EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

Be careful where you tread, this boat is on its way to reading the ginormous monstrosity that is Moby-Dick or, the Whale by Herman Melville. Here is can decide what our start date is (some time in October or November?) and how we want to go about reading it together.
Happy reading!

I'd like to join this buddy read! And I'd be cool with starting either Oct or Nov

I'd like to join too, either month is fine

I'm up for this but probably Nov at the rate I'm currently reading.

https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/bo...

I found this wonderful article on why we should read Moby Dick. I'm so excited for this! But can we do this in November?

I second reading this in November!! But besides that, hi everyone! Excited to read this book with you all!

I've already made a weekly schedule and put tabs in my book... am I a total nerd? oh yes!

Laura wrote: "I've already made a weekly schedule and put tabs in my book... am I a total nerd? oh yes!"

haha I love it! Once I get the copy I'm going to read that's definitely going to be my first step too!

Laura wrote: "I've already made a weekly schedule and put tabs in my book... am I a total nerd? oh yes!"

...654pp ÷ 31days = 21 pp/day. Or 136ch ÷ 31days = 4.4 ch/day. Can we do this in a month while juggling other books? Laura, you're a fast reader. What kind of schedule did you make? It would be more fun if we all read at somewhat the same pace.

That would be roughly 2ch/day or 11pp/day if we plan to do a month-read. We could also speed it up and do 3ch/day as a compromise? Laura, you or I can type up a schedule based on the 3 ch/day if everyone is agreeable, and to start Nov 1st?

*Read-at-your-own-pace or scheduled is fine with me. I just found that with long and difficult books that schedules have helped with boring chapters to get through them, and with difficult chapters to ask fellow readers for help understanding them. 🤗

^^I'd love to read it based on a schedule to help make it through the more boring parts!

I'm a pretty fast reader too and I think either of those would work Frances. I'd also love to hear what Laura was thinking for her schedule. I'm really open to whatever ya'll think for specifcs on that. But I know a group kinda schedule will definitely help me finish this beast of a book.

I think I’d prefer doing it by chapter. I hate walking away halfway through one, and 4 isn’t bad at all to crunch it into a month!!

May I join you, please? This book has been on my TBR list for ages. I agree with Adele, I also prefer reading by chapters. (But I think the arithmetic has gone a bit wrong somewhere. November has 30 days. 136 chapters, so it’s roughly 9 chapters every 2 days.)

Trisha wrote: "May I join you, please? This book has been on my TBR list for ages. I agree with Adele, I also prefer reading by chapters. (But I think the arithmetic has gone a bit wrong somewhere. November has 3..."

Hi Trisha! Welcome!

Kaisser and I have been trying to set this Buddy Read up for a while now. This is why I have to postpone The Return of the Native until December.

Thank you for pointing out the 30 days in November. I’ve been computing schedules for my other reads for October as well and got confused. Hee hee.

From glancing at the pages, 3ch/day (total 46 days) seems feasible while juggling other books too. The comments people post are that it gets very detailed like about whales (?) and life as a sailor. So 4ch/day (total 34 days) might be too much whale.

What do the other readers think? 🤗

Thank you, Frances. I’d be happy with 3 chapters/day, that leaves more time for other books. But I can fit in with what others want to read.

3 chapters/day seems reasonable, but I'll adapt to the pace the group chooses

Thank you, Adele and Kaisser, for your feedback: you both prefer 3ch/day. I do as well. I’m a slow reader as my memory and concentration are not as good as they used to be.

Adele, did you say you preferred 4ch/day?

Storm and Laura, how many ch/day would you prefer to read? 3ch/day (total 46 days) or 4ch/day ( 34 days)? We’re trying to find a good pace for everyone. And we can always adjust this pace as we go along, if we notice that some of us find the pace difficult to keep up with. 🤗

I'd be happy to start with 3 chapters a day and seeing how everyone likes that as we go along. Finishing in 46 days vs 34 is no problem to me.

I would like to join this read too. I like the idea of reading a few chapters a day. 3 chapters a day sounds feasible to me.

