Ulysses Readlong

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

I have been intimidated by Ulysses for as long as I can remember. I've read some of James Joyce's shorter books, but I've never been up for tackling this beast. In February I'll be reading the whole thing and I'm excited/nervous. 

The book is broken into three sections and 18 episodes. Each one is written in a wildly different style. It's loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, but instead of ancient Greece, the story follows one man, Leopold Bloom, around Dublin.

If you need some extra motivation, I love this YouTube clip on why you should read the book.

The readalong will be very laid back. I'm not a Joyce scholar, just a reader. To join in the fun just post to your blog or on Twitter, Litsy, or Instagram. If you comment with a link I will update my post to include the link. Use #FebBloom when you post so we can all see the discussion. 

Image from here.

7 comments:

Ti said...

I hosted a read along for this book awhile back and most everyone dropped out! I did finish it The final pages make it all worthwhile.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Ti - Oh no! Well, I’ve wanted to read it for so many years, even if I’m the only one left at the end that’s ok!

Anonymous said...

I've gotten as far as replacing my copy of Ulysses, which is something I guess! I bought the edition with all the notes, the Gabler Edition. I've heard the best way to tackle the book on a first read is just put your head down and plow through, never mind if you don't understand everything. Or, in my case, ANYTHING. ;-)

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Lisa - That’s how I feel! I might not understand it, but I’ll just let it flow.

Roof Beam Reader said...

Here are my thoughts on the first 6 episodes. :)

Roof Beam Reader said...

Haha. Link would help:
https://roofbeamreader.com/2018/02/07/joyces-ulysses-episodes-1-6-febbloom/

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Roof Beam Reader - This is awesome! Thank you!