Ulysses by James Joyce Readalong & Re-Readalongs (2014, 2016); Audio Listen-Along (2017) Showing 1,501-1,550 of 1,985

[Petra]

Geoffrey wrote: "Molly is still clearly in love with Bloom, despite the difficulties : "and I love to hear him falling up the stairs of a morning with the cups rattling on the tray and then play with the cat she rubs up against you for her own sake".."

I really liked that passage, too, Geoffrey. It's the little habits and activities of our loved ones that makes us realize how much they are a part of our lives.

[Geoffreyjen]

Petra wrote: "Thank you for the kind words. I love leading this group. And I really enjoy having "newbies" mixed with "repeat readers" with this book. It's a great combination and you're all so astute and on top..."

What I'd like to do, although maybe Goodreads is not the place for this, is to do a group writers exercise along the lines of "writing in the style of Joyce chapter so-and-so" and compare texts. I think it would be a fascinating way to get to know Joyce in a different way, but folk would have to be comfortable with sharing their writing (although we share our posts here, so maybe not so different!). I've also been thinking it would be fun to envision writing a "late-life Bloom memoir" à la Joyce, thinking back over Bloom's life post-Ulysses. I'm too busy with other projects right now to think seriously about such an undertaking, but it's fun to contemplate and play around with the idea....

[Gill]

Geoffrey, I certainly fancy the first of the two you suggest. If it ever comes off. I'll join in with that,

[Gill]

A day early - here's a link to the Wikipedia article about Bloomsday:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom...

[Angela M]

Congratulations to all of you for reading or rereading Ulysses . I'm sorry I missed out but wasn't in a good place to begin the read and just never got in . In any event , well done and Happy Bloomsday a little early !

[Pink]

Geoffrey, I liked those passages you highlighted about Molly. I got a sense that she and Bloom loved one another, despite their aloofness and actions outside of the house. Molly already knew that Boylan was only good for one thing and not much use otherwise, I think he was already irritating her. I got the impression that Molly and Bloom's relationship had broken down and been lacking in love since their son had died. I'm not sure they could reconnect after so many years of drifting apart, but they seemed to know each other very well and have a respect for one another. I'd like to think this would be enough, at least I can't picture Molly running off with Boylan, or Stephen or anyone else for that matter.

I'd love to read people's different takes on chapters of Ulysses, but I don't think my writing skills would be up to the job personally. I wouldn't even know where to start!

Gill, thanks for the info link about Bloomsday. I've seen the programme of events for this years festival and it looks fun!

Angela, don't worry about not joining in. I meant to take part last year, but got behind the schedule and just never started. I'm sure you'll read it one day, when it's the right time for you :)

[Angela M]

I would definitely consider a reread !

[Gill]

Re Molly and Bloom, the two incidents in the book that I found most moving were when Rudi appeared to Leopold at the end of one episode, and when Molly was thinking about Rudi being buried, in the final episode. To me, this shows what a drastic influence Rudi's death had had on both of them (as you might expect), but I also have the feeling that they had faced this separately rather than jointly.

Perhaps Joyce is asking/telling us how little we can know about what someone else is thinking.

[Gill]

I've been doing some reading about William Faulkner. It was saying that the structure of his novels is to show how things are actually experienced by people, that it is only after an event that we can make sense of it, and place it inside some sort of structure. At the time something is happening, things are confused, confusing, going to and fro, experienced differently by different people- and even by the same person.

I thought that could be applied quite nicely to this novel also.

[Petra]

Happy Bloomsday Everyone!!
We made it! Congrats to all of us for completing this tome. I want to thank each of you for the input, energy and thought that you put into this read. It certainly helped me see dimensions I wouldn't have.

Way to read, everyone!!! May we meet again for another read of this wonderful book.

[Petra]

A few more Bloomsday pics:

[Pink]

Happy Bloomsday to my Ulysses buddies :)

[Gill]

Happy Bloomsday, everyone. Great pictures, Petra!

