Last edited Tue Apr 11, 2023, 06:33 AM - Edit history (1)
It's based on some book challenges, and a few personal challenges, so my list will look a little strange to other people.
This week, I'll probably get through:
Ellis Peters -- A Rare Benedictine (Brother Cadfael short story collection; I'm reading the entire series of books)
Herman Melville -- Moby Dick
Trevor Noah -- Born a Crime
I'll get through the Cadfael in an afternoon. I may not be able to get to the Trevor Noah book this week.
I haven't read Moby Dick since I was 14 or so, but I remember it being a bit of a grind. Then again, I tend to find many older fiction books and "literary" books to have a density to them that requires more careful reading than with a mystery book. They can be a bit slow out of the gate, too, taking a while to get to page turner status. What I kept saying with Elizabeth Gaskell's "North and South": "Oh stop the whining already, and get to the fricking point!"
Once it did, I loved it, but before that... O. M. G. Torture!
I seem to recall Moby Dick being in that vein, tedious until--bang!-- here we go!
That being said, I adore the opening: "Call me Ishmael." So perfect in its brevity and directness. So intriguing because the very name of Ishmael conjures up both the exotic and of course possible morality/philosophic questions if you know the biblical reference. That one simple sentence grabs you right away if you can see the layers of meaning hitting you in the face. So where are you leading us here, Herms--can I call you Herms?
Maybe it will be less of a slog to adult me than it was to teenager me.
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