Frances wrote: "Laura wrote: "I've already made a weekly schedule and put tabs in my book... am I a total nerd? oh yes!"

...654pp ÷ 31days = 21 pp/day. Or 136ch ÷ 31days = 4.4 ch/day. Can we do this in a month wh..."

Hey - sorry for late reply. I was away for a few days.
My copy is the Wordsworth Classics edition - it's 469 pages long.
I'm happy to start with 3 chapters a day and take a little longer than a month - might be more manageable and seems like the popular choice :)

I typed up two schedules - one for 3 chapters per day and one for 9 chapters every 2 days if you want to finish in the month of Nov. Just handy for reference I guess.
Sorry formatting is a bit off - couldn't copy the table very well.

Date 3 Ch

1 Nov 2020 1-3
2 Nov 2020 4-6
3 Nov 2020 5-7
4 Nov 2020 8-10
5 Nov 2020 11-13
6 Nov 2020 14-16
7 Nov 2020 17-19
8 Nov 2020 20-22
9 Nov 2020 23-25
10 Nov 2020 26-28
11 Nov 2020 29-31
12 Nov 2020 32-34
13 Nov 2020 35-37
14 Nov 2020 38-40
15 Nov 2020 41-43
16 Nov 2020 44-46
17 Nov 2020 47-49
18 Nov 2020 50-52
19 Nov 2020 53-55
20 Nov 2020 56-58
21 Nov 2020 59-61
22 Nov 2020 62-64
23 Nov 2020 65-67
24 Nov 2020 68-70
25 Nov 2020 71-73
26 Nov 2020 74-76
27 Nov 2020 77-79
28 Nov 2020 80-82
29 Nov 2020 83-85
30 Nov 2020 86-88
1 Dec 2020 89-91
2 Dec 2020 92-94
3 Dec 2020 95-97
4 Dec 2020 98-100
5 Dec 2020 101-103
6 Dec 2020 104-106
7 Dec 2020 107-109
8 Dec 2020 110-112
9 Dec 2020 113-115
10 Dec 2020 116-118
11 Dec 2020 119-121
12 Dec 2020 122-124
13 Dec 2020 125-127
14 Dec 2020 128-130
15 Dec 2020 131-133
16 Dec 2020 134-136

Date 4.5 Ch
1 Nov 2020 1-4
2 Nov 2020 5-9
3 Nov 2020 10-13
4 Nov 2020 14-18
5 Nov 2020 19-23
6 Nov 2020 24-27
7 Nov 2020 28-32
8 Nov 2020 33-36
9 Nov 2020 37-40
10 Nov 2020 41-45
11 Nov 2020 46-50
12 Nov 2020 51-54
13 Nov 2020 55-59
14 Nov 2020 60-63
15 Nov 2020 64-68
16 Nov 2020 69-72
17 Nov 2020 73-76
18 Nov 2020 77-81
19 Nov 2020 82-85
20 Nov 2020 86-90
21 Nov 2020 91-94
22 Nov 2020 95-99
23 Nov 2020 100-103
24 Nov 2020 104-108
25 Nov 2020 109-112
26 Nov 2020 113-117
27 Nov 2020 118-121
28 Nov 2020 122-126
29 Nov 2020 127-130
30 Nov 2020 131-136

Laura thank you for taking the time to do that!! Looks good!

Can I just pop in to recommend the audiobook narrated by Anthony Heald? Its free on audible stories, and it is a performance of singular vision and beauty. I can't listen to other versions because nothing can compare to his masterpiece. I loved it so much, I wrote him a fan letter. I just want more people to discover it really badly, and so I couldn't resist sorry haha

That's cool! I might listen and read together.

Laura wrote: "I typed up two schedules - one for 3 chapters per day and one for 9 chapters every 2 days if you want to finish in the month of Nov. Just handy for reference I guess.
Sorry formatting is a bit off ..."

Yahoo! Thanks for this, Laura! 😘

@The Lazy Reader -how do we address you?Would you have a link to access this audiobook? Many thanks! 🤗

Hello! Just Lazy should be fine XD
And here's the link to the book! Moby Dick I hope you like it as much as I did!

