This always reminds me of a story from a friend of mine. He knew a guy who worked in the luxury yacht business, making high end fixtures and fittings. They were fitting out a yacht for someone very rich and famous (I think it was Jackie Onassis), who very specifically wanted long leather cushions for a stateroom with no seams in them- that was a must. He ended up making them out of whale penises. Now that I write it it sounds like a joke or a fever dream, but I’m pretty sure it’s true.

I was too frightened by its reputation to read Moby Dick until my early 40s, and when I finally did I was sucked right in and would talk about it to anyone who’d listen. There’s so much wonderful writing in it - the shared bed scene where Ishmael first meets Queequeg, or where he meets the shipowners in Nantucket. It’s an incredible book.