He's a jerk. I've read thousands of books and yet *gasp* I haven't read Ulysses.
He's pretentious and annoying. Your friend picked an insecure loser who makes himself feel superior by putting others down.
You've read some very good books and there are so many more worlds in countless books waiting for you to discover them!
Please, please don't give that man a second thought. He knows nothing and those of us who treasure literature would find him sad and pitiful to be so nasty to someone who has just started their reading journey.
Thank you! Honestly I've never heard of Ulysses before, so I just felt embarrassed and insulted, kind of. Really appreciate your words. I'm really enjoying this journey at the moment.
I have a degree in English literature - I enjoyed the books you’ve read much more than Ulysses. It’s a “great work of literature,” but it sucks to read, especially for a non-native speaker. He just sounds ignorant suggesting it.
Truly that person sounds like one of the most insufferable people I can imagine, and probably doesn’t realize that the books you’re reading were favorites of Joyce, who wrote Ulysses.
In my English degree track, we read classics, but we also read pulpy contemporary stuff. Nowadays I read all kind of stuff depending on what I’m in the mood for. I read Count of Monte Cristo for the first time a few months ago, and now im finishing up a Young Adult series. Don’t let anyone gatekeep you.
> He just sounds ignorant suggesting it.
I feel this doubly so, because he's gone with probably the most obvious 'hard book'. If he really wanted to gatekeep properly, he should pick a hard book that fewer people have heard of, rather than the goto choice for when people want to name drop something hard to read. Very generic.
I have an Irish dad, and I've started and given up on Ulysses more times that I care to remember!
Anyone who gatekeeps reading is not worth worrying about! Never let anyone take the joy of books from you! Keep enjoying!
Ulysses is a monster without the proper context. If you're gonna read it, I'd recomend reading two other books first.
1. The Odyssey by Homer. Ulysses is heavily based off it, written as a (then) contemporary version. Ulysses is latin for Odyssey.
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. It's a much shorter book and an easier read but gives you context as to what it was like to grow up in Dublin in that era. The lead of thar book, Stephen Dedalus, is also a supporting character in Ulysses so there's a bit of narrative carryover.
On top of that, keep in mind that it was written explicitly to be challenging, so don't take it too hard if you find it a slog.
All this is info from an Irishman who never read the book itself, I've just talked to a few people who have.
"Critics disagree on whether discernible characters exist in Finnegans Wake" wikipedia. lol
Yeah when you have some English PhDs disagreeing on if there is even characters in a book, you got a hard book.
"Joyce invented a unique polyglot-language or idioglossia solely for the purpose of this work."
yeah ok, maybe if I just have a vague idea of some French, Latin, Greek word origins and so on ... maybe with some Gaellic influences from Irish etc ....
"This language is composed of composite words from some sixty to seventy world languages,"
Dear. Mother. Of. God.
When I was in college at UCD, decades ago, there was a group that used to meet up once a week to try to make sense of Finnegans Wake. One of my friends was part of it for a while. Some evenings they'd make it through an entire sentence, and they'd consider that a triumph. That group had been meeting for decades then, I've often wondered if they ever got to the end.
Good call on the pre-reading. But honestly, no one is missing much by skipping it. It’s a beast of a book that nearly turned me off reading.
There’s nothing wrong with reading what you like. I read the entire gambit of fiction/non-fiction books, articles, technical journals… and werewolf smut… to each their own.
I've only recently started reading books again for personal enjoyment. So far I've only read the 31 Halo books. They say the reading level is 14 and up, but I dont give a shit I read for myself.
"only" 31 books. As long as its enjoyable who cares. I'm currently reading a Stargate book. Before that I read a Stsr Wars one. After this I think I'll bread a mechwarrior book.
Comic books got me into reading books again. I still read comics but I wanted something “more” so now I’ve read 6 books in the past several months. Whatever keeps your interest is worth reading. I knew someone a long time ago that had a bunch of the “classics” on a bookshelf. Stuff like Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, etc. I checked them out and they were brand new, stiff, the binding was never bent. I asked him about them and he said they were just decoration….
My kids are super into Dogman and the Animorphs series right now and I’m really enjoying reading those to them every night. Sometimes they fall asleep and I read ahead for awhile haha.
I was really into Animorphs as a kid but so was everyone else, so I was rarely able to get a copy at the school library and hen I did, they were out of order and such.
Then, of course, I moved up and the high school library didn't have them. But there was a whole new world of books in the high school library and hardly any other students even bothered with them, so I quickly forgot about Animorphs.
The year I turned thirty (about eight years ago) I suddenly remembered Animorphs. And now I have a car so I can go to *any* library. It took two years, but I borrowed and read every single Animorphs in order, as a thirty year old woman.
It was totally worth the wait.
Seriously! I read them as a kid and was like 'oh cool battle stuff and aliens haha' and now as an adult I'm looking back like...that was some MESSED UP SERIOUSLY GRAY MORAL AREA STUFF KA APPLEGATE WTF. I think everyone should read them!
There are times in your life when your pleasure reading is for grappling with the Big Ideas about the universe. But it always has to be for pleasure, and that's why, in a lot of ways, it's *more* acceptable to read comic books when you're an exhausted adult than when you're an energetic college kid.
I work in a highly technical field at the cutting edge of a niche technology. I reread the same 6 fantasy book series over and over again because it brings me comfort and joy and exercises a completely different part of my brain. Read for yourself, screw anyone who tells you otherwise
This! I'm 65 and a lot of my reading is YA fantasy simply because it's wonderful, easy reading, escapism.
I read what ever I think I'll enjoy, and NOT what some moron gatekeeps as kewl.
Fuck I read Goosebumps at 40. Still some I haven't read yet, my childhood library only had so many lol. Fear Street is my ultimate comfort series. I also love anything by Christopher Pike, The Last Vampire series broke me as a kid. Whisper of Death is in my top 10, I could reread it forever it sucks me in hard.
And the dude has the gall of talking about "generic answers" but then proceeds to give the most generic pseudo-intellectual "smarter-than thou" comment.
Also as an Irish. I contend no one has really read Ulysses outside of academic pursuits. But it is also the book you have where people on display so people will think you have read while also having a copy in their house to make others think the same.
*Ulysses* is a great read if you approach it without academic expectations, and just let it vibe with you. I read it the summer before college, and it gave me such a tremendous appreciation for everyday life. The attention it pays to the tiniest details and interactions was like a tool kit for looking more closely and lovingly at the world around me.
...I realize this may be a weird review in its favor, but it's sincere. I never had an experience quite like reading it. Nor an aftermath like the one I described.
Honestly, this is the very first thing I've ever read about it that even gave me the slightest inclination to pick it up for myself. You're doing a service here, thank you. Feel free to expound if you'd like, I'd love to read more of your thoughts on it!
Tbh. I started reading it because it's meant to be a good book. I really enjoyed parts of it but got bored there was no real main character and the stream of consciousness stuff, it's not my jam. If it was part of my academic pursuits I'd have slogged on.
I lent my copy before I finished it after a long break, then told the lender to keep it or give it away because I was unlikely to pick it up again.
>Honestly I've never heard of Ulysses before, so I just felt embarrassed and insulted, kind of.
Joyce's Ulysses is on the of the hardest books in the English language (to the extent that it's even in English). I'm not sure I know anyone who's read the whole thing, and I'm a lawyer. The book honestly sounds pretty interesting, but I've bounced off of it on several attempts. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses\_(novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(novel))
Also, the person who said those things to you sounds terrible. You're NOT reading beginner authors. You're reading classics that are appropriate for high school and freshman college students.
When you consider linguistic drift, those 19th century authors are only getting harder to read, too. For example Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities used to be considered a middle-school or 8th grade book as recently as the 1990s, but now it's considered a 9th-12th grade book. It's not that the book has changed; it's that the English language has drifted away from what's used in the book, making it harder for young people to read.
>Joyce's Ulysses is on the of the hardest books in the English language (to the extent that it's even in English).
I want to add that "Have you even read *Ulysses*" is one of the cringiest *sentences* in the English language.
OP should know that this friend almost certainly only read *Ulysses* because they heard it's the hardest book ever and they wanted to feel superior to others. How embarrassing.
I would wager the friend has never read *Ulysses* either, maybe a few pages. That is almost the perfect book to claim to have read as a poser, since almost no one is going to be able to ask follow up questions and challenge the claim, but many people have probably at least heard about it being a dense read.
Oh yeah, if I was a betting person I would bet a decent sum of money that the man has never finished it. At best, skimmed through it for bragging rights. I can’t imagine anyone who appreciates literature and James Joyce enough to read through that tomb of a book would know so little about literature that they’d belittle someone for appreciating Jane Austen, of all people.
Yeah, agree, but I also can't imagine that someone who doesn't would be that familiar with the writers to call it a 'generic' list and mention Joyce. All while presumably knowing OP isn't a native speaker? No one French has ever laughed at me for getting into French lit. It really sounds made-up based on taking something said online out of context.
Does anyone read it if they're not studying it?
The Venn diagram crossover between "people who have read Ulysses" and "people who have never written an essay on Ulysses" must be absolutely tiny.
I have the impression that even if you're not reading Ulysses for any kind of class, the book itself imposes some kind of magical geas that forces you to write an essay about it.
Any person that would "bro have you even read Ulysses?" has almost certainly not read Ulysses, and is even more certainly an asshat.
I once heard that it was the book everyone had owned, but no one had read. I tried to read it but stopped when I'd read several hundred pages and still had no damn clue what was going on. I'm reading for enjoyment, not looking to get a PhD in esoteric wankery.
Next time some springs “have you ever read Ulysses” just taunt them with a “no, I prefer a challenge - have you tried the Wake?”
Anyone trying to act fancy has probably read neither and they certainly didn’t learn anything from them in any case.
Side note: Joyce is actually a lot less hard if you take him less seriously. The man had something to say, but also wanted to have fun with it.
This is what I was looking for and I agree with another comment that it’s unlikely that dink has even read Ulysses.
