Bloomsday for beginners

JamesJoyce

Bless me, USCatholic.org readers and James Joyce fans, for I have sinned. My reading habits may be better than many, but they’re obviously not very good, for I have not read Ulysses. You may be wondering: How can a bookworm named Meghan Murphy not have read this so very famous piece of Irish literature? It’s a mystery to me, too.

This morning when I heard a radio report about how today is Bloomsday, I was confused. My husband looked at me quizzically, “From Ulysses? It takes place on June 16?” as if he’d get an “Oooooohhhh, that Bloomsday.” Nope.  “James Joyce?” he asked. “Yes, I know who wrote it,” I responded quickly, defensively. Maybe a little too shortly. (But I really hate not being in the know.)

If you’re like me and are only familiar with the title and author of the book being celebrated today, check out this list of various links and Ulysses-related sundries to bring you up to speed. If you know a thing or two about this book, share your favorite passage or tell us why you like (or dislike) it.

Now I’m off to update update my Goodreads To Read bookshelf.

 

Photo: Ryan Healy