This Day In History: November 14, 1851

[TeeBone]

Next Wednesday, 11/14; marks the anniversay of
Moby-Dick being published published

I have 2 questions since most people on here appear to be fond of reading/writting and I wonder in people out there still read novels:
1. Is there a better way to start a book other than, "Call me Ishmael" ???
2. What is your favorite Novel ???

[Freakshow]

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/9/91/200px-CaptainMcCallister.png

Arr, I've got some customers. Call me back, Ishmael

[torker]

Dicky Moe is vastly superior.
http://www.dan-dare.org/Dan%20FRD/TomAndJerryDickyMoe.jpg

[ChrisTheCop]

A) It's not this day yet.
B) Great opening line yes, but my favorite novel has the best closing line evah.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

[LiddyRules]

1. Is there a better way to start a book other than, "Call me Ishmael" ??? Yes, several actually, or at least comparable. "Howard Roark laughed." "I am a sick man ... I am a spiteful man." "Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." "All this happened, more or less." "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." "It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times." " 'Oh no,' she cried, 'DaVinci has a code!' "

2. What is your favorite Novel ??? The Trial by Franz Kafka. Though I don't know if that's more a novel or novella. For short stories, Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. Love Gatsby. You can totally eliminate your old crappy life become awesome, throw great parties, live fast, die young.

[Fezticle98]

"It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times."


Not bad, for a monkey...

[Fallon]

November 14th rules!!!

[Thebazile78]

The Trial by Franz Kafka. Though I don't know if that's more a novel or novella. For short stories, Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky.

The Trial is more of a novella than a novel. I was supposed to have read it for my senior seminar and I'm sure I still have my copy, uncracked, in the basement book bin.

Honestly, I'm not big on Kafka, but I am familiar enough with his work to recognize it when it's referenced. I feel the same about Melville, although when I finally read Moby Dick, it was within the context of my "literary theory" course in college, so I actually got a lot more out of it than I would otherwise.

When I was a kid, I used to tell people that my favorite novel was A Tale of Two Cities mostly to see the look on their faces and to get them to shut up.

As I've gotten older, I stopped caring about shocking people and started caring about how I spent my time.

The ones I've read most often are:
Dracula
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus
Jurassic Park
The Red Tent
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
'salem's Lot
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Interview With the Vampire
The Vampire Lestat
Queen of the Damned

I tend to re-read books I enjoyed as a teenager (I was 10 when I read Two Cities and really didn't "get" it) to see if I still like them or because I find them comforting to go back to, even though I know how they'll turn out.

Sometimes, it's a way for me to read something with fresh eyes; for example, I first read Dracula when I was 12 or 13, but going back to it as an adult was very interesting because I picked up on more of the "R-rated" aspects than I had when I was younger.

I haven't re-read A Tale of Two Cities since our 7th grade literature class read an abridgement, so maybe it's time to revisit it.

[A.J.]

At first glance of this thread title, I thought El Mudo had returned.

[mendyweiss]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/photos/2001/222/fitzgeraldf.jpgA) It's not this day yet.
B) Great opening line yes, but my favorite novel has the best closing line evah.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

[Judge Smails]

Fuck November 14th! I celebrate Odd Couple Day. November 13th, baby! FTW!!!

On November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday, he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison. Sometime earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?

[King Hippos Bandaid]

November 14th rules!!!

I heard that 10 out of 10 Boys who are born on November 14th either Become Gay or a Pedophile

:king:

[Furtherman]

"And he piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon he would have shot his heart upon it."

[Chigworthy]

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9536/mastodoncd6b935eiy0.jpg

Google books has the entirety of Moby Dick:

http://books.google.com/books?id=cyokAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=moby+dick&as_brr=1#PPP5,M1