[Geoffreyjen]

Wow, happy Bloomsday! What an awesome journey to get here!

[Petra]

Every birthday should have cake:

"the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth.”

[Gill]

Lovely, Petra. Thanks for the cake!

[Gill]

I must get the skill of adding pictures!

[Petra]

Gill, to add an image:

- copy the link under "(some html is ok)" for image:
(I've added spaces so that it shows in the post)
< img src="https://www.goodreads.com/image..." width="40" height="100" alt="description"/ >
- enter the picture's URL where it says https/:ww.goodreads.com/image... (make sure that the three dots are removed as well)
- you have to play a bit with the width and height numbers (between the " ") sometimes
- refresh the page after entering your pic. It sometimes looks like it's a good size but upon refreshing you get the true size.

[Gill]

Petra wrote: "Gill, to add an image:

- copy the link under "(some html is ok)" for image:
(I've added spaces so that it shows in the post)

- enter the picture's URL where it says https/:ww.goodreads.com/image...."

Thanks, Petra. I'll have a play some time! In theory, I'll have lots of spare time now I've finished Ulysses!

Another question, I'm a bit embarrassed that I don't know how to do this after more than 3 years on GR. How do I quote just a part of someone's comments if I am replying to them? I know how to reply to the whole lot, but not to little bits, nor how to reply to little bits from several people all in the same comment of mine.

[Petra]

I don't know if there's a more sophisticated way or official way of doing this but all I do is highlight and "copy" the portion I want to reply to, hit "reply" and then "paste" that portion between the quotation marks.

ETA:
LOL!...yes, there's lots of spare time now that we're finished with Ulysses. :D

[[deleted user]]

I've been down with pancreatitis for the past week, so haven't been able to post. (Well on the road to recovery and feeling good now.)

Happy Belated Bloomsday to all! This day will always mean more to me since I've completed the book.

My desert island books (at least for today):

Ulysses--James Joyce
The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business/The Manticore/World of Wonders--Robertson Davies
A Great Circle: The Mayfield Trilogy--Reynolds Price (A US author kind of Faulkneresque)
The Complete Works--William Shakespeare
The Great Dune Trilogy--Frank Herbert

I think I'd be quite content with this list--but someone to discuss them with would be priceless!

Again, thanks, Petra, for such a great job as group leader. (I'd join a reread at some point--no way could I lead it, though. I would still need direction.) And thanks to everyone for making this reading experience so rewarding.

[[deleted user]]

Almost forgot! Petra, I've tried reading Infinite Jest twice without success. I even tried to read a book explaining the book. From what you say, I guess I shouldn't give up. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Petra]

Terri, I recommend trying IJ again. It really is a great, crazy ride.

I love this video from a scene in IJ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpfK...

It was a crazy scene to read; to see it in action is priceless.
The game, Eschaton, is a bit like WW III with tennis balls. :D

IJ is another good readalong book. Just saying....

[Geoffreyjen]

Terri wrote: "I've been down with pancreatitis for the past week, so haven't been able to post. (Well on the road to recovery and feeling good now.)

Happy Belated Bloomsday to all! This day will always mean mor..."

I love the Deptford trilogy but I like the Cornish trilogy as much... why not take the Complete Works of Robertson Davies? If it doesn't exist, it should!

[Petra]

To recap:

The books in our Desert Island Ulysses Group Library are:

Bambi
The Adventures of Huck Finn
The Catcher in the Rye
Anna Karenina
My Several Worlds
Ulysses
Infinite Jest
Middlemarch
The Complete William Faulkner
Willa Cather: The Complete Fiction & Other Writings
War and Peace
The Great Dune Trilogy
The Lord of the Rings
The Earthsea Trilogy
The Making of the English Working Class
Translations
Breath
Antonio Machado poetry, dual translation
Catch-22
KING JAMES BIBLE with VerseSearch - Red Letter Edition
The Complete Works by William Shakespeare
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Odyssey
The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business/The Manticore/World of Wonders --> the complete works of Robertson Davies, if we could get one bound for us.
A Great Circle: The Mayfield Trilogy

Did I miss any?

