Moby-Dick or, the Whale by Herman Melville

 654 pages / 23 hrs, 58 mins

"'It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hawsers. A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it.'

"So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception."  --from the publisher

I doubt I can say anything about this classic that hasn't already been said. Parts are funny and parts are thrilling, but most of it is truly an encyclopedia of whaling. The writing is exceptional, as expected. Unless you want every detail of whales and whaling, I would highly recommend reading an abridged version. I give it three out of five stars because so many chapters are informational and do not advance the story.

Leviathan (Unwritten 4), by Mike Carey

Leviathan (Unwritten 4), by Mike Carey, 144 pages

This fourth installment in the Unwritten series is my favorite to date.  It features a romance between Tommy and Lizzie, someone finally figures out that Savoy's a vampire, a creepy puppet master, and Tommy's journey into the story of Moby Dick.  The best part is when Tommy finds himself inside the great whale along with all other literary characters who were swallowed by a whale in a story.  His mission, as told to him by Frankenstein (it makes just as little sense in the book), is to find 'the source', or the truth of all things-  which is about as confusing as deciphering the symbols in Moby Dick.

A bonus in this volume is another look at the rabbit known as Pauly Bruckner- thrown down the staircase in the last volume, here the reader finds out what happens in the staircase.

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff - 272 pages

What if god was a teenage boy?  What if he was lazy and didn't like to do any work?  What if he only got out of bed to chase after the latest pretty girl he has fallen in love with?  What if he tied the weather into his emotions causing catastrophic disasters with his romantic upheavals?  And what is he going to do to save the poor whales?
Meg Rosoff writes very interesting and unique books.  This one definitely lived up to that description.  It is both funny, irreverent, offensive and utterly readable all at the same time.  I couldn't put it down - reading it in one setting and staying up way too late to finish it.  While not a book for everybody, I would definitely keep it in mind for those who like unusual stories and characters.