Hey folks!!
We're on the final countdown to November! How's everyone feeling about The Whale? I'm excited to get started!

Laura wrote: "Hey folks!!
We're on the final countdown to November! How's everyone feeling about The Whale? I'm excited to get started!"

Yes, so excited!

Btw, Laura, how do you type your review links for the EHRTBM house challenge that converts the url to look like a book title?

I'm looking forward to it!

Frances wrote: "Laura wrote: "Hey folks!!
We're on the final countdown to November! How's everyone feeling about The Whale? I'm excited to get started!"

Yes, so excited!

Btw, Laura, how do you type your review ..."

Hey Frances,

If you click on the (some html is ok) link just above the box you write your comment in - there is some pre done html for you to use -see below

left arrow a href="copy the url to your review here">type the book title or whatever you want to appear as the text for your link here left arrow/a right arrow

You copy from a href= to the /a and fill in as I've described above.
you also need to add the corresponding symbol where i've written left arrow and right arrow. (<>)
I had to write that rather than use the symbol so I could show the html and not just the formatted result.
I hope that makes sense and helps!

I'm quite excited to begin on the 1st. I plan to read the introductory notes and other information by the 31st. I have selected the Penguin edition (mentioned in the first post by Besty). It seems to have everything required. I'm also looking at additional resources online.

Hi Saanj, welcome to our buddy read! We are happy to have you onboard.

Yay! Welcome, Saanj. Thank you for the lesson on the review post, Laura. I'm sorry for the late reply. I wasn't getting notifications for this thread.

I'm so excited to start! I wish I had time to read the Intro too. I'm rushing to finish WAP so I don't get bogged-down with it in November.

Just to clarify, we'll be reading 3 chapters a day, right?

Anyone up for Middlemarch BuddyRead after this?

Just a suggestion for anyone who has Kindle Unlimited - look for the AmazonClassics version of the book Moby Dick. It’s free to borrow the Kindle plus audio. (It’s also available to buy without paying the monthly subscription, though other versions may be better/cheaper.) I haven’t started this book yet, but have read other AmazonClassics books & usually find them fairly good quality.

Hey Trisha, I have that one too. I found the Penguin edition better as it has explanatory notes, along with maps, illustrations, and a glossary of nautical terms (which I will need as I don't know a single one).

I'm eyeing another edition which contains letters between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Melville discussing Melville's thoughts about what he wrote and his feelings for Hawthorne (I'm very curious about these extra insights).

I love editions with extra insights as well! I'm using my mom's old copy which I'm grabbing tonight so I'll see which edition she has. Hopefully it's a nice one but I don't think I'll search for anything else even if hers kind of sucks lol

Shaina wrote: "Hey Trisha, I have that one too. I found the Penguin edition better as it has explanatory notes, along with maps, illustrations, and a glossary of nautical terms (which I will need as I don't know ..."

That sounds good, Shaina. Penguin books are a reliable choice. I want to try using the audio version with this book, though I’m new to audio so may revert to reading instead. Just thought another option might prove useful.

Frances wrote “...Anyone up for Middlemarch BuddyRead after this?”

Yes, Frances, I’d like to try. I started reading it some time ago but wasn’t in the right mood & gave up on it then. Reading it with others would be a good incentive to continue it.

Trisha, I agree Penguin books are reliable. I'm new to audio too. The Lazy Reader has shared a great resource in this thread for Moby Dick audio. Thank you for sharing the amazon book option. I'm sure many might find it helpful.

On the audio front I tried listening to Frankenstein while I read, using the same link shared. I managed to listen to half the book simultaneously. Then gave up on the audio and continued to read. The narrator was quite good. Good luck with the audio. Please let me know how it goes for you.

Hey everyone - welcome Sanj :)
I've got the Wordsworth Classics edition so hopefully that will see me through.
If we went for 3 chapters a day I think that was going to take us to mid Dec. Hopefully that suits everyone.

Also Frances - I'd be up for Middlemarch sometime but maybe Jan/Feb?? I'm over committing at the mo!

