What a book. I tried to read this once as a child, once as a teen, and now as an adult I’ve finally vanquished my white whale. But still only on audiobook. It’s a slog to get through, but now that I’ve finished it I feel very fond of it. Melville just wanted to list everything white he could think of and how he felt about it, go on a rant about how everyone else is wrong about whales and only his opinion (that they’re fish) matters, and convince people that whalers are actually the most noble sailors and Americans are the best at it. And honestly king. I can’t label this with stars because I wish I could give it 5 and 1 at the same time. My new white whale is still this book, but in print instead of audio.