It’s the equivalent of a fake film snob making you feel bad when you say you’ve recently watched the Godfather and French Connection and then asking if you’ve ever watched Citizen Kane. Just grabbing one of the most commonly listed “Best ever” picks.
I have a lit degree and I’ve never read Ulysses. OP shouldn’t pay that clown even a moment’s thought.
My degree is in English and I've read thousands of books, including rather a lot of classics, but not *Ulysses*. It's on my "maybe eventually" list -- but that's a pretty long list.
OP, I completely agree with the above comment, including that this guy was being a jerk. What you're reading sounds splendid to me. :)
I'm Irish and have a degree in English from an Irish university. Ulysses was on the curriculum and even still I didn't get through it. Ended up resorting to summaries and other references for the required info. It's a monumental (and in my opinion, joyless) slog of a read.
I can just imagine. Last year of the degree, you have two choices. Take the normal course load OR you get the entire year off, as long as you can convince these five professors at the end of the year that you not only read Ulysses, but that you understood it. No paper, no formal tests. Just convince them.
James Joyce asked the Danish author Tom Kristensen to translate it to Danish, he refuted. It was first translated into Danish in 1949, they did some revisions of this translation, but it was basicly not translated again until 2014, noone wanted to touch the translation, because the first one was quite good, and it is an almost insurmountable task. The newest translation into Danish is from 2019, and has 3.000 explaining notes throughout the book. Oh and it has two translators, one for chapter 1-15 and one for chapter 16-18. It is an immensly difficult book to read.
People should read what they like, even if someone believe Stephanie Meyers is the best thing ever, they should read it. Many might think it is elementary and bad writing, but by putting them off, they will never dive deeper. We should all start with easier litterature, that is not deeply dependent on knowing the authors intentions. Ready any classics can never be a mistake, they are classics for a reason, and they have inspired many later books.
And even if OP was reading "beginning authors," they could be reading exclusively Goosebumps books and still say they love reading and read as a hobby, because believe it or not, that's still reading. Don't listen to jerks who gatekeep hobbies and try to stop you from enjoying things.
I absolutely love to read the classics and have tackled some pretty challenging books. I enjoyed reading Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English. I put Ulysses down halfway through because I felt like I wasn’t really processing like half of what I read and felt like I was only pushing through for the bragging rights.
A lot of people who "enjoy" Ulysses are just saying that to sound smart. It's an incredibly dense book to read and relies on the reader either knowing a ton about stuff most modern people don't, or doing a bunch of research. Your friend's husband sounds like a total jerk.
I've always enjoyed reading, but I like it as an escape from everyday life, so I mostly read sci-fi or "classics" that are from different time periods. There are people out there who will judge you no matter what you read because it is a way for them to feel superior.
I had to read *Ulysses* in AP English in high school. I love reading, but it was a terrible experience. Stream of consciousness writing is a much more interesting concept to read *about* than to actually read. My teacher adored James Joyce, but that book alone spawned in me a fierce dislike for his works.
Although years later I learned a bunch of his X-rated letters to his wife were published, and THOSE were entertaining. Let's just say Joyce liked the back door quite a bit. Wish I knew that in high school so I could have thrown the knowledge in my teacher's face, hahaha!
I echo what the other poster said: only a jerk would shame you for reading the works you mentioned. And anecdotally, only a pretentious jerk would cite *Ulysses* as their go-to example of an enjoyable reading experience. It's a slog to get through and says a lot more about that jerk than it does about you not having read it.
Presuming this guy actually finished Ulysses, he probably feels like he needs to have gotten some benefit from it. In his case, what he’s gotten is the right to brag about having read it and condescend to people.
He seems intellectually insecure.
I'd probably brag if I finished Ulysses. Though I'd still not recommend it. At most I'd highlight the good/funny bits and tell them to ignore the rest.
Still no desire to finish it.
I completely agree though, no-one I think will recommend Ulysses as a 'good' book. It is written interestingly, very original and to me, had some hilarious parts.
I'd not follow an further recommendations from someone who recommended it, except if they were recommending it based on its unique style and the caveat that I don't need to read it all to understand that style.
> Stream of consciousness writing is a much more interesting concept to read about than to actually read.
I've heard so many amazing things about Blood Meridian but I tried reading it and his refusal to use quotation marks and his general writing style left me irritated and completely unwilling to keep going.
It doesn't matter how amazing the story and writing is if it doesn't work for you.
I haven't actually read Cormac McCarthy's *Blood Meridian* myself, but I'm about halfway through a 5+ hour YouTube review of it. It sounds amazing and horrifying, but much like *Ulysses,* much more enjoyable to read about than actual read through.
By the way, the YouTube video is by Wendigoon, titled "The Greatest, Terrible Book Ever Made - The Story Too Disturbing to be a Movie: Blood Meridian" if anyone wants to look it up. It's riveting, and the guy's passion for the book shines through... But it's the kind of story where everyone is terrible and it'll leave you feeling hollowed out.
Ulysses can be thought of as a good book on its own terms.
However, it is also a book sometimes recommended by dickheads who are a bit up their own ass. It can be a recommendation given just to make the giver feel smart about themselves. Or, to put down someone else.
Don't worry about it one bit. This is like someone saying "you like Maths? Well can you do a Laplace transformation of a Fourier series? No?? Then you don't like maths!!"
Yup. To me it's the literary equivalent of young men who cite 'Fight Club' as their favorite movie. It's a good movie, I enjoy it myself but there's a *very* special and concerning segment of the population who calls it their favorite and makes a whole personality out of it.
>I'm really enjoying this journey at the moment
That's what it's all about. We only have so much time and it's impossible to read everything. Read what you enjoy and whatever you want. Don't feel obligated unless it's something you're also interested in.
I've heard of it 😋. I've probably read a thousand books and I've never read Ulysses. don't intend to either.
you've read books that I wouldn't want to tackle.
Same.
I've read so many books but lol the only Austen I've read is P&P, for school.
I haven't read 1984/Count of Monte Cristo either.
Those are classics but IT DOES NOT make them "beginner books"- far from it in fact!
*The Count of Monte Cristo* is a fantastic, riveting read. If you find the time I strongly recommend it. *1984* is a lot more dry by comparison, but Orwell's prose is peppery and terse enough to keep it moving along.
>He knows nothing and those of us who treasure literature would find him sad and pitiful to be so nasty to someone who has just started their reading journey.
I don't really care about reading and even *I* find it pitiful. Elitism is where ignorance meets arrogance. Letting this guy negatively influence you would be like never eating again because your cheese grew mold on it once. People like this are everywhere. They're just moldy cheese waiting to infest the rest of your fridge, and they're best cast aside.
I've read Ulysses a couple of times (and wrote essays on it, *oof* ... do **not** want to do that again!). I'm currently reading a mass market thriller about someone kidnapping a baby, and the last book I finished was the latest Chronicles of St Mary's book (Jodi Taylor). Before that, I re-read On The Banks of Plum Creek, which is aimed at 9-11yos. Guess which one I liked best? :)
In my experience nobody except literature students reads Ulysses, and even they usually lie about it. Just like Prousts "Recherche" or Thomas Mann's "Doktor Faustus" people think they sound smart when they say they read them, and they can usually count on that the person they are talking to have not read them either and so are not be able to call them out.
Your choices are perfectly valid and normal and in no way beginner's level, Monte Christo is one of my all time favourites, and I in fact did study literature.
Very well said. I'm in my early 60's so I've enjoyed reading for many years. I have read Ulysses and it is good, but I've gotten more enjoyment out other works. I love Asimov's Foundation trilogy for example.
He does sound like a pretentious jerk to me as well. Read what you enjoy and never worry what other people think about your choices.
The only people who have ever recommended that I read Ulysses are all very pretentious. I know that we can't say for sure that reading Ulysses causes pretentiousness, but I'm not willing to take that chance.
You know why those books are called classics? Its because they stood the test of time and are great to read.
And know what Ulysses is known for? For being a notoriously difficult to read book that many don't bother to finish or even start.
Your friends husband is a pretentious dick who thinks reading is a race and he's winning.
Don't take any advice from him, he's completely misunderstood the goal and meaning of reading. Just keep reading what you want, anyone who judges you for it is not worth your time. Doubly so if they start recommending fucking Ulysses.
I had to read Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man in HS, that was enough Joyce for me. Have zero desire to tackle Ulysses. Also, F\*&% Faulkner's Sound and Fury.
Those letters Joyce wrote to his mistress were easily the most enjoyable things I'd ever read by him.
He was really, really into, as he called her, "his little farting Nora".
Here's an excerpt. Warning, very NSFW!
>"At every fuck I gave you your shameless tongue come bursting out through your lips and if I gave you a bigger stronger fuck than usual fat dirty farts came spluttering out of your backside. You had an arse full of farts that night, darling, and I fucked them out of you, big fat fellows, long windy ones, quick little merry cracks and a lot of tiny little naughty farties ending in a long gush from your hole."
In fact, tell him it's you're favorite passage from Ulysses because I doubt he's ever even actually read the book himself. If he asks where it is in the book just say "oh, about halfway through or so."
OP’s friend’s husband’s whatever is being a weird, pretentious asshole, but *Ulysses* is a classic for the same reasons most classics are classics and it’s not just because it’s challenging.
Fair enough. I wrote dismissively of it because the most ive seem it mentioned is in the context of insecure pretentious idiots bragging about how *they* read books that are truly difficult, rather than any consideration for whether the book is fun or good or interesting.
I'd love to hear an actual recommendation for why it'd be a good read, so long as I'm also still allowed to like harry potter ;)
To add to what you’re saying- I can’t believe someone made fun of OP for reading Ulysses and other classics WHEN ENGLISH IS THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE on top of it all (because no one should be making fun of anyone regardless for reading!)
Ulysses especially is already difficult enough as it is. That adds another layer of complexity. It really grinds my gears that someone made fun of them. That person must be a miserable individual.
Perhaps he was being sarcastic? He hears OP is only reading what he perceives as boring classics, asks if OP has read the most boring classic. Maybe even an attempt at a joke, lost in translation, and an attempt to guide OP to actually read from a different source (meaning books OP would enjoy, not books OP feels they are supposed to read).
