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5/5. Based on the shipwreck of the Essex. A whaler based out of Nantucket, it was sunk when an angry sperm whale rammed it. This story was the inspiration for Moby Dick. The portrayal of cannibalism the crew was forced to resort to in order to stay alive is horrifying. (Side note-apparently cannibalism became so common after shipwrecks that when survivors were rescued they were quick to say when they hadn‘t resorted to cannibalism 😳)

#FirstLineFridays

Like a giant bird of prey, the whaleship moved lazily up the western coast of South America, zigging and zagging across a living sea of oil.

@CoverToCoverGirl Thank you for recommending this book to me. It was so good. I just don't know if I could have done what those few did to survive. It's gross 🤢 to me. Now I have to read Moby Dick sometime.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

@CoverToCoverGirl recommend this to me. Started Audiobook earlier.

#SundayFunday

1. In the Heart of the Sea
2. I‘ll have to find one
3. I love reading outside on a hot summer day underneath the shade of the tree!

Tagging @rubyslippersreads @Branwen @cwarnier

My husband and I finished this book while driving today. Tomorrow we start the latest Rivers of London book. In the Heart of the Sea was good and very interesting, but it was hard to read about what those sailors endured. The wreck of the Essex was the incident Melville based Moby Dick on. I almost finished Finlay Donovan is Killing It on my walks. Headed back home tomorrow. 😢 #audiowalk

A few years ago, I read Moby Dick; this year my husband and I decided to listen to this book about the incident that inspired that book. It was a disaster from the beginning. Pile the terrible things that happened on top of a captain who was unwilling to assert his authority, it‘s a surprise anyone at all survived. We went out for my husband‘s 1st extended trip since his illness. We just sat by the bay and relaxed for 4 hrs. I walked a mile.

I love narrative nonfiction, and In the Heart of the Sea is the best of the genre that I‘ve read in a while. The story of the shipwreck and its survivors is riveting, and I also found myself very interested in the brief history of Nantucket. For a story from the early 1800s, it has a lot of relevant things to say about racism and classicism and family. Very highly recommended.

Picked up my copy of In the Heart of the Sea for the 2020 Big Read Lakeshore 😁
Thanks #HerrickDistrictLibrary !

My initial grounds for reading the following book was for my love of literature of the sea, the romanticism of whaling, and its confluence with 19th century New England. In the Heart of the Sea navigates the true story of the Essex whaleship out of Nantucket in 1819, which was Melville‘s inspiration to writing his masterpiece. This was an enjoyable account to read and the movie was also very well done. Highly recommend to the fellow thalassophile.

This was an experiment for me. My father keeps suggesting that I read Moby Dick. I have had no interest. I thought that if I knew more about the real life story I might be more inclined to pick up Moby Dick. It didn‘t work. While I am sure this book is well researched and it does a good job of conveying the hell the sailors suffered, the book dragged on for me. #bookspinbingo

#3books #thathavebeenmadeintomovies
I am not a serial killer was the first book I read by Dan Wells and I loved it, the movie not so much.
In the Heart of the Sea, I saw the movie first, the book added lots of fascinating info, it's one of the best nonfiction I've ever read, and I strongly recommend it.
With Jurassic Park I was surprised how intellectual the book was.
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Today's listen. Nonfiction account of the Essex crew

#Boat #BoundTogetherJune
#Ship #Whale

The majority of the time the men are in their boats and not the whale ship Essex.

the subgenre of Nonfiction Pre-20th Century Oceanic Tragedies does, has, and will always fuck

Now that I‘ve finally read Moby Dick, it‘s time to read the true story that inspired Herman Melville. #NFNov #currentread

I found this book in a second hand bookshop and finished it in one sitting. I didn't know anything about the Essex or Nantucket before and it was very fascinating. Usually I'm not a big fan of non fiction books but this one is written very captivating.

🔸And again I haven't been on Litsy for a while. I can't even explain it. Sometimes I just have phases where I am more of an offline person.😅But now I am excited to post and participate again! 😊

I have enjoyed all of Philbrick‘s books, but I do think this is my favorite. Like many, after reading it I felt it was finally time to tackle Moby Dick. I can‘t believe I waited so long to read Moby because I am absolutely loving it.

#TallShipCelebration #TSC2019 #Sea

A possible book to movie reading and viewing? Have to watch out for those killer whales 🐋!

#MarchIntoThe70s #HungryHeart
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=boJhWtw-6Gg

This whale 🐋 had a hungry heart for man flesh!

Day 16: #intothemystic #marchintothe70s

🎶 Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic 🎶

@Lizpixie @Cinfhen

#MarchIntoThe70s #WildWorld
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k_0U3DlLFSU

It sure is a wild world when a sperm whale 🐋 attaches a ship!

