What's next?
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
A monthly podcast!
info_outline
Bonus Moby-Dick episode: Interview with Richard King, author of "Ahab's Rolling Sea"
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
As a special post-Moby-Dick bonus, Jennie and Megan previewed the new book, "Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick," and interviewed author Richard King by phone from his home in Mystic, Connecticut.
info_outline
The End!
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
And so we come to the conclusion of our voyage... was the destination worth the ride? Opinions vary...
info_outline
Ahab Turns Up the Insanity
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
In this week's discussion of chapters 102-121, we contemplate biblical history and prophecy, and Megan solves the meaning of Moby-Dick once again.
info_outline
Whale Bones Are Not Made of Ivory
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
This week, half of Arlington is on vacation, so Jennie and Pete set sail on their own. The two cover chapters 87-101, discussing the unpleasant topics (racism, whale slaughter) and the absurd (Stubb's nose, the ineptness of whale ship captains.) And with no co-hosts, there's no one to stop them from making references to The Simpsons but also no one to correct Pete when he calls whale bone "ivory" repeatedly.
info_outline
Stuck in the Doldrums with Melville
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
In chapters 71-86, no amount of action could keep us from feeling sedated by the seemingly endless chapters on phrenology... Although maybe all of Moby-Dick would improve if read like a jazz poem?
info_outline
Whaling: Not for the faint of heart
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
In chapters 60-70 we encountered bloody whale killing, racial stereotyping and ugly power structures.
info_outline
Herman "Not Suble" Melville
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
Squid are scary, Fedallah's whaleboat crew are eerie, and and Melville is not subtle.
info_outline
To read all of Melville's Cetology, or to skip that chapter...
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
Who got the gold star for reading all about whale-fish, including the footnotes? Who is actually caught up on the reading? Who thinks Ahab is headed for a reconning of, well, mythic proportions?
info_outline
Our Cast Is Introduced, and We are Underwhelmed...
Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"
180 pages in, and we've barely left port...
info_outlineThis week we were joined by guest host Vicky, who loves dogs (she has 3) and books.
We discussed:
The 1834 Poor Law, which ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day. - UK National Archives
Italians with white mice - In the 1820s/1830s Italian men were wandering the streets of London & other cities as organ grinders, accompanied by boys with trained monkeys and mice who performed tricks. - Literature Network Forums
Palate cleansers:
- Vicky - "Joe Gould's Teeth" by Jill Leopore
- Megan - Black Klansman film and the book "Black Klansman: race, hate, and the undercover investigation of a lifetime" by Ron Stallworth; "Sociable: a Novel" by Rebecca Harrington; "Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger" by Soraya Chemaly
- Pete - "Black Leopard Red Wolf" by Marlon James
- Alex - is between books and was bereft of anything to share this week, but will come back next time having found lots of new things to read.