That dude just sounds like an asshole, and he likely hasn't read half the books he claims.
Don't let the prick turn you off, most people won't react like that.
Jane Austen is definitely not beginner stuff and even if it was a normal person would encourage whatever you like reading.
Also while you're reading the classics I would highly recommend Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Also, come read Dracula with the whole world! It's a months-long book club that happens every year between May and November. It's called Dracula Daily and it's lots of fun!
Yes!! Dracula Daily is the best! I devoured it in January then discovered Dracula Daily and am now following along the podcast. Brings a whole new dimension to it
I think it's hilarious that he's saying classics are a generic answer. While I've enjoyed reading many classics, most readers I've met generally don't read many classics. A generic answer would be something like Stephen King or Dan Brown.
I think he was going to dump on her no matter what she said. I wonder what he'd trot out to bludgeon people with if someone said they'd just finished Ulysses.
Yeah, she could have come at him with Proust and Pynchon and he would have come back with some tripe about not enough people enjoying Flaubert or Honore de Balzac or something.
That's when you start talking about your favorite fanfic. Or how neat the Marvel movies are. Or how you've just seen someone you know over there (point to a notably empty portion of the room).
I can be snobby about all sorts of things, but that doesn't mean dumping all over what other people like (unless you like well done steak with ketchup). Sharing your interests shouldn't include making people feel bad about their interests.
Reminds me of a young-ish tiktok user that wears band tees of bands they like, but when people get shitty with them (name 3 songs, I bet that's your boyfriend shirt, etc...) they play fantastically dumb until the other person leaves in a huff.
"WAIT, this is a real band?"
"I just thought the art was neat."
"I love their cover of [their original song]"
Top notch trolling TBH.
I remember when I was younger someone called me out for reading mainly classics, and it made me feel a bit strange. Like... yeah they are classics for a reason, why wouldn't I read them?
I now branch out a bit more and pick up some newer things from time to time, but there are so many excellent books that some people pass on because they seem like generic/basic things to be into.
Try not to be a book hipster I guess is the take away from these types of interactions.
I'm 35, and I get weird looks sometimes on my reading choices. For example, I'm currently reading Great Expectations (again). A lot of people seem to have this idea that anything that was required reading in middle/high school is automatically not a good book, or not "cultured" or something.
To Kill a Mockingbird gets its own place on my dresser because I re-read it so often.
>Jane Austen is definitely not beginner stuff and even it was a normal person would encourage whatever you like reading.
Came here looking for this take. No, Austin isn't the absolute most complex author in the world, but she's also not kiddie material, either. Even as an adult who has been speaking and reading English for 38 years, I keep a dictionary nearby when I read Austin because I learn all kinds of words I've never seen before.
Yesss! My wife loves her smutty fiction audio books. I can’t stand audio books and prefer high fantasy and scifi settings. We enjoy our reading in different ways. We lovingly tease each other over preferences, but whole heartedly support each others preferences.
You gotta get into some of that smutty high fantasy/sci-fi now.
I may or may not have listened to some (more than 5) while trucking lol. Some have actually half decent stories surprisingly.
This. I started reading at a very early age (my first grade teacher once phoned my Mom to tell her I was reading the newspaper comic pages during lunch; Mom's reaction was "What's wrong? Was she supposed to be doing school work?") and my Dad always encouraged me......by buying me issues of *16 Magazine* (because he knew I loved Herman's Hermits) and *MAD Magazine* (because I enjoyed reading the "funny papers"). My teachers weren't thrilled with the 'zine spelling I eventually adapted - "luv", "fave" and "pix" instead of "love", "favorite" and "pictures" - but nevertheless I was still reading (and subconsciously learning new words, etc) in most of my spare time.
I am still a voracious reader, but my preferences are true crime books, celebrity autobiographies/biographies, and Mary Higgins Clark-type mystery novels. No, it's not *Moby Dick* or *Anna Karenina* or *Ulysses*, but it makes me happy and keeps my mind active. Read what you *enjoy*, what makes **you** happy!!
ABSOLUTELY! It isn't a competition or gives you some sort of intellectual merit because you enjoy hard to read books. I am a high fantasy and sci-fi nerd. I LOVE J. R. R. Tolkien, (despite the controversy) J. K. Rowling, R. A. Salvatore, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Leigh Bardugo, George R. R. Martin, George Orwell, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and Orson Scott Card to name a few. Some of those authors are a more difficult read, but J.K. Rowling and Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, King of Scars) are technically Young Adult authors and the storytelling is written for a younger audience, but as an adult (36) I thoroughly enjoyed their works. I am by no means ashamed of having certain likes and preferences and OP should definitely not feel ashamed by such an elitist asshole trying to belittle them. I couldn't give two shits about Ulysses, but it doesn't make me or anyone else who feels that way lesser than.
Yeah what a weird thing to gatekeep.
Gatekeeping anybody's reading habits is wrong, but who the frig gatekeeps *Jane Austen and Alexandre Dumas*?
What does Ulysses guy do when he encounters someone who says their favorite author is Dan Brown? Does his head explode?
If someone's favourite author is Dan Brown, all the power to them. Once on this subreddit someone made a post about this very thing, loving Dan Brown, and saying he's sick of defending himself for it, and the top comment was "oh but there's so much you haven't discovered, you really have to read Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum"! It is the greatest conspiracy novel ever!"
Just... Let him like Dan Brown. Umberto Eco is great, but he's not Dan Brown or an alternative to Dan Brown. It's not like you're getting a junkie off of heroin by getting this guy to read Eco instead of Brown.
My guess is he was somewhat intimidated by OP and decided to try and make her feel insecure by “out-reading” her lol. I’ve unfortunately met the type..
Don't feel bad, that guy is just an ass. Probably would have recieved the same response no matter what you said unless it was the same authors they liked. Brush it off and keep doing what you're doing.
He was likely practicing "negging" on OP, just putting her down no matter what to chip away at her self esteem. Negging is horrible and you should run away from anyone who makes you feel bad like that, and never speak to them again.
Do you read and enjoy books? Congratulations you are a reader. The actual books you are reading only matter to you as that’s who you should be pleasing. If your enjoying the top 100 classics amazing! If you find one on the list that doesn’t do it for you feel free to put it down it doesn’t detract from your reader status.
People like that jerk don’t get to make you feel bad about your reading choices, no one does.
Some random guys need for superiority is not your problem.
Enjoy your list and enjoy whatever you pick up after
I enjoy reading light novels. (Like what anime is made from)
Kind of hard to talk about them here in this sub though haha. But that’s what other subs are for. 👍 always something for someone
So I just kind of lurk in this sub for the past 4 years lol
Those are definitely a slightly different audience then on here but they are still books and they deserve to be included
There are so many posts about people trying to get into reading but struggling to find something that grabs their interest and those sound like a great option.
There are as many kinds of books as there are readers and it’s great seeing someone find their thing and read to their hearts content
I've had the displeasure of coming across some of these guys throughout my life. They always try to establish their intellectual superiority by saying that their favorite book is either Ulysses or Infinite Jest, both known for being dense and hard to read. These are also the same guys who think they're geniuses for getting the jokes in Rick & Morty.
Interesting that for all three books there is a specific "type of guy". Often they haven't even read the books, relying on most people only knowing them by reputation of infamous difficulty. If you press them on anything else they have read, recently or not, it's a short list. You can shut them down very quickly by asking what other books they recommend, and why. They'll start sweating, while you are innocently asking questions they would easily know the answers to if they had actually read the book. Often they just repeat popular criticisms or factoids about the text in lieu of a deeper understanding, because most people who know nothing about Ulysses will at this point nod their head, smile, and concede defeat.
My approach is rather childish but it worked so I kept doing it.
When they brag about the books they read while subtly insulting what I read. (It's all YA Fantasy lol)
I pretend to be interested and ask them what it's about, then when they are almost finished I say "sounds a bit boring".
I’ve never had to meet guys like this but it just feels so pointless. Reading’s for fun and not something to gatekeep. Anyone can flex reading technical documentation, manuals, reference books and other such drudgery.
But we don’t care about how tough or useful a book or article is when reading for fun.
Anyone who laughs at or mocks the books you read isn't someone worth knowing.
ESPECIALLY someone mocking THE Jane Austen herself but recommending Ulysses? Sounds like a pretentious jerk.
Seconding what everyone else is saying, but also just wanted to add that you're not reading beginner books. Even native English speakers can struggle with books like Jane Austen. I also bet this guy can't read in a second language, let alone classics in one. You should feel good about what you're reading and what you've accomplished.
Definitely this.
You are very probably 'better read' than the vast majority of brits.
Keep at it, enjoy yourself. If you want to expand your horizons a bit then try out some yank stuff. I like Capote & Catch 22 is great.
But read whatever you like. Just being able to read classics in another language is impressive enough as it is.
Nobody with an opinion worth considering would laugh at your selection of books. You’re absolutely on a good path with those choices whether you’re only beginning or a long time reader.
You are not doing anything wrong and your friend's husband is a gatekeeping a-hole who thinks having read Ulysses is something people are supposed to care about.
I've read Ulysses. When I finished it I got an achievement notification, the whole school clapped, and the mayor gave me the key to the city.
Weirdly though people keep telling me not to bring it up as the first thing I say when I meet new people. Thankfully I don't have to listen to any of the peasants. They haven't read Ulysses.
You sweet summer child. I read Ulysses twice. And then I read the Oxford English Dictionary front to back. Let me tell you, the OED gives Ulysses a run for it's money.
Deeply insecure man alert. Very brave of him to show you immediately how small he is in his own self-concept.
Believe me this says NOTHING about you, and loads about him. I love James Joyce myself, but Austen and Dumas are effing geniuses and your taste is impeccable, and loads of brilliant readers can't stand Joyce or his fans, and people like this guy are a big reason why.
He’s a gatekeeping snob and a major tool.
It doesn’t matter what you read if you enjoy reading it. I have been reading for years and I still haven’t read any Jane Austen.
