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Slopey;
The reason I resonated with Moby Dick is that it perfectly captures all of the elements of an expedition, be it an ocean-going ship or some other endeavor that requires a team behind it. It acknowledges all the elements: the personalities, the preparations, the plans, the ordinary routines, the technical details, etc. and makes them part of the story. As I’ve mentioned before, I used to go out to sea in a previous position, and the book made me yearn for those days.
Not again! I agree, benson, Corrections & deLillo not very good.
Slopey – There is more to Moby Dick – although I wouldn’t’ve picked up on it had I not read it in school w/ guidance from a teacher.
donatella,
I haven’t read that one,
but I definitely will.
lechacal,
100 Years of Solitude
is one of those books
that changes your perspective
forever.
whenever I see it for a dollar
at a yard sale, I pick it up
and save it to give to someone.
I read Moby Dick last year out of a sense of obligation, but hated it. I could see why, as an engineer, you would love it, however. All that description of the technical details. I was surprised that, for such a long book that I had always thought was supposed to center on Ahab’s obsession with the whale, how little we actually saw of Ahab in the book. Take out the technical details about tying ropes and the many uses of blubber, and you’re down to a novella. But I’m sure I missed the point.
You may find this strange, but I read Middlemarch a few years back and really loved it.
My father played baseball. My brother too. My dad (supposedly) played in the Giants farm system before WWII (I don’t ask too many questions to disturb the family myth/legend, but that was how he got to college, on a scholorship before the GI Bill — his career was messed up somehow by WWII). My grandmother maintained playbooks for every Brooklyn Dodgers game in her adult life. They were crazy about baseball. In fact, I think I went through a little rebellion like ENOUGHH already with the baseball…. They so were nuts about it.
Slopey;
The reason I resonated with Moby Dick is that it perfectly captures all of the elements of an expedition, be it an ocean-going ship or some other endeavor that requires a team behind it. It acknowledges all the elements: the personalities, the preparations, the plans, the ordinary routines, the technical details, etc. and makes them part of the story. As I’ve mentioned before, I used to go out to sea in a previous position, and the book made me yearn for those days.
Off to my post-lunch walk.
Not again! I agree, benson, Corrections & deLillo not very good.
Slopey – There is more to Moby Dick – although I wouldn’t’ve picked up on it had I not read it in school w/ guidance from a teacher.
donatella,
I haven’t read that one,
but I definitely will.
lechacal,
100 Years of Solitude
is one of those books
that changes your perspective
forever.
whenever I see it for a dollar
at a yard sale, I pick it up
and save it to give to someone.
Lechecal, then you should definately read Memoria de mis putas tristes. It is a very short novel (I think his last) and just wonderful.
el amor en los tiempos del colera.
read that (in English) years ago on vacation in Costa Rica. Perfect. Just perfect.
Oh, and I recommend the first part (only) of Gogol’s Dead Souls as particulalry a propos for our over-leveraged times.
I absolutely love Marquez. Cien anos de soledad…. el amor en los tiempos del colera……. drink up every word.
OK I admit those are the only two I have read. I want to read more.
I know, Legion, did you read that book – you should read it was hilarious and so sweet.
benson,
I read Moby Dick last year out of a sense of obligation, but hated it. I could see why, as an engineer, you would love it, however. All that description of the technical details. I was surprised that, for such a long book that I had always thought was supposed to center on Ahab’s obsession with the whale, how little we actually saw of Ahab in the book. Take out the technical details about tying ropes and the many uses of blubber, and you’re down to a novella. But I’m sure I missed the point.
You may find this strange, but I read Middlemarch a few years back and really loved it.
Benson,
My father played baseball. My brother too. My dad (supposedly) played in the Giants farm system before WWII (I don’t ask too many questions to disturb the family myth/legend, but that was how he got to college, on a scholorship before the GI Bill — his career was messed up somehow by WWII). My grandmother maintained playbooks for every Brooklyn Dodgers game in her adult life. They were crazy about baseball. In fact, I think I went through a little rebellion like ENOUGHH already with the baseball…. They so were nuts about it.