I can now breathe a sigh of relief that I have finished Moby Dick. Thanks for hosting! I loved reading your thoughts on the assigned chapters as well. :)

My thoughts on the book? I definitely enjoyed the earlier chapters then found some of the later ones dragging. But I appreciate Melville's detailing of every single thing about the whaling business and the entire whale oil processing.

Would I be rereading it? Not any time soon but maybe by then I'll follow the outline laid out in melville.org. I would love to go over the passages that I've highlighted though.

Would I recommend it? Only to those with a very high level of patience and tolerance. Hehe. Maybe one would expect an adventure of sorts chasing a whale but that only happens towards the end. Although, there are some other whale hunting mini adventures but the main chase only happens in the end. So, the reader must go through all those cetology stuff in order to get there. I'd say treat it as a rambling man's whaling diary. :)

The ending? I felt sad about the ending. The fact that everybody is gone and only Ishmael survives to tell the tell. I would have loved it to be like the Essex where there were other survivors but only one told the tale. Its sad that one man's quest for vengeance brought down his crew as well. And even more sad, the quest for vengeance turned out to be Moby Dick's as the whale was the only one who was successful in his doings.

Here is my final post for this readalong: http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2012/...

I had a hard time with this section as well. I usually enjoyed Melville's digressions. But I am glad that Melville takes the time out to explain the things common people need to know about whaling, debunking a few myths here and there. But you kinda wonder, are we ever gonna see this whale? :)

This section of reading also shows that Melville was into a lot of stuff as shown in the chapters where he discusses phrenology and physiognomy and the chapter where he claims to know about geological stuff. I love that when he writes, he backs it up with facts.

Its curious to know the real purpose behind why Melville created this work. The Essex had a lot to do with it. There is a lot to digest in Moby Dick. There are sections that seem like plays where I personally thought Melville had a secret wish to be a playwright. Aside from that, there are reflections on life and the universe. Its odd to think of it written in a book about a whale.

I have a post but I'm just rambling on there ... haha
http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2012/...

Hello! I'm late in posting yet again. :)

Anyway, to answer couple discussion questions:

Honestly, the disjointed chapters threw me off a bit. But it was okay after I was able to get into it. Its just that Melville was going so well with the chronological stuff then he suddenly digresses. :)

Regarding the dream, the fact that he was told that statement by a merman while talking about a pyramid was really weird and I honestly don't know what to make of it. :)

My favorite chapter would be "The Affidavit" (Chapter 45) because of all the real world scenarios Melville put in that he voiced through Ishmael.

A couple of favorite quotes include: "Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form" and "for immortality is but ubiquity in time."

I don't have much to say about the chapters that were read quite yet because they were more of fact-stating chapters designed by Melville to provide real accounts and that the events in Moby Dick also do happen in reality. Plus, we only had one glimpse of an adventure and a failed one at that. :) But I'm still loving this reading! Melville is one gifted writer.

Anyway, here is my post for the week (but its mostly just a recap) : http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2012/...

Hi! Yep, that's my name. :) Hehe.

I don't think it was meant to be humorous. Hehe. When I read those words it seemed like those were what Melville thought of religious beliefs which he imparted onto the character of Ishmael. Just a hunch. :)

Hello! I'm rather late in posting. :)

To answer the questions:

I do think that the friendship between Ishmael and Queequeg is genuine albeit strange. :) I really don't know what to think about the homoerotic overtones of their relationship and I have no idea as well why Melville would put it in the book but it must have meaning for him to put it there. I don't know if it would ever be mentioned in succeeding chapters as well.

With regards to Melville's use of polarities, I really don't know the significance of it yet. :)

Melville lends some very powerful words to Ishmael for his defense of the whaling profession. If I wasn't thinking about the present condition and thought only about the time when whaling provided basic needs for people, I'd say that I would agree with his arguments. Whalers needed to be thanked for their contributions.

I love Ishmael's narrations and I do think his going off tangents has some meaning. I don't think that he would just go off tangent for the sake of going off tangent.

With regards to Ishmael's flip-flopping on Queequeg's religious rituals, he did say: "Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person’s religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person don’t believe it also. But when a man’s religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him; and, in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him."

Melville adds a lot of biblical allusions in his book from the names of the characters to mentions of Bible stories in some chapters (Lazarus, Jonah, two orchard thieves). I also think that Melville is rather tolerant of other people's religions and does not mind them at all except for a few times like the passage above where he respects some aspects of Queequeg's religious rituals but could not fathom why he would starve himself.

With regards to the story of Jonah and the whale, I can't see how it connects quite yet. But I do think that it has meaning because to echo what I've said earlier, I don't think Melville would put it in there just for the sake of putting it in there. However, I feel that it is more in relation to Ahab, whom we haven't seen so much.

Lastly, I also don't know what to think yet of the preacher's statements or whether they are a foreshadowing. From a brief summary, we know that Ahab is on a quest for vengeance and I don't know how the preacher's statements would take into account.

Anyway, here is my post on Chapters 1 - 28 of Moby Dick:
http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2012/...

Hi! I've always wanted to read Moby Dick and it has been on my shelf since forever so I'm excited about this read-a-long! :) Thanks for hosting it!

Here is my sign up post : http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2011/...

I have not read the books on your list, sadly. But there a few that I might pick up like Q: A Novel, Story of a Beautiful Girl, Other People We Married, and A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism.

I have always wanted to read The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore and A Visit from the Goon Squad. :)

Thanks for dropping by my blog! :)

I've been wanting to read this! Count me in. :)