Some good lines in today’s Whale Weekly.

“It does seem to me, that herein we see the rare virtue of a strong individual vitality, and the rare virtue of thick walls, and the rare virtue of interior spaciousness.”

“Of erections, how few are domed like St. Peter’s!”

#MobyDick #WhaleWeekly #Melville

I would point out that, in chapter 60, “the Line”, while it is true Melville is tarrying with the old racist theory that Caucasian peoples were the last word in human evolution, and that the Georgians and Circassians the world’s most beautiful, he is taking about rope. There is an satirical aspect to extending racial theories and colorism to tar-coated plant fibers, fond though he clearly is of the whale-line.

#WhaleWeekly #MobyDick #Melville

"I would put up with the half of any decent man’s blanket."

Oh my god it's the "we have to share one bed" trope!

#WhaleWeekly #MobyDick

Now I'm reading/listening to #WhaleWeekly that I signed up for almost a year ago. Which is similar to Dracula, except it's #MobyDick and it takes 2 years to read (which is usually how long it takes for me to read regular books!)

I'm now on week 2, or the Etymology and speaking of queer dreams. Leaving this without a comment...

"He was ever dusting his old lexicons and grammars, with a queer handkerchief, mockingly embellished with all the gay flags of all the known nations of the world."

#WhaleWeekly it is fascinating reading the debate about whales being fish or not at a time when it was a hot topic.

There was something to be said for the experience of watching an exciting series like 'Lost' or whatever in The Old Days™. Anxiously waiting for a whole week(!) for each episode, breathlessly discussing with friends, and allowing your imagination run wild with speculation - it was a fun meta. I like taking time to let plot beats sink in and consider implications etc., which is why I've enjoyed #DraculaDaily and #WhaleWeekly so much. It's so tempting to immediately 'play next episode' These Days™

Moby Dick is a great work because manages to soar while not taking itself too seriously. Melville via Ishmael delivers a grand paean to whaling that centers the bloody, exploitative, and frankly absurd nature of the business.

I understand he finished a rather simple, semi-autobiographical draft, then binged Shakespeare and decided to rewrite it as a grand tragedy. I'd love to see what that process was like.

#mobydick #WhaleWeekly #greatbooks #writers

@whit_whal
@bookstodon

Up to chapter 16 and I'm beginning to think Moby Dick might be Actually Quite Good. The writing kind of reminds me of Lovecraft without the horror, plus I actually laughed at a funny bit which is more than I was expecting from a 'dusty old classic'. Looking forward to the remaining... *checks notes*... 2 years of #WhaleWeekly

Oh no, I am way behind on #WhaleWeekly
I'm really enjoying wondering around the town of New Bedford at the moment, and taking in the details of the setting. I love all the descriptive writing of the interiors and the weather etc. It's easy to imagine huddling for warmth in these roughly finished, poorly lit little spots. Fave line today so far:

"In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers."

The Whale Weekly FAQ says "On average, we’re covering a chapter every week or two, but the pace will vary - some weeks you’ll get multiple emails and others you’ll get none."
Between Dec 17-21, it's ran from chapter 2-19. I guess this was a busy week in the book, because OMG. I'm behind on another book I'm supposed to be reading so I might have to drop out of this one.

#WhaleWeekly

I signed up for "Whale Weekly" not "Dangerfish Daily."

#Substack
#Ishmael
#MobyDick
#WhaleWeekly

#WhaleWeekly en el que pasan dos semanas sin un mail pero esta semana me mandan 5. Weekly por los cojones.

Today's top tier brain massage is listening to Lofi Girl's "Study Lofi" playlist on Spotify and reading #WhaleWeekly

#WhaleWeekly update - Gay

Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequeg’s arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife.

#MobyDick

Viene fuerte el #WhaleWeekly

@hester well #DraculaDaily is over (until May when it starts up again) - #WhaleWeekly isn't epistolary but it does have the benefit of having just started https://whaleweekly.substack.com/about

I love how Ishmael presents why he doesn’t go to sea as a captain or admiral as though we should assume someone asked has him to.

#WhaleWeekly

Absolutely delighted that #WhaleWeekly has started and the #MobyDick fandom on Tumblr is going to get way more lively

The first post dropped today, so plenty of time to read it before next week’s installment. And each post links to both an audio version and an annotated text. One of today’s annotations explains the Pythagorean fart joke Melville makes, so, ya know, it’s got that going for it 😂

#WhaleWeekly #UnsolicitedMobyDick

I love that the Whale Weekly emails show up on my inbox as being from my buddy Ishmael, who is going to sea for his mental health.

I read Moby-Dick for the first time in late August/early September 2020 after having been home by myself for almost six months. I was surprised, and not a little chagrined, to completely fall in love with it.

I commend Whale Weekly to anyone who wants a manageable way to tackle the novel: https://whaleweekly.substack.com/

#WhaleWeekly #UnsolicitedMobyDick