Ulysses | 
Two finishes on day 1 of the #20in4 Readathon; bit of a cheat, really, given that I‘ve been reading Ulysses since March and had literally one sentence left to read - this being Joyce, though, that sentence was 10 pages long… I needed to read the relevant section of Patrick Hastings‘ Guide before each section of Ulysses!
@Andrew65
(1/6) I cannot possibly give Ulysses an official rating. Truthfully, I hated nearly every minute of it. Often, while reading, or mulling over what I just read, I was struck by the idea that Joyce was a troll. If Joyce was brought back to life, he would be in hysterics about the mythical status that Ulysses has achieved. The entire novel is a joke played on its readers; Ulysses is the definition of pretentious.
(2/6) Joyce can‘t help but jump out on every page with “See what I did there? Admire my intellectual prowess.” If not for the help of supplemental resources I would have been unable to appreciate Joyce‘s efforts in the least.
To those who are more perceptible to subtext, I applaud your dedication and ability—as I read a chapter then sought assistance decoding it, I was amazed by the layers revealed by people who truly love this book.
(3/6) It becomes apparent that there is, in fact, some form of enjoyment here, and in its own right I can see why it‘s considered a staple of literature. But does it have to be written so damn badly? And when I say written, I do simply mean the text. Say as much as you want to about the specific goal Joyce was trying to achieve, about some style he was imitating, or some statement he was making about language:
(4/6) At the end of the day Joyce‘s prose is dull and just plain bad. It‘s a good thing that what's on the page isn‘t the end of Ulysses because if it weren‘t for what‘s beneath the page, that would‘ve been the end of Ulysses.
What‘s funny about the whole thing? I will reread it. Not right away but in the near future. In fact I‘ve already downloaded an audiobook version because I am curious how the hell anyone could read this thing out loud.
(5/6) And I am curious if it does improve on a second reading, as most people claim. In fact, as much as I hated reading this book, I am in awe of its scope and what Joyce did. Honestly, I‘m a bit pissed off about that.
So yeah, I can‘t rate this. I couldn‘t possibly recommend reading it for enjoyment — it‘s the type of book you read to simply say “I read it,” then toss in a shoulder shrug like, “No big thing.”
(6/6) Or the type of book you read in the name of some scholarly pursuit. So was Joyce a troll or was he a genius? I still don‘t know. But regardless, he manages to achieve some form of dark magic with Ulysses. Like dark magic the book takes advantage of you, tricks you, then makes you servile. As also with dark magic you typically know the consequences from the outset; those who continue down that path, do so at their own risk.
HAPPY BLOOMSDAY!
Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his novel Ulysses takes place in 1904, the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, and named after its protagonist Leopold Bloom.
Me: *tries to be intellectual by reading Ulysses”
Also me: “I carried a watermelon!”
One of my favorite perks of Audible Premium is the inclusion of many of The Great Courses lectures, which are wonderful and I recommend checking them out…
Well, last week I started Ulysses, and honestly, it‘s way over my head. So, I thought I‘d look for one of the many companion guides to help me make sense of this literary enigma, and what did I come across? A Great Course. I‘m excited to supplement my Ulysses experience with this.
panYes. I have finished Ulysses! Feel very accomplished and proud. I will never read it again, though 😂 I am fascinated by it as a piece of art (when art is doing things with words). But it‘s not a story.
Thought I‘d challenge myself this year by reading a chunkster Boxall or two, and Ulysses is one of them. I don‘t know really know anything about James Joyce.
Was he as much of a misogynist as this paragraph would suggest?
#MarchMagic #IrishAuthor playing catch up!I have other copies of this book , but this #ModernLibrary edition has character & a wonderful typeface!
panI am sorry to say that was the worst book I have ever read from cover to cover. Never again will I reread this monstrosity. This novel does not deserve the acclaim that it receives. Disjointed in perpetuity whereby the common tongue throughout the book was gibberish. Reading this novel according to literary reviews can be life or mind changing, the only thing that this novel has changed was my opinion of the author.
📘Ulysses
✍🏼 Sigrid Undset
🎥Under The Tuscan Sun
🎤UB40
🎶Underdog Alicia Keys (saw her sing this live in 2022)
#manicmonday
Everyone play!
I really like this cover, but it‘s a special edition with essays and maps. So it‘s a big bitter than the other edition and costs more.
I‘ve also been thinking about the Penguin Clothbound Edition.
All I know is that I want a hardback since I hate cracked spins and this is quite the chunkster.
Does anyone own a good edition of Ulysses or have any thoughts?
Enjoying some remnants of summer after a rainy August. Dillon is off on a motorcycle ride and I am attempting Ulysses which I‘ve been putting off all summer.
#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Letter U
Slim pickings for my U choices, since I have more U-titled books on my TBR than I have read 🙈
I'm going with Ulysses, which I surprisingly loved and had a lot of fun reading. It's wild and it's a trip!!
All right Joyce. A sentence should not be 43 pages long. You are not in a big dick contest with Tolstoy. Fucking men.
“You have made your second-best bed and others must lie in it.”
I will totally be adding this to my repertoire of baffling things I will say knowingly to strangers as a gray-haired old lady.