[Petra]

I'd love to add The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso (this copy because I like the cover and good artwork is important on a desert island). But that gives me a list of 6 books. :D

[[deleted user]]

Geoffrey, you're brilliant! I definitely would want the complete works of Robertson Davies. Coincidentally, I'm currently listening to the Cornish Trilogy on audiobook. (What's Bred in the Bone is the first Davies I ever read, and I was immediately entranced.)

[Geoffreyjen]

Petra wrote: "To recap:

The books in our Desert Island Ulysses Group Library are:

Bambi
The Adventures of Huck Finn
The Catcher in the Rye
Anna Karenina
[b..."

When can I go?

[Pink]

Petra wrote: "I'd love to add The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso (this copy because I like the cover)"

I haven't read that yet....maybe another group read one day!

The above list of Desert Island books looks great! Especially if we can all go and discuss them too :)

I'm slightly missing Ulysses at the moment!

[Petra]

LOL! Pink, Ulysses is like that. It's always sad to leave Leopold, Stephen and Molly. We can't wait to go back to them.

[Gill]

I assumed we'd just carry on chatting here, until we started the next readalong?!

[Pink]

That could be the case Gill :)

[Petra]

I'm reading Timothy Findley's The Wars and just read this:
"It's fate, like the fate of Leopold Bloom's bar of soap, became a minor Odyssey."

It's always fun to come across a Ulysses reference. :D

[Pink]

I just made myself laugh as I got all excited when I saw they'd been a new post on the Ulysses thread! I think I must be missing it. I like coming across references about it too.

I think next year I'm going to read Dubliners and then listen to an audio version of Ulysses as I'd really like to hear some of those chapters being read.

[Petra]

LOL! Pink, I always get a thrill at seeing the Ulysses thread has a new post, too.

I've been thinking of listening to Ulysses at some point, too. I have a copy of it, so it would be easy to start and pace as mood dictates. There's such a lyrical element to the writing that an audio version could be interesting. I also wonder what insights the reading might bring out, with the intonations, stresses, etc.
I don't know if I'm ready for another rereading. But I'd be here if a discussion broke out and that would probably pull me right into another read. :D

[Gill]

Me too! My heart lifts when I see some more comments have been added here. I nearly woke John up in the night to tell him, but I remembered just in time that he wouldn't be very excited if I did!

[Geoffreyjen]

I have also missed the posts on Ulysses and came running to look at your post, Petra! I do listen off and on to an Audible recording of the book - Donal Donnelly reading. I love the pacing of the recording, I hear many things I miss when I read the book directly.

[[deleted user]]

Almost too much excitement for me. My team won the World Series last night AND a new post on Ulysses! I had a nice moment recently when I read The Door by Magda Szabó. It was translated from Hungarian to English, and I found out the author's husband translated Joyce from English to Hungarian.

[Petra]

I have missed you all and our Ulysses banter!

Terri, I really like The Door and now I like the author's husband for bringing Ulysses to the Hungarians (or a new translation of it, at least).

Geoffrey, I'll dig out my audio Ulysses and see who's reading it.

Have we given any thought to 2017? Perhaps not a full reading of Ulysses but some side reads with an occasional reading of a specific episode?

ETA: Gill, I think you should have woken hubby. It's important that they know what interests us and makes us happy. :D

[Gill]

I was waiting and watching to see who would be first to mention 2017. Petra wins! I'm game for anything the rest of you all want to do Ulysses wise. Bring it on!

[Geoffreyjen]

We could do a more systematic hunt for other works that reference Ulysses... would be fun!

[Petra]

LOL! Thanks, Gill! I am honored to win this prize...I could not have done it without all of you. Thank you, thank you.....

We could make it a bit of a treasure hunt: if/when any of us finds a reference to Ulysses in another work, we read the episode that the reference refers to and discuss that episode.

