Saturday, August 10, 2019

Moby Dick Mania









If you are not taken with our friend Moby, you may be less than enamored with my post, because everything I read this week is Moby Dick-ish. It's not that I have fallen in love with Moby Dick; I'm continuing to slog through everything Moby Dick because so many people have told me how much they adore this story. I'm like the girl who has agreed to marry the boy her parents have picked out for her; she likes the boy fine and dandy, but he seems at first look to be nothing special, and she is still hopeful that she will grow to love him, in time.

I read a ridiculous nine Moby Dick books this week: five books for Dewey's 24-Hour Reverse Readathon, and an additional four later this week. The links will take you to my reviews of each:

Moby Dick: 10 Minute Classics retold by Philip Edwards and illustrated by Adam Horsepool
I read Moby Dick: 10 Minute Classics, retold by Philip Edwards and illustrated by Adam Horsepool. It's a picture book version of Moby Dick, to be sure ...more

Moby Dick (Classics Illustrated, No. 5) Comics - 1943 by Herman Melville
I could now, in all honesty, say that I have read Moby Dick. Well, the comic book version, published at a time a comic book sold for fifteen cents...more

The Whaleship Essex: The True Story of Moby Dick by Jil Fine
Yes, it's a book for elementary age children, but The Whaleship Essex: The True Story of Moby Dick was an excellent introduction for me into the event ...more

Moby Dick based on the novel by Herman Melville, retold by Lew Sayre Schwartz, illustrated by Dick Giordano
The City of New Bedford, long considered the Whaling Capital of the World, set out in 2001 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Mob...more

Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick
In this little book, written like a master's thesis from a besotted fan, Nathaniel Philbrick shares all his favorite lines and favorite themes and fav...more

The Whale: A Love Story by Mark Beauregard
Mark Beauregard relies upon careful research and a bit of imagination to tell the story of Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, two writers who me ...more

Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures by Nick Pyenson
Nick Pyenson is the creator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian, and this book is the story of everything scientists have learned about whales ...more

In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
It's easy to see how reading Moby Dick led me to In the Heart of the Sea; the story of the sinking of the Essex helped inspire Melville to write his...more

The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea by Philip Hoare
I was expecting The Whale to be just that, a book about whales. And it is, but it is so much more. The Whale is a meditation on whales, on Moby Dick,...more 






I'm continuing to read Moby Dick, of course. I'm at 48% on my Kindle, and I'm trying to read at least two or three small chapters a day. I would be very happy if I can finish Moby Dick by the end of the month. No, I haven't fallen in love with Moby, but I am having a lot of fun reading the book. If you are interested in joining in with Bronwyn's Moby Dick Readalong, it's not too late. Sign onboard here. 

I also posted about Moby Dick covers and Moby Dick vocabulary this week:

I plan to continue my Moby Dick adventure this month with more posts now and then. I've simultaneously listened to the podcast Whale, Whale, Whale while reading along in Power Moby Dick, an annotated online version of the text. But Whale, Whale, Whale ended abruptly last February with Chapter 32, and now I'm forced to resort to listening to Moby Dick Big Read, a read aloud of the text which I've found to be highly variable in its quality, while reading along in Power Moby Dick. 

I sail on.







If you have read this far, you may be wondering if I've gone over the edge like Ahab, and the answer is, yes, but I hope to recover by switching to a small 1001 Children's Book celebration of Women in Translation Month. August is Women in Translation Month, an event hosted by Bibliobio. The event is designed to encourage more books by women to be translated into English and other languages. I have decided to buy and read three of my 1001 Children's Books that are written by women and that have been translated into English: Aldabra: The Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare by Italian author Silvana Gandolfi, A Letter to the King by Dutch author Tonte Dragt, and The Big Sister by Swedish author Six Widerberg.  I have a selfish reason for wanting to encourage more English translations of works by women: many of the 1001 Children's Books have not been translated into English. You can find out more about this event by visiting Bibliobio.






The scorching heat of August here along the Texas Gulf Coast

I haven't really done much this week other than read. The temperatures have pushed up into the high 90s each day, and it doesn't cool down much at night, so I've spent a lot of time in the air conditioning. Living where I do, along the Texas Gulf Coast, we waver between wanting the slightly cooler weather we love brought on by lows which also allow hurricanes to move in or putting up with the heat brought by high pressure areas which tends to keep the hurricanes away. We did celebrate my daughter-in-law's birthday and I walked and swam and did yoga and took a little class on photography and planned our upcoming trip to Utah and did other things to distract myself while I await the arrival of some cooler weather that should arrive by Halloween. 






How was your week?

Did you read any good books? Please share them with us.

What other bookish things did you do? What else is going on in your life?

I'd love to have you to link up here and/or at the Sunday Salon page on Facebook each weekend (Saturday-Sunday-Monday) and let us know what you have been doing. I hope you will visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. If you have other blogging friends, it would be wonderful if you'd tell others about our salon and encourage them to join us.