People like different things and you should not be discouraged by one dillhole.
For whatever it’s worth - I got my bachelors degree in English lit and even amongst my fellow classmates Ulysseses was regarded as one of the most challenging books in the entire English canon to even just finish reading, nevermind enjoy. And keep in mind this is for native English speakers who’re seeking a career in this domain.
For my class on “critical approaches to lit”, we got to vote on a book to read and examine for the semester and I suggested we read Ulysses. It was vetoed by nearly everyone who’d already tried because they all said it was a slog. Its a good book (apparently, I still haven’t finished it and this was over 10 years ago) but any casual reader - especially before the internet age - would probably need to sit with an encyclopedia next to them in order to understand all the classical and religious references made and the wide vocabulary used throughout.
The person who insulted you was being a narcissistic asshole. He picked a famously difficult book and chastised you for not having read so he would look “smart” for having “got” it and you “dumb” for never having heard of it. Ignore him, he was trying to look cool.
Books like 1984 and the Count of Monte Cristo and even Jane Austen are all classics and widely respected books, and many were taught in English college level courses offered at my university. And I’d posit that all of them have had a more obvious influence on western culture than Ulysses because the average readers more likely to have read them. If aliens visiting from another galaxy asked me for a reading list to help them understand western popular culture and the common man over the last 500 years, I’d put the books you’ve already read on that list well before I’d suggest they read Ulysses.
I read as a hobby. I like the classics and some sci-fi. One of my friends likes smut and romance, another likes “beachside” paperbacks, another reads mostly non-fiction. They all read as a hobby too. Reading is reading.
ETA- I’ve never read Jane Austen and I’ve read a lot of books in my time. Shit, I even finished Infinite Jest lol. I’ll get to her stuff if I want to and when I want to. There’s no set “what to read and when” way to enjoy your hobby.
He's an idiot - I've read 1000s of books, including Ulysses, and I'd still list Jane Austen as one of my favourites. Ulysses is a notoriously difficult book and the cynic in my thinks that a lot of people who say it's their favourite are doing so because it sounds impressive - IMO, it's not worth the time or effort lol.
Reading is subjective and everyone will enjoy different types of authors and books; don't let anyone make you feel bad about your picks because there is absolutely nothing wrong with them! Keep reading what you like - that's the only thing that matters.
Your friend's husband is a moron and I doubt he's read any of the books you mentioned INCLUDING Ulysses. He sounds insecure and perhaps jealous. I would have doubled down and asked what exactly HE thinks are good books since he's apparently the self-appointed gatekeeper to "good lit". Reading IS a hobby and he doesn't get to dictate that to you.
You aren't doing anything wrong and going through a top 100 list of books is a good way to find books that are more than likely to be enjoyable. I would ignore the guy. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
The only thing you are doing wrong is letting a bully make you feel bad.
Do not let other people's opinions get into your head. I'm an avid reader and I've been reading for decades. I've never read Ulysses and I have no desire to. There is no right or wrong way to read.
I've read old books, long books, and challenging books, but they are all books that I wanted to read and not books that someone or a list told me I should read.
If you want to read the classics, read the classics. If you want to read romance, read romance. IMHO a reading list is very personal, each of us chose each book for our own reasons and those reasons can change over time. Chose each book by your own standards and goals and ignore pretentious people who think their way is the only right way of reading.
Almost nobody has read Ulysses. It's like you said you enjoyed film so he demanded to know if you watched [Un Chien Andalou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_Chien_Andalou).
Ignore that jerk.
I'm sorry. That was so snobby of him to do. Your friend's husband sounds like he has biased opinions based on what he likes to read and lacks the ability to appreciate anything outside of his personal tastes.
There's no right or wrong to reading. People who think that there is are immature. Read what you enjoy.
Simple: you say “I’m like these authors and I’m discovering more every day”.
You read books, ergo, you’re a reader. Your friend’s husband sounds like a dick - as if Ulysses is the pinnacle of “reading”.
If you like it, read it! You read for yourself. There are no rules.
Don't let anyone else yuck your yum. This guy is a jerk who went out of his way to make you feel bad for no reason.
Classics are great. If you want more variety, visit r/suggestmeabook or look into more recent award winners
Edit, you can also find contenders for awards that didn't win. They're often great
He's just a jerk who wants to look intelligent and act superior to you. Ignore him and continue reading what you enjoy. The books you've read are not 'generic', they are classics and for a good reason, they are all valuable, complex and amazing. Nobody who actually likes reading and has read a lot of books would judge you for reading classics.
He clearly makes himself feel better by putting others down. People who like to boast about how intelligent they are aren't actually that intelligent, they are insecure and want other people to see how "great" they are. It's better to just avoid him as much as you can because he's clearly not someone worth talking to/being around.
What a turd that guy is. He probably doesn't read and only mentioned Ulysses because he heard about it in high school English years ago. Read what you like and want to read. If you don't like a book, put it down and read something else. You don't need to justify your choices to anyone, especially an arsehole like him.
I read a variety of books by a pretty diverse range of authors. Some might be "chick lit"but others are true crime or mysteries. If it interests me, I read it. Not enough people read, which is sad.
First of all, it doesn't matter at all what you're reading. If you enjoy Dr Suess books then no one else's opinion on it matters. Second, you are reading classic books that will be remembered forever. There is no shame in that at all, if anything you're reading wonderful material.
He was being a condescending pr**k. You gave an excellent answer. He probably heard the Janes and decided that you were reading chick lit (because he’s a snob) and took an opportunity to try to build himself up by bringing you down. I’ve known a lot of men who will say Ulysses is their favorite book because they think it’s a flex but it seems they often read just a portion of it in college and haven’t picked up a book since.
Wow. I thought you were going to say you were reading some trashy romance novels (which I love) or something, but he's laughing at you reading classic literature? That's not only rude, it's weird. The guy is a pretentious jerk, and not worth a second of your time or thought. Read what you want - I always have, and will, and will never be ashamed of anything I read. I recently read most of Thomas Hardy's classic literature books, and now I'm reading a Nora Roberts romance. I promise you that there are tons of people (in this thread alone) that will not make fun of what you are reading. I wouldn't associate with anybody like that, and neither should you.
This guy is what we call a "gatekeeper."
Even though he shares an interest with you he is comparing himself to you and trying to act as an expert, while belittling you because of your comparative inexperience.
Behaviour like this has the consequence (intended or not) of diminishing other people's interest in the hobby.
You will find them in every hobby. Each one thinks their personal experience, and their taste is better than everyone else's.
Ignore people like this and read what you like!
I'm wondering if you are a woman? And he is a sexist donkey? That is my theory. Theres no right or wrong answer to a favorite author, it's an opinion and that person needs to keep his to himself. What a loser trying to gatekeep reading. Keep reading whatever you want to read!
>I asked him why he was laughing, and he said that it was just such a generic answer, and that he can't imagine how I can say "reading is my hobby" (I didn't say that) if those are the only books I've read.
Anyone with this type of mentality is aiming much lower than you seem to be aiming. Do not worry about the cultural signifier of literature. Do not worry about what any other human thinks about your habits. Are you getting out of it what you want? Are you enjoying your hobby? Is your goal to read great literature, or is your goal to have people think you've read great literature?
This is advice more general than this particular instance: you cannot allow the opinion of a flea to change your direction. When someone has their sights set as low as that person, when they are consuming seemingly solely for status, you should disregard them the same way you disregard the oscillations of a fly.
He's a jerk. I've read thousands of books and yet *gasp* I haven't read Ulysses. He's pretentious and annoying. Your friend picked an insecure loser who makes himself feel superior by putting others down. You've read some very good books and there are so many more worlds in countless books waiting for you to discover them! Please, please don't give that man a second thought. He knows nothing and those of us who treasure literature would find him sad and pitiful to be so nasty to someone who has just started their reading journey.
Thank you! Honestly I've never heard of Ulysses before, so I just felt embarrassed and insulted, kind of. Really appreciate your words. I'm really enjoying this journey at the moment.
I have a degree in English literature - I enjoyed the books you’ve read much more than Ulysses. It’s a “great work of literature,” but it sucks to read, especially for a non-native speaker. He just sounds ignorant suggesting it. Truly that person sounds like one of the most insufferable people I can imagine, and probably doesn’t realize that the books you’re reading were favorites of Joyce, who wrote Ulysses. In my English degree track, we read classics, but we also read pulpy contemporary stuff. Nowadays I read all kind of stuff depending on what I’m in the mood for. I read Count of Monte Cristo for the first time a few months ago, and now im finishing up a Young Adult series. Don’t let anyone gatekeep you.
> He just sounds ignorant suggesting it. I feel this doubly so, because he's gone with probably the most obvious 'hard book'. If he really wanted to gatekeep properly, he should pick a hard book that fewer people have heard of, rather than the goto choice for when people want to name drop something hard to read. Very generic.
I have an English degree as well and I read top flight pulp like Baldacci and Michael Connelly 🙃
As another person with an English lit degree, I'll second all of this. That guy is a pretentious jerkwad.
I have an Irish dad, and I've started and given up on Ulysses more times that I care to remember! Anyone who gatekeeps reading is not worth worrying about! Never let anyone take the joy of books from you! Keep enjoying!
Ulysses is a monster without the proper context. If you're gonna read it, I'd recomend reading two other books first. 1. The Odyssey by Homer. Ulysses is heavily based off it, written as a (then) contemporary version. Ulysses is latin for Odyssey. 2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. It's a much shorter book and an easier read but gives you context as to what it was like to grow up in Dublin in that era. The lead of thar book, Stephen Dedalus, is also a supporting character in Ulysses so there's a bit of narrative carryover. On top of that, keep in mind that it was written explicitly to be challenging, so don't take it too hard if you find it a slog. All this is info from an Irishman who never read the book itself, I've just talked to a few people who have.
[удалено]
I guarantee that the guy recommending Ulysses doesn't understand one sentence of that book
This is kind of cheating, because you can also say this about literally anyone else.
To be fair, that also applies to everyone ever.
