Whenever it is a "damp, drizzly November in my soul," Ishmael says at the start of Moby-Dick, "I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."

This November, we're going with him. Prepare for a seafaring, heart-pounding, history-haunted adventure that may change your life. 

If you have ever tried to read Moby-Dick but couldn't get through it on your own, this club is for you.

If you have already read Moby-Dick but you want to go deeper into its depths, this club is also for you.

We are going to read it over four months, and we are going to make it fun. We are going to squeeze all the joy and magic out of the text, all the love and humor, all the science and superstition, all the scariness and rage, all the references to Greek and Roman mythology, all the references to Shakespeare and the Bible, all the enormous sea creatures — all of it. 

Each week we'll also hear illuminating anecdotes that tell the story behind the story.

We'll learn about Herman Melville's life and how he turned his experiences into art.

We'll learn how he struggled at home and in his career and how he bravely faced commercial failure: Moby-Dick was a flop in Melville's lifetime.

And we'll learn how the novel was rediscovered half a century after his death, and why many readers, professors, and critics consider it the Great American Novel. 

Who is leading this course?

Christopher Frizzelle led a Moby-Dick book club for FrizzLit back in 2020, an experience he wrote about for the Washington Post. It is the most-requested title for a "re-do" club, so we're doing it again! Frizzelle is the founder of FrizzLit, the editor and publisher of FrizzLit Editions, the former editor-in-chief of The Stranger, and the inventor and host of the Silent Reading Party. 

Rebecca Brown led a FrizzLit club reading Herman Melville's short stories — including "Billy Budd" and "Bartleby the Scrivener" — in 2024. She is the author of 16 books, including the forthcoming multi-genre work Obscure Destinies, to published by The Fellow Travelers Series, and as well as a forthcoming memoir called My Animal Kingdom, to be published by FrizzLit Editions. 

What to read before the first meeting

Nothing. You do not need to read anything before our first meeting. Come ready to hear some historical context for the novel. We'll also talk about Herman Melville's life and his friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne, to whom the novel is dedicated.

All meetings are recorded

They will be sent to your email address within 48 hours of each meeting.

Recommended edition

We recommend either edition shown at the top of this page. The paperback on the left is available right here. The hardback on the right appears to be out of print, but you may be able to find it at a used bookstore or library. Both editions have the iconic illustrations by Rockwell Kent.

Art

Herman Melville splendidly illustrated by Kathryn Rathke