It’s been over 20 years since I’ve read the book, but it really struck a chord with me as a teenager. I choose it for a book report assignment, my English teac

It’s been over 20 years since I’ve read the book, but it really struck a chord with me as a teenager. I choose it for a book report assignment, my English teacher advised against it but I managed to convince her I was up to the challenge. Ended up getting an A and loving the book. I took meticulous notes and spent weeks studying its intricacies. I don’t remember now much except these long chapters of “useless” whale facts. They stood out then and were so memorable I still vaguely remember them the most today. Just like how Tolkien could diverge from the story to tell the history of a single tree for a dozen pages. I “accidentally” read The Lord of The Rings because the French translations of the books had cool covers, and I had no idea what they were and were way above my level at the time but I loved them also. Mellville was on another level when it came to the world building in Moby Dick, even for such a self contained story it felt completely immersive and real. I really should read it again one day.