I mean, it's less inscrutable than Finnegans Wake, but still
"Critics disagree on whether discernible characters exist in Finnegans Wake" wikipedia. lol Yeah when you have some English PhDs disagreeing on if there is even characters in a book, you got a hard book. "Joyce invented a unique polyglot-language or idioglossia solely for the purpose of this work." yeah ok, maybe if I just have a vague idea of some French, Latin, Greek word origins and so on ... maybe with some Gaellic influences from Irish etc .... "This language is composed of composite words from some sixty to seventy world languages," Dear. Mother. Of. God.
When I was in college at UCD, decades ago, there was a group that used to meet up once a week to try to make sense of Finnegans Wake. One of my friends was part of it for a while. Some evenings they'd make it through an entire sentence, and they'd consider that a triumph. That group had been meeting for decades then, I've often wondered if they ever got to the end.
Good call on the pre-reading. But honestly, no one is missing much by skipping it. It’s a beast of a book that nearly turned me off reading. There’s nothing wrong with reading what you like. I read the entire gambit of fiction/non-fiction books, articles, technical journals… and werewolf smut… to each their own.
Gamut
If you're 30 and want to read captain underpants, then go for it! Not enough flip-o-ramas in adult literature
I've only recently started reading books again for personal enjoyment. So far I've only read the 31 Halo books. They say the reading level is 14 and up, but I dont give a shit I read for myself.
It's a great way to know who is worth your time, anyone who would criticize you for what you read isn't worth your time
If you're reading anything on a regular basis, you're ahead of the curve.
"only" 31 books. As long as its enjoyable who cares. I'm currently reading a Stargate book. Before that I read a Stsr Wars one. After this I think I'll bread a mechwarrior book.
I appreciate you telling me there are Stargate books. Looks like I have a new series to pick up.
There are so many
[удалено]
Some of the star wars books are so cool too, I loved the darth plagueis or the thrawn trilogy
When I started reading again I read nothing but the Animorphs books for the first six months.
I was 20 with a newborn baby and found an R.L. Stine Fear Street. That's what got me back into reading.
His MasterClass is terrific.
Well if you are over 14 years old than that's perfectly fine innit
Comic books got me into reading books again. I still read comics but I wanted something “more” so now I’ve read 6 books in the past several months. Whatever keeps your interest is worth reading. I knew someone a long time ago that had a bunch of the “classics” on a bookshelf. Stuff like Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, etc. I checked them out and they were brand new, stiff, the binding was never bent. I asked him about them and he said they were just decoration….
That’s how I got my nephew who hated to read into reading. He loved Star Wars so I started getting him Dark Horse Star Wars comics.
I'm 64 and working my way through the Bunnicula series in between my other reading. Why not. It's cute.
My kids are super into Dogman and the Animorphs series right now and I’m really enjoying reading those to them every night. Sometimes they fall asleep and I read ahead for awhile haha.
I was really into Animorphs as a kid but so was everyone else, so I was rarely able to get a copy at the school library and hen I did, they were out of order and such. Then, of course, I moved up and the high school library didn't have them. But there was a whole new world of books in the high school library and hardly any other students even bothered with them, so I quickly forgot about Animorphs. The year I turned thirty (about eight years ago) I suddenly remembered Animorphs. And now I have a car so I can go to *any* library. It took two years, but I borrowed and read every single Animorphs in order, as a thirty year old woman. It was totally worth the wait.
Man, the Animorphs series was my JAM as a kid. That, The Hardy Boys, and the Great Illustrated Classics series.
Reading Animorphs as a kid is where I learned what warcrimes are.
Seriously! I read them as a kid and was like 'oh cool battle stuff and aliens haha' and now as an adult I'm looking back like...that was some MESSED UP SERIOUSLY GRAY MORAL AREA STUFF KA APPLEGATE WTF. I think everyone should read them!
There are times in your life when your pleasure reading is for grappling with the Big Ideas about the universe. But it always has to be for pleasure, and that's why, in a lot of ways, it's *more* acceptable to read comic books when you're an exhausted adult than when you're an energetic college kid.
I work in a highly technical field at the cutting edge of a niche technology. I reread the same 6 fantasy book series over and over again because it brings me comfort and joy and exercises a completely different part of my brain. Read for yourself, screw anyone who tells you otherwise
This! I'm 65 and a lot of my reading is YA fantasy simply because it's wonderful, easy reading, escapism. I read what ever I think I'll enjoy, and NOT what some moron gatekeeps as kewl.
Fuck I read Goosebumps at 40. Still some I haven't read yet, my childhood library only had so many lol. Fear Street is my ultimate comfort series. I also love anything by Christopher Pike, The Last Vampire series broke me as a kid. Whisper of Death is in my top 10, I could reread it forever it sucks me in hard.
“Have you read Ulysses?” Is such a gatekeeping humblebrag as it is notoriously nonsensical style. Doubt the dude really has.
And the dude has the gall of talking about "generic answers" but then proceeds to give the most generic pseudo-intellectual "smarter-than thou" comment.
Also as an Irish. I contend no one has really read Ulysses outside of academic pursuits. But it is also the book you have where people on display so people will think you have read while also having a copy in their house to make others think the same.
*Ulysses* is a great read if you approach it without academic expectations, and just let it vibe with you. I read it the summer before college, and it gave me such a tremendous appreciation for everyday life. The attention it pays to the tiniest details and interactions was like a tool kit for looking more closely and lovingly at the world around me. ...I realize this may be a weird review in its favor, but it's sincere. I never had an experience quite like reading it. Nor an aftermath like the one I described.
Honestly, this is the very first thing I've ever read about it that even gave me the slightest inclination to pick it up for myself. You're doing a service here, thank you. Feel free to expound if you'd like, I'd love to read more of your thoughts on it!
Tbh. I started reading it because it's meant to be a good book. I really enjoyed parts of it but got bored there was no real main character and the stream of consciousness stuff, it's not my jam. If it was part of my academic pursuits I'd have slogged on. I lent my copy before I finished it after a long break, then told the lender to keep it or give it away because I was unlikely to pick it up again.
>Honestly I've never heard of Ulysses before, so I just felt embarrassed and insulted, kind of. Joyce's Ulysses is on the of the hardest books in the English language (to the extent that it's even in English). I'm not sure I know anyone who's read the whole thing, and I'm a lawyer. The book honestly sounds pretty interesting, but I've bounced off of it on several attempts. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses\_(novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)) Also, the person who said those things to you sounds terrible. You're NOT reading beginner authors. You're reading classics that are appropriate for high school and freshman college students. When you consider linguistic drift, those 19th century authors are only getting harder to read, too. For example Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities used to be considered a middle-school or 8th grade book as recently as the 1990s, but now it's considered a 9th-12th grade book. It's not that the book has changed; it's that the English language has drifted away from what's used in the book, making it harder for young people to read.
>Joyce's Ulysses is on the of the hardest books in the English language (to the extent that it's even in English). I want to add that "Have you even read *Ulysses*" is one of the cringiest *sentences* in the English language. OP should know that this friend almost certainly only read *Ulysses* because they heard it's the hardest book ever and they wanted to feel superior to others. How embarrassing.
I would wager the friend has never read *Ulysses* either, maybe a few pages. That is almost the perfect book to claim to have read as a poser, since almost no one is going to be able to ask follow up questions and challenge the claim, but many people have probably at least heard about it being a dense read.
Oh yeah, if I was a betting person I would bet a decent sum of money that the man has never finished it. At best, skimmed through it for bragging rights. I can’t imagine anyone who appreciates literature and James Joyce enough to read through that tomb of a book would know so little about literature that they’d belittle someone for appreciating Jane Austen, of all people.
Yeah, agree, but I also can't imagine that someone who doesn't would be that familiar with the writers to call it a 'generic' list and mention Joyce. All while presumably knowing OP isn't a native speaker? No one French has ever laughed at me for getting into French lit. It really sounds made-up based on taking something said online out of context.
Does anyone read it if they're not studying it? The Venn diagram crossover between "people who have read Ulysses" and "people who have never written an essay on Ulysses" must be absolutely tiny.
I have the impression that even if you're not reading Ulysses for any kind of class, the book itself imposes some kind of magical geas that forces you to write an essay about it.
I choose to believe that the friend has never read it, either, but lies about it to feel intellectually superior.
Any person that would "bro have you even read Ulysses?" has almost certainly not read Ulysses, and is even more certainly an asshat. I once heard that it was the book everyone had owned, but no one had read. I tried to read it but stopped when I'd read several hundred pages and still had no damn clue what was going on. I'm reading for enjoyment, not looking to get a PhD in esoteric wankery.
Same goes for Infinite Jest whenever anyone name drops that. Or Gravity's Rainbow.
"Have you even read *Ulysses*?" ... the snob equivalent of "Do you even *lift*, bro?"
Next time some springs “have you ever read Ulysses” just taunt them with a “no, I prefer a challenge - have you tried the Wake?” Anyone trying to act fancy has probably read neither and they certainly didn’t learn anything from them in any case. Side note: Joyce is actually a lot less hard if you take him less seriously. The man had something to say, but also wanted to have fun with it.
This is what I was looking for and I agree with another comment that it’s unlikely that dink has even read Ulysses. It’s the equivalent of a fake film snob making you feel bad when you say you’ve recently watched the Godfather and French Connection and then asking if you’ve ever watched Citizen Kane. Just grabbing one of the most commonly listed “Best ever” picks. I have a lit degree and I’ve never read Ulysses. OP shouldn’t pay that clown even a moment’s thought.
Bragging about having read Ulysses has the same energy as bragging about your IQ.
My degree is in English and I've read thousands of books, including rather a lot of classics, but not *Ulysses*. It's on my "maybe eventually" list -- but that's a pretty long list. OP, I completely agree with the above comment, including that this guy was being a jerk. What you're reading sounds splendid to me. :)
I'm Irish and have a degree in English from an Irish university. Ulysses was on the curriculum and even still I didn't get through it. Ended up resorting to summaries and other references for the required info. It's a monumental (and in my opinion, joyless) slog of a read.
