Bloomsday, Signing Up

by Charlotte Reads Classics

I’ve never finished a book by James Joyce. I’m scared of James Joyce. However, if I’ve learnt anything from my March reading its that books can greatly exceed your expectations. So in June I am going to give myself a chance by taking part in the Bloomsday Readalong.

From o’s sign up post: What is Bloomsday? Bloomsday is on the 16th June (this year it falls on a Saturday) and it marks the day on which James Joyce’s Ulysses is based. As a day of celebration, it began in 1954, the fifty year anniversary of the events in the novel, when John Ryan, Flann O’Brien, Patrick Kavanagh, Anthony Cronin, Tom Joyce (Joyce’s cousin) and AJ Leventhal attempted a pilgrimage along the Ulysses route (I say “attempted” because their mission had to be aborted owing to a somewhat impressive intake of alcohol!). Since then in Dublin and all around the world, Bloomsday (the name taken from one of the main characters, Leopold Bloom) has been observed.

Whilst you can sign up to read the whole of Ulysses in a day, scheduled by the hour, I don’t think I’d be able to manage yet! So my intentions are to grab a copy of a James Joyce novel (probably Ulysses, but we’ll see) and read as much as I can.

Gulp!