Book - Moby Dick by Herman Melville

I'm currently ready Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Its a classic and one that I had never read before, so I figured I'd tackle it. It is a whale of a book (pun intended) and is super long. Its definitely interesting but is so long and gets so dry at times. The author spends whole chapters on minute and seemingly irrelevant details, such as how to coil a specific type of rope in a ship. He spends numerous chapters discussing various types of whales and their characteristics. At times, it feels like you are reading a Wikipedia page (I first wrote encyclopedia instead of Wikipedia here, and realized that encyclopedia is quickly becoming outdated and may not even be a common term in 10 years). 

What fascinates me more than anything, is the authors knowledge on whales, history, literature, and humanity. Not only did computers not exist when he wrote the book, but libraries practically didn't exist either (there were some, but certainly not the way libraries are today). I find this to be the case with many classic novels. It becomes more about respect for the work than actual appreciation and enjoyment of reading. 

With that said, still an interesting story and certainly glad to have it checked off the list.