family and they know me, they know that there is no counter-argument for that and I win.

Anyway, one of my favorite bloggers, Katie at Jejune.net, has recently read it, and her reasons why you should as well are very cute (be sure to sample a few of her other book comments as well- she has a way with a quirky phrase). I really want to see Geoffrey Rush as Ahab now. Plus she links to David Sedaris' essay on reading Moby Dick, which somehow I had missed despite being as big a fan of Sedaris as I am of the whale.


And now to stop spamming and go hunt up some food. This day has been violently unproductive. I think I'll watch Cry-Baby tonight. That sounds productive, doesn't it?

Comments

[mrkinch.livejournal.com]

That was great! Thanks for posting the links. And no, I have not read Moby Dick, nor tried to my recollection. Maybe in my creeping old age.

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Most of the people I know who have read it have been forced to, and that's rarely a good thing. So maybe it's just as well that you've avoided that, at least. But if you ever do decide to try it (and you should- it's not for everyone, but if you can get into it, it's an amazing book), save it for late fall or winter. It can be a wonderful experience to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and Moby Dick while it's dark and cold and blustery out. But it's an impossible slog in ninety degree weather, even for me.