How James Joyce Dragged Me To Ireland

And Convinced Me To Bring You On This Journey

The Project: Submerge myself in humanity’s best art in the form of the 100 Best Novels, Albums, and Movies. Ulysses by James Joyce is #1 on the list of the 100 Best Novels of all time.

The Results: Improved mood, less fear and anxiety, a new career as a writer, and the strongest faith in humanity I’ve ever had (yes, even during these times.)

The #1 book on Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels list is Ulysses by James Joyce. If you’ve been joining me on this journey to savor humanity’s best art, you know that I’ve been intimidated by this one. I started my “100 Best Novels” quest with Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” (#3 on the list), and then re-read Gatsby (#2). I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I finally started Ulysses. It took me months to get through it, but I finished it! I was tempted to write this post as follows: “Ulysses: I finished it.”

I’ve been keeping a list of all the books I read since 2003. Most years, I read somewhere between 45–55 books a year. In 2021, I only read 20. THAT’S how long it took me to read. It’s a delirious dive into different styles, Dublin districts, multiple motifs, and Ireland’s dramatic history. I loved it and I spent many days swearing at it.

After I read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce inspired me to do some research into Ireland and its history and I became quite engrossed in it. The quest for…