I tried Ulysses and only got a handful of pages in. I read Burroughs The naked lunch out loud. Well not quite out loud but the trick I found was to never reread anything. Read fast like it's someone else talking and keep going even if the sentence doesn't make sense. If you want to get to know Joyce and can't be arsed trying you should definitely get yourself some Flann O'Brien. The Dalkey Archive, At swim two birds and The third policeman are all great reads. Definitely not Joycean but definitely a genius in his own right and with the same roots and a sense of humour as well he's much less pretentious and much more enjoyable than Joyce. I read the Dubliners and didn't think much of it tbh. Joyce does have a part in The Dalkey Archive if that helps.
(apaulinthought, Sat 7 Jan 2012, 20:24, Reply)