Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Reading Moby Dick, 8: Uh-Oh

Who happily wades through all the whaling information only to be bogged down in the PLOT of the last 100 pages when the Pequod finally seems as though it will find this fish? (Yes, I know Moby Dick is not a “fish” as I carefully read the whaling information.)

It’s not that I’m bored, just that this book is not always an easy one to pick up at the end of the day. It’s big and heavy! Plus, it takes a while to get back into the language and flow, and by that time, I’m asleep. (Hmm…light bulb here: I suppose I could skip watching the New Jersey Housewives and read instead?)

Anyway, would Ahab let a silly thing like sleepiness stop him from his goals? I will finish the book no later than one week from today. If I don’t, I’ll do something dramatic that involves monetary loss on my part. Send a blog reader on an all-expenses paid trip to Nantucket? Or maybe a literary journal subscription? One of those two.

I found the text online in case you’d like to read the book but don’t want to lug it around and you haven’t broken down and bought a Kindle/iPad/George Jetson Book Reader yet. Go here to begin! [Spoiler alert: the synopsis gives away the ending!]

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.