This is a book I‘m going to read this year and watch the movie afterwards.

This was a very interesting story that was very well done. I didn‘t really know anything about Nantucket or the Essex before reading this book but Philbrick did an excellent job leading me through the story. I haven‘t seen the movie but I‘m not sure if it could hold a candle to this wonderful book.

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this! I‘m not typically a voluntary reader of nonfiction, but the way this is written with more of a fictionalized, narrative feel rather than a “textbook” feel made it such an enjoyable read.

Book mail finally came 😬 (book haul photo to come when second package arrives 😅)

ANYWAY. Look at this gorgeous cover 😍 Loving the colors!

I‘m still reading Moby Dick. But grabbed this off my TBR for something less chunky to read during son‘s music lessons. There‘s a globe in the waiting room for a photo op!

A bit obsessed right now with that place (Nantucket) and its whaling era. 🐳 ⚓️

And how did I not know there‘s a movie based on this true story? 👀

This is how I feel after reading this. It isn‘t an adventure. It is a tragedy but Philbrick does an amazing job telling this story. I was captivated and horrified throughout. He doesn‘t stray away from the gritty details of whale hunting, or the racial aspects of what happened. But he does bring this story to life, with tons of information and facts, incredible world building bringing this gruesome history to the page.

It‘s about damn time I got to this book. I‘ve had this for a long time. And the entire time I planned on pairing it with Moby Dick! Well here we are! I might watch the movie starring Hemsworth after reading it!

Great story! Seemed to drag on though!

Unfortunately the whalers of the 1800‘s didn‘t have a way to #SOS so this group of sailors on the Essex were adrift at sea for 3 months. It‘s a harrowing tale of survival, bad decisions, and cannibalism.
#abbainaugust

I was not familiar with the heartbreaking tragedy of the whaleship Essex. The author does an amazing job of telling the story in a concise way without getting bogged down in too many details. What I loved was the way he interjected psychology of disasters as each new tragedy unfolded. There are so many moral and ethical questions to ponder while reading this while the perseverance and bravery of these men was so inspiring.

It must be the year of cannibalism for me, as this is the third book involving cannibalism that I‘ve read in as many months. This is the horrific story of the whaling ship Essex from Nantucket that was attacked and destroyed by a sperm whale in 1820. Members of the crew survived for around 90 days at sea and were forced to eat one another to survive. A truly disturbing story of survival. I used this for #pop18.

Family vacation calls for the family bedroom. 😂😂 we just spent three hours at the pool so now we‘re having rest period. I plan on reading my book but let‘s be honest, I‘ll probably be the one of us that naps. 😆

This mortal life decays apace
How soon the bubble‘s broke
Adam and all his numerous race
Are vanity and smoke

This is the inscription to the headstone for Rebecca Nickerson, mother of cabin boy to the whale ship Essex, Thomas Nickerson. They don‘t do inscriptions like they used to! ⚰️ 💀

ETA: his father‘s reads:

Crush‘d as the moth beneath thy hand
We moulder to the dust
Our feeble powers can ne‘er withstand
And all our beauty‘s lost

#GetMovin #WayDownWeGo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7IHOXkiV8

Way down we go to the heart of the sea 🌊
Beware the white whale 🐋

If you are looking for a straightforward adventure story about survival at sea, this is not it. Instead, this is a tragic narrative that meanders into subjects like environmental degradation, the psychology of starvation, and the relationship between Quackers and capitalism. And Moby Dick. Fascinating.

I seem to be on a harrowing tales streak these days. Whaling was an inhumane endeavor. 😑

Never did I think I would enjoy a book about whaling! Excellent read! I highly recommend it! The movie isn‘t bad either.

We‘re getting 3-5” if snow here. It‘s so pretty!

Tagged book is the next audio my mom and I are going to listen to.

Day 11: #rhyme

Sea free zee 😋

#uncannyoctober @RealLifeReading

I thought Nathaniel Philbrick wasn't allowing photos because no one was taking any pictures with him so I just asked my friend to take one of me while he was signing. But then he jumped up and said 'Let's take a good one!' What an awesome thing to do and what a cool guy!
#NationalBookFestival
#NatBookFest

#LiveToTell https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAO9A9GjgI #AugustGrrrl @Cinfhen

They had to live to tell this epic tale of the whale ship Essex!!! 🐳

Audiobook for #litsyAtoZchallenge. Interesting telling of the Essex- I had no idea. Lots of history about whaling and Nantucket.

The whaleman‘s rule of thumb was that, before diving, a whale blew once for each minute it would spend underwater. Whalemen also knew that while underwater the whale continued at the same speed and in the same direction as it had been traveling before the dive. Thus, an experienced whaleman could calculate with remarkable precision where a submerged whale was likely to reappear.

Does anyone know how to keep rats away from books????