Last year, I read a few smaller Ulysses references and that was fun, too. Maybe we can sprinkle a few throughout the year?

[Geoffreyjen]

A treasure hunt sounds like great fun! And the prize, oh the prize! Delecting in select parts of Ulysses, like some exquisite cocktail party! :-)

[Petra]

It would be fun, for sure. My concern is that we won't find many references and this thread will be super slow.

We could have the Reference Treasure Hunt running in the background and something else running along side it. I'm not sure if we'd run into more than a couple of books throughout the year that reference Ulysses (or would we?). Thoughts?

Throw your ideas out there.

[Pink]

Congrats on winning the first mention of a 2017 readalong Petra!

Oh I'm so pleased to see the excitement spread on this thread and we're not even reading it.

I don't think I've read anything recently that references Ulysses, but it was very interesting to read The Odyssey this summer and see the inspiration and similarities. Probably the wrong way around to read them, but that's just another excuse to go back to Ulysses again!

I'm going to check out some audio versions, I think I've narrowed my preference to either Donal Donnelly or Jim Norton, but I won't get a copy until next year. I like Norton's lyrical voice, but I fear that I might drift off while listening. Donnelly's version is 15 hours longer!! So he definitely reads at a slower and clearer pace (taking 42 hours, to Norton's 27!)

I'll be happy to read again with everyone in 2017, but I'd like to attempt it over a shorter period next time and after I get around to Dubliners.

[Geoffreyjen]

I've had a quick look on Google for allusions to Ulysses, and I admit that the job may be harder than I thought. We would need a wider net of readers, although on Goodreads you'd think the net could be pretty wide, if one could find a way to motivate others to help us! So, yes, a parallel project would make sense.

By the way, did anyone besides me look at the film that was done (called "Bloom"). Well worth the view, in my opinion. I dip into it from time to time.

[Geoffreyjen]

Okay, I did some more research, and it is quite fascinating so far! The trick with picking up allusions to Ulysses is not to search on "Joyce" "allusions", "references" etc as I naively did at first, but to pick out key phrases from Joyce's book and search on those phrases. So I started with my favorite phrase : "agenbite of inwit".

Well, first of all, it seems this is based on a 13th century French text that was badly translated into English (I don't remember that ever coming up in our discussions). It means "remorse of conscience".

One of the websites I consulted cited two fiction allusions to this expression :

"His fate suggests the agenbite of inwit came too late; flaunting the gods even once reaped a classical reward."
Nova, by Samuel R. Delany, 1968.

“Not at all,” I said, “I’m very happily married,” but even as I said it I felt the agenbite of inwit, as if I were telling a lie.
Blithe Tomato, by Mike Madison, 2006.

I've read Nova but not Blithe Tomato - I will look it up!

Another website noted difficulties translating this expression into other languages, but then went on to talk about another well known phrase that has caused much grief to translators. This phrase is also taken from the first scene, "And going forth, he met Butterly". This looks like an innocuous reference to a meeting but it is not. It is actually a biblical pun - the Bible, after Peter's betrayal of Jesus, stated "and going forth, he wept bitterly." The Butterly line is a disguised reference to this! So most of the early translators got it wrong! And I certainly missed the reference (no surprise there!).

I can't resist also refering to another use of the Butterly name that has nothing to do with Joyce - the Utterly Butterly Ukelele Song. Quite charming! And in the spirit of Joyce, nonetheless!

So by taking phrases and plugging them into Google, one could learn a lot!

[Pink]

Oh that's so interesting! I'm trying to think of other phrases to type into google, but where would I start?!

[Petra]

That is clever, Geoffrey! Like you, I tried googling "Joyce", "Ulysses", etc and got nowhere. Problem is.....I can't remember those wacky Joycean phrases. LOL!

For the Treasure Hunt idea, we could let it unroll and see what happens. That is, of course, if this is what we all want to do next year. There may be other ideas. (or we could take a year off). Don't be shy to post your thoughts and ideas.

[Pink]

A year off?!?!