First Line of a Novel (7 of 11) Moby Dick

There aren't many people I know who openly profess to reading books that we were supposed to read as seniors in high school.

My friend Tom Angleberger, who is a "Roanoke Times" columnist, is one of these noble folks, and we would dedicate this entry to him but he actually prefers Charles Dickens over Herman Melville.

Nevertheless, we are going with "Moby Dick" as our choice for the first line of a novel this week.

I must admit to never reading the book (though I do have a comic book version), but I did check out the film version (poster is pictured here) from the Radford City Library when I was going to Radford University all those years ago. It is vintage John Huston.

Here is the first line of the novel:


"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."

Interestingly enough, the entire book is available in online form through Princeton University.