June #BookSpinBingo! I completed 11 books this month, and I was most satisfied to make it through Ulysses on schedule for the #SandCoUlysses centenary read. I also truly appreciated the message of Tenant of Wildfell Hall (with #PemberLittens) although it was kind of a tough read in places as well. I also stayed on track with the #BibleBuddyRead so we‘re now officially halfway through our yearlong Bible read!
#ReadingStats #MonthlyStats
“… he growled unamiably …”
Is there really any other way to growl, Joyce?
“The movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of the dreams and visions in a peasant‘s heart on the hillside. For them the earth is not an exploitable ground but the living mother.”
In honor of the centennial of the events of Joyce's Ulysses, I'd like to post a link to Bloomsday by Irish band Fontaines D.C. Skinty Fia is one of my favorite albums of the year. If you like Joy Division or Interpol, give them a chance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsiB_0C5-8c
Well, I did it! Today I finished Penelope, the last chapter of Ulysses, and thus concluded my reread of the book on the best day possible - Bloomsday! ??? I had to scramble to finish the previous two chapters earlier in the week since I fell behind, but it was all worth it to get to that final chapter, which is my favorite!
"...yes I said yes I will Yes."
#ulysses
HAPPY BLOOMSDAY! 🎉💚🎉💚🎉💚🎉💚🎉💚🎉
June 16th, 1904 is the date on which Ulysses by James Joyce takes place! Because of this, the date has long been known and celebrated as Bloomsday! 💕📚 This year is even more special than most because it is the 100th anniversary of the publication on Ulysses! #ulysses
pick✅ Completed! June 16 is the day on which Ulysses is set & I did manage to read it between February 2 (date of publication & Joyce‘s birthday) & today along with the Friends of Shakespeare & Co centenary read! I won‘t say I completely enjoyed it, but I believe it is well worth the effort of reading. I found all the writing styles fascinating, was amazed by the allusions, and truly enjoyed parts of it. Happy #Bloomsday!
#SandCoUlysses #1001books
#OnThisDay in (fictional) 1904 "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead…" and the following Chronicle of a day in the life of Leopold Bloom left an indelible mark on the literary world. The first mention of a Bloomsday celebration comes from a letter written in 1924, and it has evolved into a global celebration of Joyce's work. One famous literary couple got married on 16 June 1956 to honour the day (any guesses who?) #HistoryGetsLIT
#bookmoods #dnf
I rarely if ever bail but in the year of its publication I have to confess tried twice, failed twice. One day !!!!!!
Loving the art of this edition
“Paris rawly waking, crude sunlight on her lemon streets.”
Well, that‘s fucking delicious.
“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”
From your mouth to God‘s ears, James.
I‘ve made it to and have begun reading the final episode! Written from Molly‘s perspective, this one is tough for me because of the very meandering style and complete lack of punctuation. I‘m getting the gist of it and also referencing the Ulysses Guide website for further clarification.
#SandCoUlysses #1001books
“Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can‘t wear grey trousers.”
The Ithaca episode of Ulysses is written with a catechism technique, in that it‘s a series of questions & answers, and uses complex vocabulary even when describing simple things. The audio podcast by Shakespeare & Co includes most of it read by 2 narrators for the questions & answers. It provides a lot of information; however, not all of the information can be trusted as accurate. Read over several days, it was fascinating & sometimes amusing.
I‘m working this week to make progress and catch up on this centenary read of Ulysses. This evening that includes some pages of Eumaeus in the hammock.
#SandCoUlysses
I‘m diving into the middle of the long Circe episode of Ulysses with the podcast from Friends of Shakespeare and Company alongside a simple supper tonight. This episode is written in the style of a play script, and the audio by multiple readers is a great way to listen along. Also, even with my pre-reading prep and explanatory podcasts, this episode is crazier than I expected.
#ReadAndEat #SandCoUlysses #1001books
Chapter Thirteen: Nausicaa
Scene: The Rocks
Hour: 8:00 pm
I got off track on my Ulysses journey and missed a couple weeks of reading. But as long as I read one chapter a week from here on out I'll still have it completed by Bloomsday! 😀 This is my second favorite chapter, with Penelope being the first! 💕📚
#ulysses
Last night I finished the Nausicaa episode of Ulysses, which was my #BookSpin square 5 for May. Today I‘ve been slowly reading through the episode Oxen of the Sun. The quote on the left is from the Ulysses Guide website episode description. So far, I‘ve been a bit lost, noticed several Biblical references, learned some vocabulary, actually laughed at a few phrases, and even recognized one of the styles of writing on my own. ⬇️
Today was an absolutely beautiful day, and I enjoyed a good part of it outside. This evening I started the Cyclops episode of Ulysses while getting the grill ready, paused for supper itself, and then finished the rest of the episode. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining section. I started out confused, but the Ulysses Guide website was helpful in clarifying the writing style.
#SandCoUlysses #ReadAndEat #1001books
How did I miss this?! The famous Paris bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publishing of James Joyce‘s Ulysses by releasing a chapter a week in podcast, read by authors such as Colm Toibin, Douglas Stuart, Ali Smith, Katie Kitamura, etc… Which is perfect timing because I‘m currently reading The Paris Bookseller and so motivated to finally read Ulysses.
