Captain Ahab seeks revenge on Moby-Dick who bit off his one leg

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This was not as bad as I expected it to be. I liked parts of it. I was bored with other parts. I also read the commentary that was included after the story was over. My edition is 670 pages.

Moby-Dick is three books in one. The first book is the story of the Pequod, its crew, Captain Ahab, and the search for the Whale. I liked this part the best. I liked Ismael and Queequeg are quite a pair.  Most of the humor come through them.

The second book is the information on whaling. That was mostly interesting.

The last part is the philosophy that Melville put in the book. Some of it was interesting (chapter 42--The Whiteness of the Whale) but most of it went over my head so was boring.

The commentary at the back of the book was mostly boring. I did like modern day criticism of D. H. Lawrence (from 1964). It goes with chapter 42 and is extremely timely for now.

I was glad I read it, but I doubt I will reread it.

More of a 3.75.  I have the ebook and the audiobook.  I listened the the audiobook and it was the most disappointing part of the book.  Being used to hearing Jean Shepard's narration, it was a shock to the system to hear someone else telling the story.  Especially because their narration was bland and a little momotoned.  All of the movie is there--with minor changes here and there.  The story switches back and forth between older Ralphie's present day and him flashing back to memories from his childhood.  It isn't all one long story based on Christmas like in the movie.  It was funny and a little weird considering I have been watching the movie multiple times a year since the 80's.  The story of the movie is ingrained in my memory, so it was odd hearing the story as a mish-mash of seperate memories.  Not a bad story, though I do regret purchasing the audio version.

This one doesn't much grab me. The plot is complex, and we learn about horse transportation, which isn't interesting even to a gal who loves a Gantt chart. There's a married woman he pursues who obviously doesn't reciprocate. The hero is brighter than anyone expects and likes champagne and endures a horrible physical ordeal, all familiar Francis tropes. But in this story the social aspect of horseracing feels toxic and hostile to women and Freddie, the amateur dick, is part of that hostility.

Also the name Freddie is unappealing, which fits. He's condescending to his employees, doesn't see the constant sexual harassment of or by his employees as a problem, and he doesn't want to go to the police because they weren't pleasant when they asked him about a corpse. 

Really, the problem is that no ending which includes Freddie carrying on won't be happy one.

Library copy

It's Juneteenth, the day the last enslaved person was told the war was over and they were free. Yesterday, I attended (via Zoom) a panel discussion organized by Next Gen Climate Action Committee, a political action group my friend works for, on Celebrating Juneteenth and Ensuring Black Voices in Progressive Spaces. It was a great discussion and I am glad my friend invited me, considering I live in Kansas and the group works in VA on VA matters/policies. Rep Don Scott really spoke to my head and heart and he was on for just a few minutes. 

It's rainy and much cooler here, so no poolside reading today. I've got a beef soup simmering in the slow cooker for dinner; just have to whip up some cornbread to go with it and I am good to go. Spending the day reading and tonight I am going to watch Soledad O'Brien's documentary on the early days of COVID-19 in the US (it is airing on Hearst stations, so I am hoping to catch it streaming online).

Tomorrow is Litha/Summer Solstice and I have plans: including a hamburger picnic (using a plant-based "ground beef") and making Lemon-Ginger-Raspberry Zinger sun tea, while reading in the sunshine. Sunday is Father's Day, so I making a special easy breakfast for the hubby to enjoy, followed by pool time and a nice dinner. 

I'm finishing up Birth of the Butterfly for BL-opoly, then taking the weekend off from the game; right after that I want to knock out finally Proper English by KJ Charles. For COYER #BLM RAT, I am reading The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole and New Year, Same Trash by Samantha Irby. That's my weekend. 

Next week I will be working my way through Beneath a Ruthless Sun and One Person, No Vote for the library's adult SRP prompts. I swapped out Once Upon a Wedding anthology (that first story is a slog and I am still not done with it) with Love by the Letters anthology which I should get done by the end of the week (it is only 3 stories). I might just skip to the Sonali Dev's and Pricilla Oliveras' stories in the Wedding anthology and call it good - those were the reasons for picking up the anthology in the first place. And then whatever the BL game goddesses decide for me to read. 

Happy Juneteenth! Happy Father's Day! Happy Reading!

My local library has re-opened for business. The Summer Reading Program (SRP) is still virtual; story time is on FB Live once a week and then you can grab a craft to do at home at the library's lobby. You log your reading and activities via Beanstack.org. There is also a story walk around the playground across the side street from the library; the story is changed out weekly. Computer Lab is still closed as well as the rooms to rent and the bathrooms. 

Honestly, I am glad the library is re-opened but I am taking precautions (the kids and I wearing masks, using the self-checkout kiosk rather than the front desk, 6ft distancing, etc). Our OverDrive is starting to be a PITA because everyone was borrowing so many books that I wanted that the wait times for some books was 6 weeks or more. And those books I need for the adult version of SRP - it's not how much (in minutes) reading you do, it is reading for the prompts given. And the SRP ends July 31st.

I picked up two books for two prompts: for true crime, Beneath A Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King; for the graphic novel prompt, The Dressmaker by Jen Wang. I picked up One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson from the #BLM and Social Justice lists going around. Finally, just because I am a weirdo, another disease book - The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steve Johnson.