Back on the trail for all thing Joycean and Ulyssean I round up all the odds and ends that baffle and entertain – not to mention occasionally educate.

Reviews of Declan Kiberd’s Ulysses & Us abound, but whether readers find it useful or not is a question still to answered. The blog A Momentary Taste of Being comments but also leads to further posts on our favourite subject – all worth at least a glance through. Talk of depression on ManicDDaily won’t lighten the mood but here’s a blogger looking to Joyce for solutions to writer’s block! I wish him the best of luck, but I could swear Joyce was more likely a cause of and not a solution to. See what you think.

Here’s an essay I could’ve possibly done with last week if I’d been reading the novel differently – Fictionality and Reality in “Aeolus” – from (mass)think! Well, it does what it says on the tin. On the subject of Aeolus another blogger is wading through the book at almost the same speed as me – which should be interesting! Keep checking ANZ LitLovers LitBlog for updates. I’m paying this blogger no mind – his advice on How Not To Read Joyce is to be found here – amusing it is too! And we get mentioned about the blogosphere ourselves from time to time. Good on us.

Although this FREE Audiobook list seems fairly comprehensive (scroll down to J obviously) I’m not entirely sure of the quality – you take your chances. It is free, so whaddya expect? Personally I think it’s difficult enough reading Joyce without having it screeched at you as well!

If Joyce’s prose is not enough you might want to discuss the point of his poetry. I would’ve thought his prose would render poetry rather redundant but here you go. Minor works or joke – you decide! The folks on this site seem to feel the need for some ‘restructuring’ which to my uneducated eye looks like vandalism, but what do I know. Feel free to explain what goes on there.

Joycean influence travels far and wide and “The first thing a true bookworm does when travelling is look for a bookshop” says Ann Donald inspired by a purchase from Shakespeare & Co. in an article for the Johannesburg Times. And you wanna know what that bookshop looks like and some of the history behind it don’t you? You do! Then go to Current TV and enjoy a mini-documentary.

What sort of book would you take to read on a dangerous polar expedition? One guess only and then you can read about the manly adventures of one Eric Larsen. I’m not sure the sub-zero temperatures add anything to the experience of reading the great novel, but a beach in the Caribbean doesn’t strike me as any more likely to help.

I’ve heard of niche markets but this is ridiculous: The Bloomsday Trams: Dublin’s Tramway Fleet of James Joyce’s Ulysses by David Foley and my thanks to Mike Barsanti for pointing that one out.

Of course there are benefits to searching for Joyce on the interwebs and this is one of those benefits! See you next week 🙂

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