Moby Dick

I listened to this at week maybe three weeks ago so I'm trying to remember everything.

Once upon a time I tried to actually read it versus listening to it and couldn't remember anything beyond, "Call Me Ishmael".  It's very old fashioned which may be hard for younger readers but is definitely worth being called a classic.  The difference between old time books and things written in the last hundred years is the vast amount of extra information that editors now adays won't let into the book for fear it will bog the reader down.  And it can.  Everything you ever wanted to know about whales but were afraid to ask is included like the difference between a sperm whale and a humpback whale for starters.

Like the movie Jaws the real action comes at the end when you finally meet the elusive Moby Dick, the great white whale (sperm whale if I remember rightly) that Captain Ahab is obsessed with ever since she took his leg.  Unfortunately the name Ahab is a name better known with this work than the Bible where it's taken from.  Ahab, you may or may not remember is the wicked king married to Jezebel.  There's a reason why he shares the name of the notorious king that most of us in the 21st century have probably forgotten.  I'm sure it's lost on me.

If you want an old timey adventure story I'd suggest you start with Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Then when you're feeling more adventurous... it's not bad.  My stars... this one is tough.  I want to say 8 stars but for regular folk like me I might have to go down to 7 

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

So you've seen the movie previews and heard about the cool Broadway play with the horse puppets.  Did you know that the book is is written entirely in the first person from the horse's point of view?  Joey is the main character (named Joey because it rhymes with Zoey the family's work horse).  It's an epic adventure that isn't an epic task to read.  There aren't enough good reads that take place during the first world war.  It's a lost time as all the survivors of that war are either dead or were too young to remember. 

I don't want to give away too much about the plot except that Joey is bought by Albert's father when Albert was only 13.  He was drunk at the time and didn't need the horse but quickly Albert becomes attached to him and Joey to Albert.  When the war starts, Albert's father is in desperate need of money and sells the horse while his son is away.  Albert, only 16 at the time finds out just in time to say goodbye to the horse and vows that he will find him.

I was delighted to hear the adventures from Joey's point of view.  During world war one, many soldiers went into the war thinking they could still use cavalry in an age of machine guns.  They quickly learned how mistaken they were.  Joey goes from English to German to English again with many adventures in between.  A few parts got me weepy but it was worth the read.  It's a real feel gooder.  I give it a 7 and a half.