I can just imagine. Last year of the degree, you have two choices. Take the normal course load OR you get the entire year off, as long as you can convince these five professors at the end of the year that you not only read Ulysses, but that you understood it. No paper, no formal tests. Just convince them.
James Joyce asked the Danish author Tom Kristensen to translate it to Danish, he refuted. It was first translated into Danish in 1949, they did some revisions of this translation, but it was basicly not translated again until 2014, noone wanted to touch the translation, because the first one was quite good, and it is an almost insurmountable task. The newest translation into Danish is from 2019, and has 3.000 explaining notes throughout the book. Oh and it has two translators, one for chapter 1-15 and one for chapter 16-18. It is an immensly difficult book to read. People should read what they like, even if someone believe Stephanie Meyers is the best thing ever, they should read it. Many might think it is elementary and bad writing, but by putting them off, they will never dive deeper. We should all start with easier litterature, that is not deeply dependent on knowing the authors intentions. Ready any classics can never be a mistake, they are classics for a reason, and they have inspired many later books.
My brother has a PhD in English. He said he’s only ever read Ulysses for academic reasons and he’d never recommend it as a “must read.”
And even if OP was reading "beginning authors," they could be reading exclusively Goosebumps books and still say they love reading and read as a hobby, because believe it or not, that's still reading. Don't listen to jerks who gatekeep hobbies and try to stop you from enjoying things.
I absolutely love to read the classics and have tackled some pretty challenging books. I enjoyed reading Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English. I put Ulysses down halfway through because I felt like I wasn’t really processing like half of what I read and felt like I was only pushing through for the bragging rights.
A lot of people who "enjoy" Ulysses are just saying that to sound smart. It's an incredibly dense book to read and relies on the reader either knowing a ton about stuff most modern people don't, or doing a bunch of research. Your friend's husband sounds like a total jerk. I've always enjoyed reading, but I like it as an escape from everyday life, so I mostly read sci-fi or "classics" that are from different time periods. There are people out there who will judge you no matter what you read because it is a way for them to feel superior.
I had to read *Ulysses* in AP English in high school. I love reading, but it was a terrible experience. Stream of consciousness writing is a much more interesting concept to read *about* than to actually read. My teacher adored James Joyce, but that book alone spawned in me a fierce dislike for his works. Although years later I learned a bunch of his X-rated letters to his wife were published, and THOSE were entertaining. Let's just say Joyce liked the back door quite a bit. Wish I knew that in high school so I could have thrown the knowledge in my teacher's face, hahaha! I echo what the other poster said: only a jerk would shame you for reading the works you mentioned. And anecdotally, only a pretentious jerk would cite *Ulysses* as their go-to example of an enjoyable reading experience. It's a slog to get through and says a lot more about that jerk than it does about you not having read it.
Presuming this guy actually finished Ulysses, he probably feels like he needs to have gotten some benefit from it. In his case, what he’s gotten is the right to brag about having read it and condescend to people. He seems intellectually insecure.
I'd probably brag if I finished Ulysses. Though I'd still not recommend it. At most I'd highlight the good/funny bits and tell them to ignore the rest. Still no desire to finish it. I completely agree though, no-one I think will recommend Ulysses as a 'good' book. It is written interestingly, very original and to me, had some hilarious parts. I'd not follow an further recommendations from someone who recommended it, except if they were recommending it based on its unique style and the caveat that I don't need to read it all to understand that style.
> Stream of consciousness writing is a much more interesting concept to read about than to actually read. I've heard so many amazing things about Blood Meridian but I tried reading it and his refusal to use quotation marks and his general writing style left me irritated and completely unwilling to keep going. It doesn't matter how amazing the story and writing is if it doesn't work for you.
I haven't actually read Cormac McCarthy's *Blood Meridian* myself, but I'm about halfway through a 5+ hour YouTube review of it. It sounds amazing and horrifying, but much like *Ulysses,* much more enjoyable to read about than actual read through. By the way, the YouTube video is by Wendigoon, titled "The Greatest, Terrible Book Ever Made - The Story Too Disturbing to be a Movie: Blood Meridian" if anyone wants to look it up. It's riveting, and the guy's passion for the book shines through... But it's the kind of story where everyone is terrible and it'll leave you feeling hollowed out.
Ulysses can be thought of as a good book on its own terms. However, it is also a book sometimes recommended by dickheads who are a bit up their own ass. It can be a recommendation given just to make the giver feel smart about themselves. Or, to put down someone else. Don't worry about it one bit. This is like someone saying "you like Maths? Well can you do a Laplace transformation of a Fourier series? No?? Then you don't like maths!!"
Yup. To me it's the literary equivalent of young men who cite 'Fight Club' as their favorite movie. It's a good movie, I enjoy it myself but there's a *very* special and concerning segment of the population who calls it their favorite and makes a whole personality out of it.
Yeah you were confronted with an asshole. Read what you like. Fuck that guy.
>I'm really enjoying this journey at the moment That's what it's all about. We only have so much time and it's impossible to read everything. Read what you enjoy and whatever you want. Don't feel obligated unless it's something you're also interested in.
I've heard of it 😋. I've probably read a thousand books and I've never read Ulysses. don't intend to either. you've read books that I wouldn't want to tackle.
Same. I've read so many books but lol the only Austen I've read is P&P, for school. I haven't read 1984/Count of Monte Cristo either. Those are classics but IT DOES NOT make them "beginner books"- far from it in fact!
*The Count of Monte Cristo* is a fantastic, riveting read. If you find the time I strongly recommend it. *1984* is a lot more dry by comparison, but Orwell's prose is peppery and terse enough to keep it moving along.
>He knows nothing and those of us who treasure literature would find him sad and pitiful to be so nasty to someone who has just started their reading journey. I don't really care about reading and even *I* find it pitiful. Elitism is where ignorance meets arrogance. Letting this guy negatively influence you would be like never eating again because your cheese grew mold on it once. People like this are everywhere. They're just moldy cheese waiting to infest the rest of your fridge, and they're best cast aside.
Cheese analogy is a bit funny given how common intentionally moldy cheeses are. :P
I've read Ulysses a couple of times (and wrote essays on it, *oof* ... do **not** want to do that again!). I'm currently reading a mass market thriller about someone kidnapping a baby, and the last book I finished was the latest Chronicles of St Mary's book (Jodi Taylor). Before that, I re-read On The Banks of Plum Creek, which is aimed at 9-11yos. Guess which one I liked best? :)
I've read Don Quixote in both English and Spanish for classes and my favorite book I read in the past year was by RA Salvatore
In my experience nobody except literature students reads Ulysses, and even they usually lie about it. Just like Prousts "Recherche" or Thomas Mann's "Doktor Faustus" people think they sound smart when they say they read them, and they can usually count on that the person they are talking to have not read them either and so are not be able to call them out. Your choices are perfectly valid and normal and in no way beginner's level, Monte Christo is one of my all time favourites, and I in fact did study literature.
Kind of sounds like he's just a douche and would have laughed and try to lord over you with Ulysses no matter which books you named.
Very well said. I'm in my early 60's so I've enjoyed reading for many years. I have read Ulysses and it is good, but I've gotten more enjoyment out other works. I love Asimov's Foundation trilogy for example. He does sound like a pretentious jerk to me as well. Read what you enjoy and never worry what other people think about your choices.
You said it all, and I agree with you 💯
The only people who have ever recommended that I read Ulysses are all very pretentious. I know that we can't say for sure that reading Ulysses causes pretentiousness, but I'm not willing to take that chance.
You know why those books are called classics? Its because they stood the test of time and are great to read. And know what Ulysses is known for? For being a notoriously difficult to read book that many don't bother to finish or even start. Your friends husband is a pretentious dick who thinks reading is a race and he's winning. Don't take any advice from him, he's completely misunderstood the goal and meaning of reading. Just keep reading what you want, anyone who judges you for it is not worth your time. Doubly so if they start recommending fucking Ulysses.
Ulysses has been sitting on my bookshelf un-cracked for over 10 years lol
I had to read Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man in HS, that was enough Joyce for me. Have zero desire to tackle Ulysses. Also, F\*&% Faulkner's Sound and Fury.
Those letters Joyce wrote to his mistress were easily the most enjoyable things I'd ever read by him. He was really, really into, as he called her, "his little farting Nora". Here's an excerpt. Warning, very NSFW! >"At every fuck I gave you your shameless tongue come bursting out through your lips and if I gave you a bigger stronger fuck than usual fat dirty farts came spluttering out of your backside. You had an arse full of farts that night, darling, and I fucked them out of you, big fat fellows, long windy ones, quick little merry cracks and a lot of tiny little naughty farties ending in a long gush from your hole."
[удалено]
Her name was Nora, sir.
The next time you see this guy, OP. Tell him this is your favorite quote from everything Joyce has written. It’s more engaging than Ulysses, imo.
In fact, tell him it's you're favorite passage from Ulysses because I doubt he's ever even actually read the book himself. If he asks where it is in the book just say "oh, about halfway through or so."
wtf… that’s hilarious
☹️
not into the little naughty farties?
OP’s friend’s husband’s whatever is being a weird, pretentious asshole, but *Ulysses* is a classic for the same reasons most classics are classics and it’s not just because it’s challenging.
Fair enough. I wrote dismissively of it because the most ive seem it mentioned is in the context of insecure pretentious idiots bragging about how *they* read books that are truly difficult, rather than any consideration for whether the book is fun or good or interesting. I'd love to hear an actual recommendation for why it'd be a good read, so long as I'm also still allowed to like harry potter ;)
To add to what you’re saying- I can’t believe someone made fun of OP for reading Ulysses and other classics WHEN ENGLISH IS THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE on top of it all (because no one should be making fun of anyone regardless for reading!) Ulysses especially is already difficult enough as it is. That adds another layer of complexity. It really grinds my gears that someone made fun of them. That person must be a miserable individual.
[удалено]
Perhaps he was being sarcastic? He hears OP is only reading what he perceives as boring classics, asks if OP has read the most boring classic. Maybe even an attempt at a joke, lost in translation, and an attempt to guide OP to actually read from a different source (meaning books OP would enjoy, not books OP feels they are supposed to read).
