Moby-Dick: or, The Whale

Fantastic read, although you have to be ready for it. See, it's not just about a whaling adventure, the book is about all sorts of things that happen around the adventure. It has chapters describing different types of whales, and different parts of whales, and chapters that have nothing to do with whales or hunting them but instead philosophize about this or that. The book is an adventure story, a history lesson, a natural history guide, with a healthy dose of exploration of the human mind and spirit. Be open to it all, and you'll have a great time with this book.

Note: Each chapter is only a handful of pages long, so everything is pretty short and snappy for such a long book.