Bloomsday - The Ulysses Challenge

Well everyone Bloomsday has been and gone ……. so what do we all think? For anyone who was in The Meeting Square, Templebar, Dublin yesterday you would now be enlightened to the joys of Ulysses by James Joyce. It was perfect – the sun was out, there was free ice-cream nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the readings of Ulysses.

But I have to ask the question...... how many people have read Ulysses??

I myself have tried to read Ulysses twice already but failed miserably. The introduction alone to the book is longer than most books I have read!! So this is a challenge we’re setting here in Barnacles…..The Ulysses Challenge! To read James Joyces Ulysses (no cliff notes although tempting - it is cheating). Encouraged by yesterday’s readings, we’re going to dust off our copies and try again. This time we’re going to read it in public places like the bus or train or even behind the reception desk – once you start to read a book in public you are committed to finishing it!! What happens if someone you know spots you reading it and then asks you how you got on?? We can’t face the shame of saying it was too hard!! So if you hear the staff at Barnacles spontaneously quoting from Ulysses or suddenly demanding gorgonzola cheese sandwiches you’ll know what we’re up to.

We’re going to give it go - will you?