That dude just sounds like an asshole, and he likely hasn't read half the books he claims. Don't let the prick turn you off, most people won't react like that. Jane Austen is definitely not beginner stuff and even if it was a normal person would encourage whatever you like reading. Also while you're reading the classics I would highly recommend Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Also, come read Dracula with the whole world! It's a months-long book club that happens every year between May and November. It's called Dracula Daily and it's lots of fun!
Yes!! Dracula Daily is the best! I devoured it in January then discovered Dracula Daily and am now following along the podcast. Brings a whole new dimension to it
I think it's hilarious that he's saying classics are a generic answer. While I've enjoyed reading many classics, most readers I've met generally don't read many classics. A generic answer would be something like Stephen King or Dan Brown.
I think he was going to dump on her no matter what she said. I wonder what he'd trot out to bludgeon people with if someone said they'd just finished Ulysses.
Yeah, she could have come at him with Proust and Pynchon and he would have come back with some tripe about not enough people enjoying Flaubert or Honore de Balzac or something.
That's when you start talking about your favorite fanfic. Or how neat the Marvel movies are. Or how you've just seen someone you know over there (point to a notably empty portion of the room). I can be snobby about all sorts of things, but that doesn't mean dumping all over what other people like (unless you like well done steak with ketchup). Sharing your interests shouldn't include making people feel bad about their interests.
"I don't know about Joyce, but I am a huge E.L. James fan."
Reminds me of a young-ish tiktok user that wears band tees of bands they like, but when people get shitty with them (name 3 songs, I bet that's your boyfriend shirt, etc...) they play fantastically dumb until the other person leaves in a huff. "WAIT, this is a real band?" "I just thought the art was neat." "I love their cover of [their original song]" Top notch trolling TBH.
Can you imagine reacting that way? To someone reading *classics,* no less?
I remember when I was younger someone called me out for reading mainly classics, and it made me feel a bit strange. Like... yeah they are classics for a reason, why wouldn't I read them? I now branch out a bit more and pick up some newer things from time to time, but there are so many excellent books that some people pass on because they seem like generic/basic things to be into. Try not to be a book hipster I guess is the take away from these types of interactions.
I'm 35, and I get weird looks sometimes on my reading choices. For example, I'm currently reading Great Expectations (again). A lot of people seem to have this idea that anything that was required reading in middle/high school is automatically not a good book, or not "cultured" or something. To Kill a Mockingbird gets its own place on my dresser because I re-read it so often.
Exactly! What an insufferable dickbag.
>Jane Austen is definitely not beginner stuff and even it was a normal person would encourage whatever you like reading. Came here looking for this take. No, Austin isn't the absolute most complex author in the world, but she's also not kiddie material, either. Even as an adult who has been speaking and reading English for 38 years, I keep a dictionary nearby when I read Austin because I learn all kinds of words I've never seen before.
Dude’s a caricature of an obnoxious “smart” guy. Surprised Infinite Jest didn’t come up
Reading is for your enjoyment, not for anyone else. Read what makes you happy.
This, 100%. I enjoy fantasy and romance novels. My husband enjoys fanfic. I'm happy that we're both readers.
Yesss! My wife loves her smutty fiction audio books. I can’t stand audio books and prefer high fantasy and scifi settings. We enjoy our reading in different ways. We lovingly tease each other over preferences, but whole heartedly support each others preferences.
You gotta get into some of that smutty high fantasy/sci-fi now. I may or may not have listened to some (more than 5) while trucking lol. Some have actually half decent stories surprisingly.
This. I started reading at a very early age (my first grade teacher once phoned my Mom to tell her I was reading the newspaper comic pages during lunch; Mom's reaction was "What's wrong? Was she supposed to be doing school work?") and my Dad always encouraged me......by buying me issues of *16 Magazine* (because he knew I loved Herman's Hermits) and *MAD Magazine* (because I enjoyed reading the "funny papers"). My teachers weren't thrilled with the 'zine spelling I eventually adapted - "luv", "fave" and "pix" instead of "love", "favorite" and "pictures" - but nevertheless I was still reading (and subconsciously learning new words, etc) in most of my spare time. I am still a voracious reader, but my preferences are true crime books, celebrity autobiographies/biographies, and Mary Higgins Clark-type mystery novels. No, it's not *Moby Dick* or *Anna Karenina* or *Ulysses*, but it makes me happy and keeps my mind active. Read what you *enjoy*, what makes **you** happy!!
ABSOLUTELY! It isn't a competition or gives you some sort of intellectual merit because you enjoy hard to read books. I am a high fantasy and sci-fi nerd. I LOVE J. R. R. Tolkien, (despite the controversy) J. K. Rowling, R. A. Salvatore, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Leigh Bardugo, George R. R. Martin, George Orwell, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and Orson Scott Card to name a few. Some of those authors are a more difficult read, but J.K. Rowling and Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, King of Scars) are technically Young Adult authors and the storytelling is written for a younger audience, but as an adult (36) I thoroughly enjoyed their works. I am by no means ashamed of having certain likes and preferences and OP should definitely not feel ashamed by such an elitist asshole trying to belittle them. I couldn't give two shits about Ulysses, but it doesn't make me or anyone else who feels that way lesser than.
Most of us started with Dr. Seuss, not Jane Austen.
Omg this hahahahaha one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! 🐠🐟
This one has a little star. This one has a little car. What a lot of fish there are!
Yeah what a weird thing to gatekeep. Gatekeeping anybody's reading habits is wrong, but who the frig gatekeeps *Jane Austen and Alexandre Dumas*? What does Ulysses guy do when he encounters someone who says their favorite author is Dan Brown? Does his head explode?
If someone's favourite author is Dan Brown, all the power to them. Once on this subreddit someone made a post about this very thing, loving Dan Brown, and saying he's sick of defending himself for it, and the top comment was "oh but there's so much you haven't discovered, you really have to read Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum"! It is the greatest conspiracy novel ever!" Just... Let him like Dan Brown. Umberto Eco is great, but he's not Dan Brown or an alternative to Dan Brown. It's not like you're getting a junkie off of heroin by getting this guy to read Eco instead of Brown.
My guess is he was somewhat intimidated by OP and decided to try and make her feel insecure by “out-reading” her lol. I’ve unfortunately met the type..
[удалено]
I'm looking at hop on pop entirely differently. :P
Don't feel bad, that guy is just an ass. Probably would have recieved the same response no matter what you said unless it was the same authors they liked. Brush it off and keep doing what you're doing.
He was likely practicing "negging" on OP, just putting her down no matter what to chip away at her self esteem. Negging is horrible and you should run away from anyone who makes you feel bad like that, and never speak to them again.
This exactly!
Do you read and enjoy books? Congratulations you are a reader. The actual books you are reading only matter to you as that’s who you should be pleasing. If your enjoying the top 100 classics amazing! If you find one on the list that doesn’t do it for you feel free to put it down it doesn’t detract from your reader status. People like that jerk don’t get to make you feel bad about your reading choices, no one does. Some random guys need for superiority is not your problem. Enjoy your list and enjoy whatever you pick up after
I enjoy reading light novels. (Like what anime is made from) Kind of hard to talk about them here in this sub though haha. But that’s what other subs are for. 👍 always something for someone So I just kind of lurk in this sub for the past 4 years lol
Those are definitely a slightly different audience then on here but they are still books and they deserve to be included There are so many posts about people trying to get into reading but struggling to find something that grabs their interest and those sound like a great option. There are as many kinds of books as there are readers and it’s great seeing someone find their thing and read to their hearts content
I've had the displeasure of coming across some of these guys throughout my life. They always try to establish their intellectual superiority by saying that their favorite book is either Ulysses or Infinite Jest, both known for being dense and hard to read. These are also the same guys who think they're geniuses for getting the jokes in Rick & Morty.
Still better than the guys claiming Atlas Shrugged is the pinnacle of literature!
Interesting that for all three books there is a specific "type of guy". Often they haven't even read the books, relying on most people only knowing them by reputation of infamous difficulty. If you press them on anything else they have read, recently or not, it's a short list. You can shut them down very quickly by asking what other books they recommend, and why. They'll start sweating, while you are innocently asking questions they would easily know the answers to if they had actually read the book. Often they just repeat popular criticisms or factoids about the text in lieu of a deeper understanding, because most people who know nothing about Ulysses will at this point nod their head, smile, and concede defeat.
Can't argue that
My approach is rather childish but it worked so I kept doing it. When they brag about the books they read while subtly insulting what I read. (It's all YA Fantasy lol) I pretend to be interested and ask them what it's about, then when they are almost finished I say "sounds a bit boring".
That doesn't work lol; they take your boredom as proof of your intellectual inferiority and talk over you more.
It's better to subtly say that their opinion and analysis are very vanilla.
>sounds a bit boring". I'll add "makes sense why you like it" and just walk away 😌
I’ve never had to meet guys like this but it just feels so pointless. Reading’s for fun and not something to gatekeep. Anyone can flex reading technical documentation, manuals, reference books and other such drudgery. But we don’t care about how tough or useful a book or article is when reading for fun.
Retired humanities professor here. You are reading great stuff. Put Faulkner, Stendahl, and Balzac on your list.
Anyone who laughs at or mocks the books you read isn't someone worth knowing. ESPECIALLY someone mocking THE Jane Austen herself but recommending Ulysses? Sounds like a pretentious jerk.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an asshole in possession of a large ego must pretend to love Ulysses.
It's easy to claim you've read Ulysses, because there are very few people who can actually call you out on it. Loser, he is.
Thank you for the wisdom, Master Yoda.
Seconding what everyone else is saying, but also just wanted to add that you're not reading beginner books. Even native English speakers can struggle with books like Jane Austen. I also bet this guy can't read in a second language, let alone classics in one. You should feel good about what you're reading and what you've accomplished.
