Test your early American history ... Then discuss great lit.

[I.D.10-t]

A reading of "Moby Dick" is highly recommended.

Tedious in places but worth the effort.

Slan,
D.

Been there, done that at least 3 times. Terrific book. I'm taking it on our vacation this weekend: I figure reading it on the deck of a ship ought to add even more to Moby's appeal

I have always liked Chapter 30: The pipe

[dubhlinn]

My own favourite bit,

http://www.classicallibrary.org/melvill ... pter11.htm

Avast,
D.

[brewerpaul]

Check this out, especially if you're a Moby Dick fan:

http://www.amazon.com/Ahabs-Wife-Sena-J ... 0688177859

A terrific novel, from the point of view of the very briefly mentioned wife that Ahab left behind.

[Walden]

C'mon you guys, Jerry's inadvertently yankin' yer chain. His daughter is in the FOURTH grade. That means she is studying her STATE's history, not US history. It's undoubtedly part of the NY state history curriculum.. i bet everybody with a 4th grader from the Chiff community around the 50 could ask a stumper that out-of-staters couldn't answer.

Do you know what Chief Marin was famous for?? Nyuk. Yeah, beyond the usual yuk-fest....

I didn't have state history in 4th grade. We just used standard social studies books. We did a unit on Oklahoma history in 1st grade, and a semester of it was required in high school. I seem to recall there was lots of talk about Stand Watie.

[Coffee]

C'mon you guys, Jerry's inadvertently yankin' yer chain. His daughter is in the FOURTH grade. That means she is studying her STATE's history, not US history. It's undoubtedly part of the NY state history curriculum.. i bet everybody with a 4th grader from the Chiff community around the 50 could ask a stumper that out-of-staters couldn't answer.

Do you know what Chief Marin was famous for?? Nyuk. Yeah, beyond the usual yuk-fest....

Yep. Chief Marin led a formidable resistance against the Spanish.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head though.

[izzarina]

My own favourite bit,

http://www.classicallibrary.org/melvill ... pter11.htm

Avast,
D.

Ok, I'm just going to say this now and get it over with:

I do not like Moby Dick. I can't get through it. I don't care about Captain Ahab's obsession, and I don't care if he ever gets that blasted whale. So you can avast all you want, but I just won't ever read it. So there

::taking a deep breath::

Wow, you really do feel so much better when you get such things off your chest

Now Jane Austen I can do. I could read her all day. Gotta love English gossip!

[Flyingcursor]

A reading of "Moby Dick" is highly recommended.

Tedious in places but worth the effort.

Slan,
D.

I'm about half way through it. I read it before in 4th grade but as I read this again I believe I may have read a "kid's" version because I don't recall the monotonous parts.
I stopped to read an Anthony Burgess novel and now I'm finishing Cell.
Then it's back to MD.

[djm]

I would select Two Years Before the Mast over Moby's Richard for its readability.

djm

[dubhlinn]

My own favourite bit,

http://www.classicallibrary.org/melvill ... pter11.htm

Avast,
D.

Ok, I'm just going to say this now and get it over with:

I do not like Moby Dick. I can't get through it. I don't care about Captain Ahab's obsession, and I don't care if he ever gets that blasted whale. So you can avast all you want, but I just won't ever read it. So there

Hey now Izz,

I did mention that Moby Dick is a bit tedious in places and it can be very hard to get through the tedious stuff but once you get into it there is a wealth of writing and information about Whale hunting, a dying trade.

The language is a long way away from Austen, The Sisters Bronte and those most English of writers.

There is no pride, and very little prejudice, out hunting the whale.
Moby is one of my favourite books, just the intensity alone makes it worthwhile and worth reading.

If you want Obsession, try "Lolita"..an absolute masterclass in beginning to understand that condition and Prose that blows Melville out of the water.
I've recently finished my sixth or seventh reading of it over the years, and it just gets better every time.

The sheer elegance and style of the writing is beyond belief. The most delicate and tender writing I have ever come across..

Slan,
D.

[Nanohedron]

I agree. When you consider Nabokov's skill at colloquial American English, or English at all for that matter (remembering that it was certainly not his first language), you have to be impressed. In all of Lolita, I detected only one or two very subtle, small giveaways that the author might not be a born Anglophone. That's pretty good.

Then there's the narrative itself. Its skillful yet natural imagery aside (hard enough to do for the native English speaker), the subject was initially shocking, and yet just kept to the razor's edge of Platonic. And as Dubh says, it was most tenderly written. I actually had to put the book down a couple of times early on and catch my breath. It's the rare book that'll do that to me.

[Congratulations]

Nabokov's pretty good. I still say Tennessee Williams is one of a very few people who never wrote a word that was less than perfect. He's in my top three, for sure.

But, as for must-read books, I'd definitely have to go with The Neverending Story. But then, I'm a sucker for children's lit. I love The Phantom Tollbooth and anything Lewis Carroll and all that.

What was this thread about, again?

[BrassBlower]

But, as for must-read books, I'd definitely have to go with The Neverending Story. But then, I'm a sucker for children's lit.

It's kinda funny that this book is classified as children's lit, since it's way over the heads of many adults I know. Perhaps it takes a child-like imagination to really get it.

But yes, I agree that it's a great piece of literature. The movie didn't even come close to doing it justice.

What was this thread about, again?

No obvious hijacks, so apparently it's just a victim of thread drift. I think it had something to do with the first Home Depot on Long Island, or something like that.

[Jerry Freeman]

What was this thread about, again?

Great literature (I fixed the title).

Carry on.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[izzarina]

There is no pride, and very little prejudice, out hunting the whale.
Moby is one of my favourite books, just the intensity alone makes it worthwhile and worth reading.

Alright....I actually own a copy, so when I find it (I believe that my eldest son may have it stashed somewhere), I'll make another attempt. But only because you said I should, Dubh.

[izzarina]

What was this thread about, again?

Great literature (I fixed the title).

Carry on.

Best wishes,
Jerry

You are so accommodating, Jerry!