Saturday, August 17, 2019

Sailing On with Moby Dick and I Learn to Crochet




The burning question is: Have I finished Moby Dick? No, not yet. I'm at 75%. I've read whole chapters about a sperm whale's head, a right whale's head, whales in art, the rope used in whaling, as well as chapters that actually advanced the plot, including one where a crewman fell into a whale head and almost drowned. Moby Dick. I press on.

I finished six children's picture books, so thank goodness these continue to pour into my mailbox; at least I will finish something while I'm putt-putting along on the Pequod:


Isn't it odd how serendipitous life is at times? Look what sailed my way this week. Doesn't the cover of The Sea Mammal Alphabet Book remind you somehow of Moby Dick, with all the strange markings on the whale on the cover. The markings are actually the light from the sky above, not scars from battles with whalers. It isn't a Sperm Whale like Moby Dick at all, in any case, as this whale has baleen, not teeth. Good grief! I know too much about whales now. Here's my review.





Five other wonderful children's picture books were read and reviewed last week. Click on the links to take you to my complete review:






What am I currently reading?

Can you guess? 

Yes, Moby Dick.



I continued to obsess over Moby Dick this week:

Classic Book Characters from Moby Dick: Who is Your Favorite?

Moby Dick: Odd Words We Should Add to Our Vocabularies Today




I'd love to have you vote for your favorite Moby Dick character. It doesn't matter if you have read the book or seen the movie or not; everyone has a favorite character, I think. Please vote for your favorite here




Take a look at this: Mini Rant Reviews for All 19 Books I Read in High School from Kay at Hammock of Books.  Why, why, why do we continue to kill children's love for reading with required reading? 







My friend Elke is teaching me to crochet. Elke learned to crochet when she was a child in school in Germany. Doesn't it sound like a great idea to teach children to crochet?





The Art of the Pie is my go-to pie making book. I made a peach pie and an apple pie this week. The crust was a little crumbly but it had great buttery flavor.





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. 



50 comments:

  1. Your description of Moby Dick doesn't make it sound enticing at all. You got a lot of great looking kids' books!

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    1. I'm afraid you are right about Moby Dick.

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    2. But what is it that keeps you reading on? :) Myself, I liked Moby Dick, but other classics I am resigned to not finish: Don Quixote and Ulysses to name but two, and I don't feel guilty about it. Now The Brothers Karamazov, I would like to return to that one, because I did like Crime and Punishment, but the others, I will not be sad if I never finish them.

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  2. My mom and grandma both crocheted and tried to teach me when I was a kid. After my grandma passed away, I decided to learn and use her hooks and patterns. It's challenging with my bit of arthritis, but soothing too.

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    1. I dislocated my thumb last year, and I think the crocheting improves the ability of my fingers to move.

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  3. I spent my junior year of college living in Germany. My German mom was shocked that I didn't know how to knit so she took it upon herself to teach me. It was a great way for us to bond and she gave me a life skill.

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  4. The pie looks great! Still not interested in reading Moby Dick! Hahaha! But I am interested in those children’s books for my little girl.

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    1. There are a lot of abridged and kids' versions of classics that would be great for your kids, I think. My aunt had a collection of these which I read as a child. It gave me a nice frame of reference.

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  5. I have often been asked which I like to do better, knit or crochet, since I have been taught both. My answer is advice from my Mother in Law, when she said, "You like best whichever you learned first." at least it's true for me. Although I've knitted many items, I've only made one thing by crocheting, my second aquired skill.

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    1. Knitting looks more difficult. My mom always said it was. But maybe it's just because she learned crocheting first. Ha!

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  6. I have yet to conquer making gluten free pastry for my husband. I really need to work on that.

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  7. Nope for me on Moby Dick. Just not that interested. As to crocheting - I somehow can't learn to either knit or crochet. Something about figuring out left from right. I'm left-handed and am constantly getting turned around about lots of things - my husband chants to me 'righty-tighty and lefty-loosy' for turning off the water outside, etc. I do like cross-stitch. Very tidy and mathematical - ha!

    We've been off on a vacation to New Mexico and got back yesterday. I'm happy to be commenting again, but not sure when I'll be back to blogging as yet. Have a good week!

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    1. I hope you will post soon about your trip to New Mexico. I love that state.