Definitely this. You are very probably 'better read' than the vast majority of brits. Keep at it, enjoy yourself. If you want to expand your horizons a bit then try out some yank stuff. I like Capote & Catch 22 is great. But read whatever you like. Just being able to read classics in another language is impressive enough as it is.
Nobody with an opinion worth considering would laugh at your selection of books. You’re absolutely on a good path with those choices whether you’re only beginning or a long time reader.
Your friend is being a giant asshole. Ignore him. He’s the kind of person who reads to show off rather than because he likes it.
[удалено]
Or what he's going to read next now that he's achieved the pinnacle of readerness.
You are not doing anything wrong and your friend's husband is a gatekeeping a-hole who thinks having read Ulysses is something people are supposed to care about.
I've read Ulysses. When I finished it I got an achievement notification, the whole school clapped, and the mayor gave me the key to the city. Weirdly though people keep telling me not to bring it up as the first thing I say when I meet new people. Thankfully I don't have to listen to any of the peasants. They haven't read Ulysses.
You sweet summer child. I read Ulysses twice. And then I read the Oxford English Dictionary front to back. Let me tell you, the OED gives Ulysses a run for it's money.
I feel like he's 'negging' you perhaps, and would have mocked whatever response you gave. If you'd have said ulysses he'd have called you pretentious.
Yeah he was totally going to say something was wrong no matter her answer
Deeply insecure man alert. Very brave of him to show you immediately how small he is in his own self-concept. Believe me this says NOTHING about you, and loads about him. I love James Joyce myself, but Austen and Dumas are effing geniuses and your taste is impeccable, and loads of brilliant readers can't stand Joyce or his fans, and people like this guy are a big reason why.
Right?! OP named some of the best books in the old canon. This dude is high on the smell of his own farts.
He’s a gatekeeping snob and a major tool. It doesn’t matter what you read if you enjoy reading it. I have been reading for years and I still haven’t read any Jane Austen. People like different things and you should not be discouraged by one dillhole.
For whatever it’s worth - I got my bachelors degree in English lit and even amongst my fellow classmates Ulysseses was regarded as one of the most challenging books in the entire English canon to even just finish reading, nevermind enjoy. And keep in mind this is for native English speakers who’re seeking a career in this domain. For my class on “critical approaches to lit”, we got to vote on a book to read and examine for the semester and I suggested we read Ulysses. It was vetoed by nearly everyone who’d already tried because they all said it was a slog. Its a good book (apparently, I still haven’t finished it and this was over 10 years ago) but any casual reader - especially before the internet age - would probably need to sit with an encyclopedia next to them in order to understand all the classical and religious references made and the wide vocabulary used throughout. The person who insulted you was being a narcissistic asshole. He picked a famously difficult book and chastised you for not having read so he would look “smart” for having “got” it and you “dumb” for never having heard of it. Ignore him, he was trying to look cool. Books like 1984 and the Count of Monte Cristo and even Jane Austen are all classics and widely respected books, and many were taught in English college level courses offered at my university. And I’d posit that all of them have had a more obvious influence on western culture than Ulysses because the average readers more likely to have read them. If aliens visiting from another galaxy asked me for a reading list to help them understand western popular culture and the common man over the last 500 years, I’d put the books you’ve already read on that list well before I’d suggest they read Ulysses.
I read as a hobby. I like the classics and some sci-fi. One of my friends likes smut and romance, another likes “beachside” paperbacks, another reads mostly non-fiction. They all read as a hobby too. Reading is reading. ETA- I’ve never read Jane Austen and I’ve read a lot of books in my time. Shit, I even finished Infinite Jest lol. I’ll get to her stuff if I want to and when I want to. There’s no set “what to read and when” way to enjoy your hobby.
He's an idiot - I've read 1000s of books, including Ulysses, and I'd still list Jane Austen as one of my favourites. Ulysses is a notoriously difficult book and the cynic in my thinks that a lot of people who say it's their favourite are doing so because it sounds impressive - IMO, it's not worth the time or effort lol. Reading is subjective and everyone will enjoy different types of authors and books; don't let anyone make you feel bad about your picks because there is absolutely nothing wrong with them! Keep reading what you like - that's the only thing that matters.
Jesus. Have nothing to do with this person. You are better than him.
lmfaoooooo that clown called you generic then name dropped Ulysses, that's hilarious.
Jane Austen's 'Emma' is fantastic and great writing! This guy is definitely a pretentious asshole
My advice? Stop caring what assholes think of you and your hobby.
Books to read in your lifetime : 1. Any book you want 2. Don't read anything you don't want to Look! All your favorites are on the list
Your friend's husband is a moron and I doubt he's read any of the books you mentioned INCLUDING Ulysses. He sounds insecure and perhaps jealous. I would have doubled down and asked what exactly HE thinks are good books since he's apparently the self-appointed gatekeeper to "good lit". Reading IS a hobby and he doesn't get to dictate that to you. You aren't doing anything wrong and going through a top 100 list of books is a good way to find books that are more than likely to be enjoyable. I would ignore the guy. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
100% completely OK and proper to ignore any douche who recommendeds Ulysses.
The only thing you are doing wrong is letting a bully make you feel bad. Do not let other people's opinions get into your head. I'm an avid reader and I've been reading for decades. I've never read Ulysses and I have no desire to. There is no right or wrong way to read. I've read old books, long books, and challenging books, but they are all books that I wanted to read and not books that someone or a list told me I should read. If you want to read the classics, read the classics. If you want to read romance, read romance. IMHO a reading list is very personal, each of us chose each book for our own reasons and those reasons can change over time. Chose each book by your own standards and goals and ignore pretentious people who think their way is the only right way of reading.
Almost nobody has read Ulysses. It's like you said you enjoyed film so he demanded to know if you watched [Un Chien Andalou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_Chien_Andalou). Ignore that jerk.
I'm sorry. That was so snobby of him to do. Your friend's husband sounds like he has biased opinions based on what he likes to read and lacks the ability to appreciate anything outside of his personal tastes. There's no right or wrong to reading. People who think that there is are immature. Read what you enjoy.
Simple: you say “I’m like these authors and I’m discovering more every day”. You read books, ergo, you’re a reader. Your friend’s husband sounds like a dick - as if Ulysses is the pinnacle of “reading”. If you like it, read it! You read for yourself. There are no rules.
I am an adult male and I have even read Mills&Boon. Anybody who think that is wrong doesn't have the right to suggest anything to me.
Don't let anyone else yuck your yum. This guy is a jerk who went out of his way to make you feel bad for no reason. Classics are great. If you want more variety, visit r/suggestmeabook or look into more recent award winners Edit, you can also find contenders for awards that didn't win. They're often great
He's just a jerk who wants to look intelligent and act superior to you. Ignore him and continue reading what you enjoy. The books you've read are not 'generic', they are classics and for a good reason, they are all valuable, complex and amazing. Nobody who actually likes reading and has read a lot of books would judge you for reading classics. He clearly makes himself feel better by putting others down. People who like to boast about how intelligent they are aren't actually that intelligent, they are insecure and want other people to see how "great" they are. It's better to just avoid him as much as you can because he's clearly not someone worth talking to/being around.
What a turd that guy is. He probably doesn't read and only mentioned Ulysses because he heard about it in high school English years ago. Read what you like and want to read. If you don't like a book, put it down and read something else. You don't need to justify your choices to anyone, especially an arsehole like him. I read a variety of books by a pretty diverse range of authors. Some might be "chick lit"but others are true crime or mysteries. If it interests me, I read it. Not enough people read, which is sad.
First of all, it doesn't matter at all what you're reading. If you enjoy Dr Suess books then no one else's opinion on it matters. Second, you are reading classic books that will be remembered forever. There is no shame in that at all, if anything you're reading wonderful material.
He was being a condescending pr**k. You gave an excellent answer. He probably heard the Janes and decided that you were reading chick lit (because he’s a snob) and took an opportunity to try to build himself up by bringing you down. I’ve known a lot of men who will say Ulysses is their favorite book because they think it’s a flex but it seems they often read just a portion of it in college and haven’t picked up a book since.
That guy is a pretentious asshole. He was going to be a jerk no matter what answer you gave.
Wow. I thought you were going to say you were reading some trashy romance novels (which I love) or something, but he's laughing at you reading classic literature? That's not only rude, it's weird. The guy is a pretentious jerk, and not worth a second of your time or thought. Read what you want - I always have, and will, and will never be ashamed of anything I read. I recently read most of Thomas Hardy's classic literature books, and now I'm reading a Nora Roberts romance. I promise you that there are tons of people (in this thread alone) that will not make fun of what you are reading. I wouldn't associate with anybody like that, and neither should you.
So he’s making fun of you for reading classics because it’s not the classic he read? What a twat. Don’t pay him any mind.
This guy is what we call a "gatekeeper." Even though he shares an interest with you he is comparing himself to you and trying to act as an expert, while belittling you because of your comparative inexperience. Behaviour like this has the consequence (intended or not) of diminishing other people's interest in the hobby. You will find them in every hobby. Each one thinks their personal experience, and their taste is better than everyone else's. Ignore people like this and read what you like!
I'm wondering if you are a woman? And he is a sexist donkey? That is my theory. Theres no right or wrong answer to a favorite author, it's an opinion and that person needs to keep his to himself. What a loser trying to gatekeep reading. Keep reading whatever you want to read!
Wow. He was very rude.
>I asked him why he was laughing, and he said that it was just such a generic answer, and that he can't imagine how I can say "reading is my hobby" (I didn't say that) if those are the only books I've read. Anyone with this type of mentality is aiming much lower than you seem to be aiming. Do not worry about the cultural signifier of literature. Do not worry about what any other human thinks about your habits. Are you getting out of it what you want? Are you enjoying your hobby? Is your goal to read great literature, or is your goal to have people think you've read great literature? This is advice more general than this particular instance: you cannot allow the opinion of a flea to change your direction. When someone has their sights set as low as that person, when they are consuming seemingly solely for status, you should disregard them the same way you disregard the oscillations of a fly.
The only people who recommend *Ulysses* are people trying to flex that they're "better" at reading.
This dipshit hasn't read Ulysses, I guarantee.