James Joyce

12 Stories

It Took a Book Club 28 Years to Read a Single Book

They've gone through every page of 'Finnegans Wake'

(Newser) - Most book clubs tackle things one book at a time. Some might divide a particularly long read into chunks to discuss over months. One California book club broke their book into pages—reading and discussing a single page at a time. If you think that pace sounds glacial, you're...

Which Has More Words, Trump's Twitter Feed or Ulysses?

Trump's Twitter feed

(Newser) - On Nov. 3, President Trump reached a very 21st-century milestone: As of this tweet posted that day, in which he berated Democratic "Fixers," he had tweeted more words while in office than James Joyce wrote in his epic Ulysses. And that's not counting Trump's retweets. As...

Why Irish Politicians Are Seeking to Unearth James Joyce

They want him repatriated by 2022, but it won't be easy

(Newser) - James Joyce could be in for an international move some 70 years after his death. Officials in Ireland hope to dig up the country's "premier writer" in order to repatriate his remains and those of his wife, kept at a Swiss cemetery, before the 100th anniversary of Joyce'...

He Was on a Quest to Perfect Ulysses, Then Vanished

Inside the search for James Joyce scholar John Kidd

(Newser) - Scholars have dedicated their lives to poring over the "enigmas and puzzles" of James Joyce's Ulysses. In the New York Times Magazine , Jack Hitt describes years preoccupied with the search for one of those scholars—arguably the preeminent one, and a brash, brilliant, and eccentric one at that—...

Ireland Flubs James Joyce Coin
 Ireland Flubs James Joyce Coin 
Apr 12, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

Ireland Flubs James Joyce Coin

But decides to release it anyway

(Newser) - The Central Bank of Ireland has decided not to sweat the misquote marring its commemorative James Joyce coin. The bank has released the coin, wart and all, the Irish Times reports. The 10-euro coin features two sentences from the third chapter of Ulysses streaming from Joyce's head. The actual...

10 Toughest Reads in Literature
 10 Toughest Reads in Literature 
Jun 13, 2010 4:20 PM CDT

10 Toughest Reads in Literature

This list might be enough to make your head hurt

(Newser) - Great books can bring great joy—and, in a few cases, great big headaches. Listverse compiles the 10 toughest reads in literature:
  • Finnegans Wake, James Joyce: If you thought Joyce would ride his way onto this list compliments of Ulysses, think again. Written partially in a made-up language of mindbendingly
...

DJ Remixes Birth of a Nation for MoMA

This up-and-comer does a little bit of everything

(Newser) - DJ Spooky is not your average turntabilist. The sci-fi-writing, French-lit-and-philosophy-studying 39-year-old has created arguably the greatest remix ever with his trip-hop soundtrack for the controversial 1915 film Birth of a Nation, the Stimulist reports. Next on the list for this soon-to-be household name? Showing his Rebirth of a Nation at...

James Joyce Beat Britney to the Dirty Pun

Many artists have snuck in 'If you see Kay' line

(Newser) - Britney Spears' not-so-subtle pun in her single "If U Seek Amy" (say it fast) may seem devilishly naughty, but completely original it is not. Many musicians have used the similarly racy "If you see Kay" line—from blues pianist Memphis Slim to Norwegian punk band Turbonegro—which was...

Salute to the Eye Patch
 Salute to the Eye Patch 
Jan 3, 2009 4:45 AM CST

Salute to the Eye Patch

Cruise's 'Valkyrie' character only one of many to don an eye patch

(Newser) - Tom Cruise as Claus von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie adds yet another name to the long list of characters—real and fictional—sporting eye patches throughout the ages. New York magazine examines notable wearers of the ocular ornament:
  • James Joyce: Perhaps an homage to “The Cyclops” episode of his fabled
...

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence
10 Books to Pass Up
With Confidence
Sep 20, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence

Richard Wilson saves us all a bunch of time and effort with a not-reading list

(Newser) - Forget the coma-inducing titles that lit lovers keep telling you to read, Richard Wilson writes in his book, Can’t Be Arsed: 101 Things Not to Do Before You Die. He lists the top 10 clunkers in the Daily Telegraph:
  • Ulysses, James Joyce: notoriously hard, so why bother?
  • Lord
...

Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time
Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time
OPINION
Feb 29, 2008 11:27 AM CST

Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time

Drinks passé, along with Sadie Hawkins-style man-chasing

(Newser) - Feb. 29 still comes once every four years, but celebratory cocktails marking the bissextile have gone out of fashion—along with a leap-year tradition that requires plenty of liquid courage, Eric Felten notes in the Wall Street Journal. Women who proposed marriage during the leap year could not be denied;...

Texas Builds an Ultimate Archive
Texas Builds an Ultimate Archive
Jun 17, 2007 4:00 PM CDT

Texas Builds an Ultimate Archive

(Newser) - Start with 48 Gutenberg Bibles—yes, count 'em, 48. Move on to the corrected proofs of Joyce's Ulysses and then to part of Kerouac's original manuscript for On the Road.  Then finish up with Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate notes. These items and much, much more are in the Harry...

12 Stories