I’m getting so excited to read this book! Haha I was watching House yesterday and they were talking about the whale and obsession and it was just such nice timing to get me interested all over again.

I’d be interested in Middlemarch, but wouldn’t be able to until after January (because of the other Don Quixote buddy read that can’t come soon enough!!!)

Also, question. Does anyone else have like 50 or so pages at the end of their copy that’s all letters and essays and stuff? Because I’m interested in reading them, but on the one hand would have to account for that and read through the story a little faster, but on the other I don’t know if it’s totally necessary? Anyone have any clue?

Adele, I'm also quite excited to begin Moby Dick and I'm looking forward to the Don Quixote one too.

To answer your question, I do have stuff at the end of my copy which is a glossary of nautical terms, maps, explanatory notes, etc. I think your edition may have letters between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Melville. I plan to read those after I'm done with the buddy read (I have them in another edition) as not everyone might be interested in it or have an edition which has this information. The map, notes, glossary and illustrations will definitely be read to undertand the text better.

@Laura, @Adele, @Trisha, Would Middlemarch in March or maybe April be okay?

Either of those should work for me! Hard to plan so far out though

Laura wrote: "I typed up two schedules - one for 3 chapters per day and one for 9 chapters every 2 days if you want to finish in the month of Nov. Just handy for reference I guess.
Sorry formatting is a bit off ..."

@Laura, there's an error in your schedule for the 3 chapters/day. Starting November 3 where we should be reading Chapters 7-9, onwards. It's 1:43am here and I'm rushing WAP. Maybe I'm just cross-eyed and loopy? I'm putting the chapters in my planner.

Frances wrote: "@Laura, @Adele, @Trisha, Would Middlemarch in March or maybe April be okay?"

Any time - I have masses of other books to read so there’s no hurry!

Frances wrote: "@Laura, @Adele, @Trisha, Would Middlemarch in March or maybe April be okay?"

Yep either would work for me :)

@Frances - well spotted!!
I hope I've corrected it - here goes again for the 3 chapters per day version:

Date From Ch To Ch
1 Nov 1 to 3
2 Nov 4 to 6
3 Nov 7 to 9
4 Nov 10 to 12
5 Nov 13 to 15
6 Nov 16 to 18
7 Nov 19 to 21
8 Nov 22 to 24
9 Nov 25 to 27
10 Nov 28 to 30
11 Nov 31 to 33
12 Nov 34 to 36
13 Nov 37 to 39
14 Nov 40 to 42
15 Nov 43 to 45
16 Nov 46 to 48
17 Nov 49 to 51
18 Nov 52 to 54
19 Nov 55 to 57
20 Nov 58 to 60
21 Nov 61 to 63
22 Nov 64 to 66
23 Nov 67 to 69
24 Nov 70 to 72
25 Nov 73 to 75
26 Nov 76 to 78
27 Nov 79 to 81
28 Nov 82 to 84
29 Nov 85 to 87
30 Nov 88 to 90
1 Dec 91 to 93
2 Dec 94 to 96
3 Dec 97 to 99
4 Dec 100 to 102
5 Dec 103 to 105
6 Dec 106 to 108
7 Dec 109 to 111
8 Dec 112 to 114
9 Dec 115 to 117
10 Dec 118 to 120
11 Dec 121 to 123
12 Dec 124 to 126
13 Dec 127 to 129
14 Dec 130 to 132
15 Dec 133 to 135
16 Dec Epilogue

In case anyone else is going to read it digital, this is the copy I'm going to use: Moby Dick. That site is great for public domain books

Thank you, Kaisser! What a great resource.

Laura wrote: "@Frances - well spotted!!
I hope I've corrected it - here goes again for the 3 chapters per day version:

Date From Ch To Ch
1 Nov 1 to 3
2 Nov 4 to 6
3 Nov 7 to 9
4 Nov 10 to 12
5 Nov 13 to..."

Hi Laura! You did that so quickly! Thank you! ❤️ I should have offered to fix it if you didn't have the chance to. I'm sorry. My head was mush and my eyes were crossed by this time. I was taking a breather between epilogues of WAP. 😬