Call me Ishmael...and then call me bored

Recently, I found myself thinking about all the classic novels I've never read. These novels are a part of the canon, but for some reason, never crossed my path during my education. It's not that I avoided the literature classes -- on the contrary, I took as many as I could fit into my class schedule. In fact, while attending the University of Missouri at Columbia, I took all four semesters of what's known as "The Humanities Sequence." During those two years I studied fiction, philosophy, art, music and architecture from the times of Homer to the contemporary Tony Morrison. However, the sequence focused mostly on European masters due to the Americas being relatively young entities in comparison.

In high school I read Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Harper Lee and others, but somehow I missed reading such classic American novels like "The Scarlet Letter," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Portrait of a Lady" and "Moby Dick." Which brings me back to the title of this post. I decided that I was going to correct this oversight in my education and start reading some of these missed classics.

I went to my local library and finding their copy of "The Scarlet Letter" checked out, I decided to start with "Moby Dick." I walked to the section on the shelves containing author's last names starting with "M-E-H" and WHOA! "Moby Dick" is really THAT long? The book would make an excellent door stopper. It's huge. I had no idea the novel was that long. I could not believe that some people had to read this in high school. Did they read an abridged version or something? It seems like it would take an entire school year to study it.

But I decided not to judge the book by its cover -- or weight, in this case -- and I checked it out anyway. I picked it up that evening and started reading it. So far, it has not been smooth sailing. So far Ishmael is talking about joining up with the whalers and how to find a really cheap hotel. I'm determined to get through it, so we will see how it goes. One of my friends has loaned me "The Scarlet Letter" so I will have something just in case I abandon ship.