Bloomsday

[minestrone]

It is a dull book nick, seriously dull. People convince themselves that it is a work of great genius in the same way people tell me jazz is great, "if you don't like John Coltrane you don't understand it" pish.

[NickFitz]

Why bother?

Never read it, but it sounds like a lot of obscurantist nonsense to me.

There are enough people whose opinions I respect that think it is a book worth reading, not because of intellectual wordgamery or stylistic flourishes, but because it says things that are worth saying and says them in an interesting way. Sort of the opposite of General

There are those who would dismiss The Waste Land because it is not easy to understand on a casual reading, but that doesn't prevent it being one of the greatest poems ever written (and one of my personal favourites).

[russell]

Over rated in my opinion, don't know why it gets the praise, usually pretentious wannabes that think they look intelligent if they bang on about it.

[Diver]

Rather amusing article about the reactions of US librarians of the day to the book, including one at Duke University who thought it should be locked away: How ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Is Like ‘Ulysses’

I ordered "Fifty Shades of Grey" (the three book set £20) off Amazon yesterday for my wife.

If it's anything like "Ulysses" she's going to be bored out of her skull

[OwlHoot]

It's been 34 years, so I'll give it another try

Why bother?

Never read it, but it sounds like a lot of obscurantist nonsense to me.

[minestrone]

Dullest. book. ever.

It is like lord of the rings set in Dublin without orks and goblins. "I went down this road and done this and then done that" next page "I went down this road and done this and then done that"

[NickFitz]

Rather amusing article about the reactions of US librarians of the day to the book, including one at Duke University who thought it should be locked away: How ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Is Like ‘Ulysses’

[NickFitz]

Thanks Nick. I was vaguely listening to R4 earlier today and they did something about Ulysses. I tried it when I was too young to appreciate it.

And gave up by about the second page

Edit: They are discussing it now on R4.

Yep, Molly's stream of consciousness soliloquy coming up.

Having taken down the copy I bought secondhand when I was about sixteen, I find that I made it as far as "Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls" (p.65 of the 1960 Bodley Head edition) - frankly I'm surprised I made it that far, though glancing through, I don't remember much of it

It's been 34 years, so I'll give it another try

[Sysman]

Thanks Nick. I was vaguely listening to R4 earlier today and they did something about Ulysses. I tried it when I was too young to appreciate it.

And gave up by about the second page

Edit: They are discussing it now on R4.

[MarillionFan]

Crack on!

[NickFitz]

In case you hadn't noticed, today is Bloomsday - the anniversary of the day in 1904 described in minute detail in James Joyce's seminal novel Ulysses.

Last year was the seventieth anniversary of Joyce's death, meaning that this is the first year in which his work has been out of copyright on this auspicious day.

As a result, you can now find out what you've been missing all these years by any or all of the following means:

• The novel in a variety of text and ebook formats at Project Gutenberg;
  
  
• A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation, available on iPlayer or as a podcast that you can download and keep;
  
  
• A comic book, Ulysses Seen (work in progress);
  
  
• In German from radio station SWR2, lasting 22 hours;
  
  
• And the one that will undoubtedly appeal to most people here: The full text as a shedload of QR codes that you can scan with your phone to read it

Enjoy!