I am starting this blog to help me, and hopefully others, finally conquer those classics of literature, which have seemed to me to be too long, too difficult or too complex to read on my own or in book groups. I was an English major at Duke University, and I have my masters in Journalism from Columbia University and am currently the member of three book groups, but, even with that background, I have never worked up my courage to tackle "Ulysses" by James Joyce or "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann. I am completely intimidated by these two, which are considered masterpieces by so many academics and book editors.
I'll start reading "Ulysses," armed with my newly printed Wikipedia entry on the novel, which explains each chapter. I'll post my reactions and questions as I work my way - slowly - through "Ulysses," and I'll see how it goes.
I hope that this inspires others to read along, so that I end up with a kind of virtual book group. I will keep the number of pages I read between postings down to about 30 pages, and see how that works. The edition that I am using, if this helps you, is the Vintage International 1990 edition (a division of Random House), a paperback. There are 783 pages of text, so that would mean I'd be making at least 26 postings, if I hold to the 30-pages-at-a-time idea.
I look forward to hearing from you with answers to my questions or opinions or helpful hints, as I work my way through "Ulysses." Then, after "Ulysses," I hope to conquer a few more English language classics. Join me, won't you?
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Ann, More power to you! Your ambition and resolve to confront these two classics are admirable. I won't be reading them along with you, but I hope to touch base with your blog now and then since your observations are always enjoyable. I'm glad you're reaching out to the world via a blog. May you find many readers as thorough and insightful as you!
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Katie