Other places where you may like to link up are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.


My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. 

48 comments:

  1. I'm impressed with your perseverance.

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  2. The podcast Whale, Whale, Whale takes on the challenge of reading aloud and discussing each chapter in Moby Dick. "The slog is real, but it is the thing that makes it," the host of the podcast emphasizes. I agree, too.

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  3. I don't mind the Moby Dick focus this week. :-) I love how into it you are getting. And you are making great progress in the book itself. Your weather sounds similar to ours right now-high nineties. It's been such a mild summer compared to summers past here. Usually we are suffering triple digit heat this time of year. I hope you stay cool! Have a great week, Deb, and happy reading!

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    1. We almost never get into triple digits, but with our near-100% humidity, it gets very damp and hot.

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  4. You always find something interesting to read. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Have a great weekend!

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  5. Wow! Your Moby-Dick themed week is amazing!

    I've surprised myself by how much I've come to love MB so far, but I am only 8 chapters in. I hope your young bride comes to love her new husband too :-)

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  6. So many books! I'm impressed, especially since I'm behind on my reading.

    It's so hot and humid in Florida now. I hope we don't get many huricanes this season.

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  7. We moan about our cold winters and wish for summer then complain that it's too hot to go out!

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    1. My son and daughter-in-law live in Chicago and our summers look like Eden to them.

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  8. Great post and great week! The heat is not so good, though. Our weekend cooled off a little.

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  9. There by Whales here - Scotty from Star Trek :)

    Have a great week!

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  10. That is awesome, I never really read Moby Dick. I can't seem to get interested in all the classics only a few.
    I can not wait for the colder weather! I am so looking forward to October and all the spooky

    Have a great week, Happy Reading! xx

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  11. What an interesting read! It's a classic that I haven't read, either - but I don't think I can face it... there was a programme about whaling and Himself last week and I had to turn over, we simply found it too upsetting to watch. Ahab would be disgusted with my wimpish behaviour! Your heat must be very draining - while I'm loving our warmer temperatures, that must be a constant battle, especially when having to do something! Have a good week:))

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    1. It's quite descriptive of the whaling, and that's difficult for me, too. Ahab---haha!

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  12. We are experiencing a cold snap here, it’s freezing (well, our version of freezing)
    I admire your dedication to all things Moby :)

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  13. That is a lot of Moby-Dick. I'm glad you're enjoying it at least a little. ;)

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  14. I adore Moby Dick and I have read many (not all) of the books on the book you read last week. I didn't really like any of the why read Moby Dick books.

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  15. The Whale by Phillip Hoare sounds interesting!! I will add it to my list! I love that you have really explored so many whale books while reading Moby Dick, so cool. A real deep dive! :)

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  16. Our humidity finally let up here. Never made it through Moby Dick, I admire all your choices.

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    1. Our humidity is the one thing that never lets up here.

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  17. You are so focused in your reading. I could never read that much whale stuff in a row (or that much Paris stuff, for that matter). I meander greatly from book to book, and even when I have plans, lack the discipline to follow through. I'm pretty sure I attempted MD in my teens and did NOT make it very far.

    That's quite the Catch-22 with the weather. Texas sounds...challenging to me.

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    1. I am disciplined. And I have good handwriting. Two good qualities.

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  18. You really are having a whale of a time (sorry, couldn't resist)

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  19. Wow! Your focus on Moby Dick is admirable. I couldn't do it. That once in high school was enough for me.

    Hope the weather takes a little break and gives you some relief.

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  20. I’ve never read Moby Dick because I’ve heard it’s one of the more daunting classics. I’ll probably get to it someday (when I’m feeling braver). I hope you’re having a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  21. I had NO idea there were so many Moby Dick books! I've not read it. Yet :)

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  22. I don't think I've ever read Moby Dick, classics and I have a love hate relationship. I do remember reading some in school and not appreciating them. I would like to tackle eventually.

    I hope you have a wonderful week!

    Tina @ As Told By Tina

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  23. I didn't know that there was so much about, and so many versions, of Moby Dick. I admire your dedication to checking that classic off your list. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  24. I love your analogy. :) I've never read Moby Dick, believe it or not, but that is an interesting mix of books you have. Spying on whales looks good.

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  25. You are wonderful to keep on reading all those Moby Dick books, I think I'd get book indigestion. Yes hurricanes are not to be welcomed or wished for.

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  26. I didn't get a post up this week for Sundsy Salon but I'm still trying to read some of the posts. Do you know, I feel bad saying this, but I have never had an interest in reading Moby Dick. Maybe because when I was younger I thought it was a dirty book ;) I suppose I need to try it someday. Or I'll just read what you think of it instead. That seems more interesting ;)

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  27. Yay!! Moby Dick is one of my favorite books of all time! It gets better towards the end. :D

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  28. I, too, am limited by the opressive heat.

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