“this book is very boring”
“Just signed up for Shelfari and when I clicked 'members like you', up pops Moby Dick and a list of woman readers. I have to wonder, did all you ladies lose a bet or do you all just like the sea-farin' tales?Besides all the heavy symbolism in Melville's classic, is this some underground chick-lit favorite? I always thought this was a guy's book. I read it in high school and don't remember whether my nose was pushed into it or I just liked the Gregory Peck movie version. Not to be a spoiler but everyone dies but one person. I'm glad the mate Starbuck's family didn't end up destitute.For those who like tales of the sea and tall ships, you can't beat C.S. Forester's Hornblower books. Not the swashbuckling romance with swelling bodices and dashing men in puffy shirts but there's some romance in it.Call me kccasey”
“I wanted to read this for a long, long time. Now I've been reading it for a long, long time. If you had trouble getting through it, how did you succeed?”
“Did anyone else find the ending a bit abrupt?”
“I found Ishmael, the narrator of the story, to be a very interesting character. His apparent quiet coolness while watching as Captain Ahab hunts down and kills Moby Dick, and of course himself, (Captain Ahab) All this, while writing in his journal the story of Moby Dick and Captain Ahab. A Very wonderful story.”
“Great book, I find myself missing Ishmael, Strubb, Starbuck, and Ahab :(”
“A common theme in all of these comments is how the writing style has turned the modern reader off.Remember a few points before picking up this book, or any classic literature. It was written long ago. The style is not going to be the easily accessible Grisham, King, Koontz prose that modern readers are used to.Classic books tend to get long winded. Modern readers have been trained by movies and television to quickly form a scene in the imagination using only basic script like description. Readers from the 19th century may have been learning about the books' subject matter for the first time. In this case, they may have never even heard of a whale until now.Too often, we have been tasked with this kind of reading and just want to get it over with, or we feel the need to tackle a classic novel for the sake of intellectual pursuits. When reading books of this type, try to set aside the need to "get through another one." Read for the moment and put yourself in the day that the book was written.Simply put, pick up the book with a desire to learn the subject within. Otherwise, and I'm being serious here, get a Cliff's Notes and the story line will be as interesting.”
“I didn't like the book, as much as I thought I would. I didnt like how he described every last detail.”
