In June I announced that I was joining Dovegreyreader and many others in the Team Ulysses Challenge, which we hope will see us complete James Joyce's classic by next Bloomsday (June 16th). I was slow of the mark to begin with but caught up a few days later by reading a number of 2-page installments from DailyLit and have made steady progress since then. I have now read over one hundred pages of the novel and if I keep it up at the same pace then I should reach the summit earlier than anticipated.
As if that wasn't a challenge enough I decided to do the same with Proust's In Search of Lost Time v. 1: Swann's Way, which I had been intending to read anyway this year before Ulysses came along.
If you're reading Ulysses too then how are you getting along? I'm finding that the routine helps and that, as yet, I don't have to motivate myself or boost morale but read my installments as if it was second nature (well, to read is natural to me...) I'm not having too much difficulty understanding it although I severely doubt that I am picking up on it all. I'm reading it straight from cover to cover and without any secondary material although it's too early to tell whether that will change; for the moment I am still more or less wading in the water, not sure whether I'll sink or swim.
As if that wasn't a challenge enough I decided to do the same with Proust's In Search of Lost Time v. 1: Swann's Way, which I had been intending to read anyway this year before Ulysses came along.
If you're reading Ulysses too then how are you getting along? I'm finding that the routine helps and that, as yet, I don't have to motivate myself or boost morale but read my installments as if it was second nature (well, to read is natural to me...) I'm not having too much difficulty understanding it although I severely doubt that I am picking up on it all. I'm reading it straight from cover to cover and without any secondary material although it's too early to tell whether that will change; for the moment I am still more or less wading in the water, not sure whether I'll sink or swim.
6 comments:
I listened to Ulysses on audio, and that worked really well for me. I wish you luck on that one!
I read Swann's Way last year, and while I didn't always understand what was going on, I thought the writing was lovely!
Lezlie
Which translation of Proust are you reading? I read the Davis and the Moncrieff/Kilmartin/Enright both for the first book, and then continuing with the M/K/E all the way.
Lezlie, the writing is lovely. I'm enjoying it so far.
Claire, it's the Moncrieff. So far I'm finding it relatively easily to understand so I think the translation is working for me too.
I'm keeping up with Ulysses on daily lit and hopefully will have a post up over the weekend. It isn't difficult to understand, but it isn't my thing at all. I hope it improves a bit as it goes on.
I am loving the reading together (though technically actually not) aspect of it all really helps. I am quite a bit behind you (am blaming moving house)and am going to re-read the first chapter to really firm the foundations before I start what I think might be the more difficult next stage!
Jackie, it is quite removed from our usual reads. I hope you begin to enjoy it.
Simon, I like the mutual reading of a book too! It's like a group effort. Moving house is bound to wreak havoc with your reading.
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