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  8. I love the Jerry Pallotta alphabet books!!! And I think I need that Art of Pie book. :)

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  9. I don't think reading Moby Dick would be for me right now, but you are moving along great with it...75% is good :)

    Have a great week!

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  10. Moby Dick is one of those books that just intimidates me... kudos for pressing on! The pie book is much more to my liking ;-)

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    1. It's nothing like I expected...well, except for the whale parts, I guess.

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  11. I have a very fun memory of sperm whales after writing a report in grade school about them. Funny that was one of the few reports I invested a lot of time in. Here's hoping you finish the book.

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  12. I love the cover of The Sea Mammal Alphabet Book.

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  13. Both my grandmother’s enjoyed crochet, in fact right now I have a crocheted blanket one made across my lap. They both tried to teach me, knitting too, but I was useless.
    Mmm love apple pie.. I usually go the lazy route and make apple crumble instead though.

    Have a great reading week

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    1. My crocheting isn't good. Did you notice I didn't post a picture of it?!

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  14. I have made note of all the children's books with Christmas coming fast. I love giving books to all the grand nieces and nephews.

    Have a great week in your quest to finish Moby Dick. :)

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    1. I run across some wonderful picture books. Now is the time to start stocking up.

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  15. Oh, I'd love to learn to crochet! My grandmother taught me to knit when I was little but crochet was never something I learned. Maybe one day. :)

    I'm regretting reading about apple pie. I'm so hungry right now and apple pie would hit the spot nicely!

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  16. You do have a bit ;) of time yet for Moby Dick if you're doing for the readalong!

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    1. I know the readalong runs through February, but I plan to finish by the end of August.

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  17. I think those whale chapters are the litmus test for wether or not one likes Moby-Dick as a novel. I found the asides a fun diversion, kind of like being on a trip with an uncle who gets distracted when telling a story and goes down weird tangents.

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    1. This is a very helpful analogy, Sarah. Thank you for sharing this.

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  18. I love to crochet, learned at age 10, still must have some crochet in my lap when I watch tv. I have read some good books this summer - one, recommended by you, "American Wolf" - I would never have read it, if not for your review. Loved it. Also, "Barkskins" - how I ended up reading another book about wolves & trees & people, I don't know, but I found it in a Little Free Library, love the author, the book was engrossing. Also, "Florida", short story collection...again, with the nature thing. And of course, "Where the Crawdads Sing".

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    1. I'm almost at the point where I can crochet while I watch tv, I think.

      You have had a complete nature thing this summer. I have found that Moby Dick has a strong nature theme; I don't think I expected that. We watched the very difficult-to-watch movie last night, Grand Canyon, and I came away from it thinking again about the consolations of nature.

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  19. I'm seriously impressed by your tackling of Moby Dick. My view of it could be a bit skewed though - my mother was in grad school when I was about 8 or 9 and for whatever reason she had to read Moby Dick. She hated it so much that opinion kind of stuck with me! I keep flirting with the idea of Art of Pie from the library but I haven't yet. Sounds like it's worth picking up!

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    1. I continue on, though I still haven't fallen in love with Moby. You should definitely pick up Art of the Pie!

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  20. Congratulations on your persistence with Moby Dick. I couldn't do it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  21. Whale expert! I love those picture books, I am these days always looking for good ones for young great nieces and nephews 'cos they love books too.

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  22. Amy Wu and Spencer both look like PBs I need to get!

    Happy reading this week, and thank you for linking up at Unleashing Readers :)

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  23. Oh no, don't tell me this about Moby Dick. I was thinking of adding it to my #MustReadin2020 list as it was one of my husband's favorite books when he was young. And I'm always delighted when I hear of someone learning to crochet. My grandmother taught me when I was 8 years old and I began designing patterns for various stuffed animals ranging from unicorns to monkeys. I made countless gifts over the years. When I was in middle school, my mom hired me to make an afghan with her selection of colors for her best friend. I sure wish I had more time to do it, these days. But alas, raising five keeps my hands rather busy (often holding a child or two). Hard to complain about that. :) Have a wonderful reading week!

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    1. I definitely hope you will read Moby Dick. You will probably have a completely different impression of it than I do.

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  24. Your description of Moby Dick had me LOLing. I've had my own encounter with Moby Dick (in audio), but have taken an extended break.

    Happy Reading and smooth sailing!

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  25. Haha you are becoming a whale expert. :) Seriously though The Sea Mammal Alphabet Book looks neat.

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