Brain Pain discussion

So, anyway, thanks especially to Jim, and also to all the participants who made this the best group on goodreads. I understand that all group participation ebbs and flows and it's a chore to maintain a group forever. I myself have, perhaps, experienced a kind of reader's burnout, or at least distraction, and though I love books as much as ever, I seem to be reading fiction a lot less lately. I cannot meaningfully participate in group reads right about now. Nonetheless, wow, great discussions we've had, the threads are valuable to go back to, and we've got an awesome bookshelf. Hope to see y'all around the next time I'm in the mood to clash heads and say why my aesthetics are right and yours aren't.

Cheers.

I second what Zadignose said. I'm one of those who drifted away from discussions as well, but still enjoyed lurking and appreciated the quality of discussions happening here. Thanks, Jim, as well as the others who took on moderating chores, and all the great participants.

I also will chime in and admit I've done a lot more lurking than participating. But this has been a great group, Jim. Thank you.

Thank you, Jim. I participated in two or three discussions a year for several years, but mostly I, too, lurked. Your discussions were great, and I don't believe I would ever have made it all the way through Infinite Jest without you.

Zadignose wrote: "So, anyway, thanks especially to Jim, and also to all the participants who made this the best group on goodreads. I understand that all group participation ebbs and flows and it's a chore to mainta..."

Thank you Z, et al.

Please consider the group to be on sabbatical.

If you are interested, we could do one-off discussions from time to time rather than doing an annual schedule of books. For example, I'm in the middle of 2666 right now. If a few of you wanted to discuss it, we could do that -- same for any other relatively challenging tome.....

I only participated in a few discussions, only read perhaps 5 or 10 of all the books this group has done. Life gets complicated & I couldn't keep up.

But I have lurked and learned and enjoyed the group enormously. Among many other things, you got me to read Vollmann's Argall, and some of his commentary. That was one of many authors of whom I had been vaguely familiar and which you induced me to look at more closely. I believe it was also in this group that I became aware of Flan O'Brien, now one of my all-time favorite novelists.

Thank you, Jim. And thank you to all you other smart readers as well. You truly made my brain hurt. It felt great.

Jim wrote: "Zadignose wrote: "So, anyway, thanks especially to Jim, and also to all the participants who made this the best group on goodreads. I understand that all group participation ebbs and flows and it's..."

Thank you, Jim.
A discussion from time to time on a book one of the group is reading or has read is a good idea.

Thank you so much, Jim, for all of the Brain Pain! Reading Ulysses with this group is one of my favorite literary experiences ever. And reading The Waves with you guys is right up there.

Rachel wrote: "Thank you so much, Jim, for all of the Brain Pain! Reading Ulysses with this group is one of my favorite literary experiences ever. And reading The Waves with you guys is right up there."

And thank you for inspiring the project way back when.

I was actually thinking about rereading Ulysses - maybe this summer...

Thank you Jim. Afraid I'm a bit more of a lurker as well.

Cphe wrote: "I've tried to read Ulysses in the past and failed miserably. It's one of those reads that I feel that I should read but become overwhelmed with the challenge of it.

I think I'd have a better chanc..."

I suppose June or so...

If you have the time, you could start with Dubliners and the A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. These are a kind of "prequel" to Ulysses and will give you a sense of Joyce as a thinker and writer. If you enjoy these two, you'll probably be okay with Ulysses.

I will give you fair warning here - Ulysses is one of the most difficult books I've ever read. You will benefit from reading a bit about the book before you begin. There are endless articles and a number of guidebooks available. That being said, if you finish the book, you will have legit street cred and bragging rights...

Cphe wrote: "Have Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - will attempt them when my April reads/groups that I've committed to have finished.

Yep......will need to have my hand held methinks......."

for inspiration, Marilyn reading Ulysses:

http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/ma...

Years ago I read Anthony Burgess's guide "Re Joyce" right before my second attempt on "Ulysses". My second attempt was much more successful than my first attempt. I highly recommend Burgess's book.

John wrote: "Years ago I read Anthony Burgess's guide "Re Joyce" right before my second attempt on "Ulysses". My second attempt was much more successful than my first attempt. I highly recommend Burgess's book."

Will check it out.

I think it is appropriate to begin the discussion on Bloomsday, 16 June.

http://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/

For a very deep and fascinating dive into Ulysses, I highly recommend Frank Delany's "Re:Joyce". A five minute podcast once a week on Ulysses from beginning to end. Sometimes the entire podcast is on a single sentence. Delany estimates the podcast will last 22 years. http://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/

Another site which I found very helpful is the Columbia annotated Ulysses. They use different colors for the dialogue of different characters, internal monologues, hallucinations etc... I suspect some may consider it 'cheating', but their methodology helps make the reading go easier without changing the stream of consciousness flow of the text. They also have annotations that you can hover over to reveal, which is much less disruptive than flipping back and forth to an external guide. http://www.columbia.edu/~fms5/ulys.htm

Whitney wrote: "Another site which I found very helpful is the Columbia annotated Ulysses. ..."

I, too, found the Columbia sites on Ulysses very good. (I didn't use the one Whitney shares here.) I enjoyed this one: https://joyceimages.com/ (It has changed drastically since the last time I visited the page. It was thumbnails a couple of years ago.)

Thomas, a moderator on the Western Canon board who uses Joyce as an avatar, led a most wonderful discussion of Joyce's Ulysses back in 2015. I call it to your attention as yet another resource to whomever tackles this monster of a masterpiece, whether for the first or the umpteenth time:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

I would be very interested in a Ulysses re-read starting on Bloomsday.

And thanks to everyone for posting all these good resources. I found some of my most useful Ulysses-enhancers here on the Brain Pain resource thread, actually. And reading an annotated Portrait of the Artist was really helpful for me as well. The volume of annotations was significantly less daunting than those for Ulysses itself, and having some of the political and social background before the fact made for a less interrupt-y reading of the big book.

Cphe wrote: "Finished Dubliners and found it to be "palatable" and surprisingly readable. Don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that.

Strange how you unconsciously pick up preconceived reading notions ..."

A portrait of the artist is all about the young Stephen Daedalus as he begins his studies and tries to find his place in the world. This same Stephen, a bit older and perhaps a bit more disillusioned, is reintroduced in the first book of Ulysses.

The complexity of Ulysses cannot be overstated. These two earlier books will give you just a peek at what's to come, but I believe you will have profited from the preparatory reading.

Jim wrote: "For example, I'm in the middle of 2666 right now. If a few of you wanted to discuss it, we could do that "

Down with that. Read it a few years ago (2013 maybe?) but it does stick in the mind.

Speaking for myself, got a bit busy and couldn't make time for reading things on schedule (not a proper excuse, I know). Wouldn't mind taking it up again, if the group returns, refreshed and recharged, from its me-time.

Ready to go! Reread Ulysses last summer, plodding my way very slowly through FINNEGAN's WAKE, which makes Ulysses look like nothing. Hoping this discussion will inspire me to finish. See you on Bloomsday!