From the Bookshelf of Reading 1001…

Moby-Dick or, The Whale

Herman Melville

Start date: October 1, 2022

Finish date: December 31, 2022

Discussion: Quarterly Read

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Showing 2 of -1 topics — 27 comments total

Quarterly Read

* Q3 - Three Musketeers
By Diane · 8 posts · 20 views

last updated Sep 15, 2025 03:18PM

Q4 - V by Thomas Pynchon
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last updated Dec 27, 2024 09:16AM

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What Members Thought

Jul 16, 2016 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, american-19th-c, novels, favorites

QUICK UPDATE: James Cameron totally ripped off and plagiarized Melville in the abysmally written Avatar 2. He should have listed Moby Dick in the credits…(view spoiler)

I re-read Moby-Dick following my research trips to the whaling museums of New Bedford and Nantucket whaling museums. The particular edition I read from University of California Press is HIGHLY recommended as the typeface is extremely agreeabl ...more

884 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2018 Biblio Curious rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics-western

I read it too fast, this is a book that could benefit from the element of time and even place. The next time I go on vacation near water, this book's coming with me. I wish I knew about it for my 4 day boat ride a few years ago. Having this book on a trip like that would surely spark incredible conversations. It's a book that just fires up conversation because of the vast scope of topics it covers.

It does cover whale biography, whaling careers, whaling ships and whale culture. In short, yes it' ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2018 Pamela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001-read, favorites, guardian-1000-read

Why did I put off reading 'Moby Dick' for so long? Maybe I was put off by the preconception that it was boring, 600 pages of men on a ship, hunting for a whale that proves elusive till the last few pages. Well, that was wrong. Although there are many digressions to talk about whaling and the anatomy of whales, at its heart is a powerful allegory about obsession and life itself, filled with memorable characters. Chief among these is Ahab, a figure cut from Shakespearean tragedy, with the key to h ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2023 Jess Penhallow rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own-ebook, boxall-s

I really should have dnf'd this book. I knew a few hours into this 25 hour audiobook that this wasn't for me but I persevered because of its status as a classic and my desire to get immersed in a long book. The positive aspects of the book were the sea setting which was very vivid and some of the colourful characters (although even they overstayed their welcome).

The book is far too long and goes on too many tangents that I had no interest in. I understand the themes of man vs nature and the dan ...more

1 like · Like · see review