James Joyce's Ulysses | How To Read It

Hey all, thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this, you might like the follow-up episode of How To Read It in which I take a look at Joseph Heller's Catch-22 which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9jS5ka_fNo

Absolutely love it. Your enthusiasm is infectious, so to add to the Ulysses apologia: What I hate about the conflation of "Ulysses is great" and "Ulysses is hard" is that it makes Joyce sound terribly pretentious, just trying to be clever and obscure, when Ulysses is a deeply sincere and intensely personal work. He spent seven years and sacrificed most of his eyesight writing out the manuscript of an 800 page novel longhand, and survived mostly because of Harriet Shaw Weaver's patronage. It was a colossal undertaking, and he approached it with both the determination of purpose in what he knew he was creating, and the joy of working on something that it's 100% clear that he loved. Specifically, if you are a writer, you owe it to yourself to read Ulysses, both to engage with one of the undisputed masters of language, and to see how much inventive, creative fun he had with all of it.

I just finished reading Ulysses last week--it took almost a year! Throughout the book I learned how to be a better reader. My uncle lent me the book and made sure I had the annotations along with it. But soon I figured out I needed more of an overview of each chapter--not every single word or reference. So I started reading the sparknotes before each chapter and following along that way, which helped tremendously and I would love to check out that book you recommended next time I read Ulysses. Also, my Uncle recommended I should listen to the last episode, which was fantastic as well as it gave so much emotion to the words! Love your video, thanks for posting it!

Hi all, thanks for watching! I hope this video is useful to anyone wanting to have a crack at reading Ulysses and, as I said in the video, any thoughts on the format would be much appreciated!

This video reminds me of why youtube is better than TV

Just ordered it today, can't wait to start it whilst in quarantine in Dublin lol. Nice history lesson on the book and man himself.

Hi all! Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed the video and it maybe inspired you to have a crack at Ulysses! If you'd like to support me to make more videos like this, and to help influence exactly what I make next, then I've just launched a Patreon. I'd love it if you'd pop over and check it out and, if you're able, consider supporting my channel! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/tomnicholas

I was literally very skeptical about reading Ulysses, but this video made me really convinced that it can be rewarding. Thank you so much !

Finished Ulysses after watching this video. Took me three months, but it has been worth it. Ulysses captures so many aspects of life and the human experience, and how the wealth of complex emotions and circumstances culminate into how we live our lives. This video was super helpful! Thank you! I really understood the book because of this. For those who haven't read it, I'd recommend reading a quick plot summary of each chapter once you finish it, as it helps you make sure that you understood what occurred. It's challenging to read, but it is totally worth it!

Yes, I’ve read JJ’s Ulysses. Yes, it is hard to understand. But leaving ME behind and softly falling into JJ’s magic pages always makes thoughts and senses (some I never knew I had) light up and resonate with raw life. Did I enjoy your “How to Read It” - Yes. More? YES !

Excellent! I have always avoided this book and you are the first person who actually made me want to give it a try!

God man Mr. Nicholas! This is my second attempt of the book (after 15 years break!) and your video made it bit easier to approach it and more encouraging to keep reading. Best from 2021 Ireland 🇮🇪

Now I think I'm ready to read Ulysses, thank you! Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷

I loved your way of explaining this great book....Hats off to you....

I recommend audiobook first and then read. Joyce always meant his books to be read aloud.

Came across this video having decided to give Ulysses a try. Loved it! Your enthusiasm for and down-to-earth approach to the book is really helpful! Thank you!

Just came across your channel as I'm gonna start reading Ulysses. Great stuff you've got a new subscriber 😁

Nicely done. I'm on my 3rd attempt at this book, and this time I'm much further on than I've previously gotten (over halfway now) - I have to say I am enjoying it far more this time than previously and I think its videos like this that have helped. I am appreciating it as a sedate, meandering and experimental look at everyday life in Dublin at that time. I appreciate the wit and levity its often written with. In short I think I'm so much further through and enjoying the read so much more because I'm not taking the novel quite so seriously as I did before.

I've never read the book. I have a copy and I've thumbed it over the years. Since watching this vid I've started turning pages. My first thought is, not that I should read this book.....but it may benefit me if I do. This vid, narrated expertly and knowledgeably , is an inspiration and the literal journey begins!

wow thank you so much Tom. I've just finished reading Portrait and want to start Ulysses. this was really interesting!