Litríocht

Bucket List Books: Reading Ulysses and Proust

Joyce and Proust can change our lives. So why don’t we read their works?

Too often, scholars suggest these authors aren’t for us. They’re important but inaccessible for any “regular” reader.

They’re wrong. Join our new reading group in English and explore these texts as Joyce and Proust intended: as wonderful and strange. “Silly” and “unpredictable”. And most important, all for us.

Beginners are welcome: No prior knowledge of Joyce, Proust or other literature necessary.

Each week, participants will read a section of Ulysses and of Remembrance of Things Past in advance. The following editions will be used: Remembrance of Things Past (Paperback), Penguin Classics Edition, and Ulysses: Annotated Students’ Edition (Paperback), Penguin Modern Classics Edition.

Locations will alternate between La Médiathèque of the Institut français (17 Queensberry Pl, South Kensington SW7 2DT) and the Irish Cultural Centre (5 Black’s Road, Hammersmith W6 9DT).

Jack Chellman, the moderator, is a Marshall Scholar and climate campaigner in London. He wrote his undergraduate thesis on Finnegans Wake and presented that work at the 2019 North American James Joyce Symposium in Mexico City. In 2022 he led the Ulysses Centenary Book Club through the London Irish Centre. In 2023 he led the Finnegans Wake Book Club through the Irish Cultural Centre and the Camden Council

 

Thu 06 February - Thu 23 October 2025

6pm Start

Free registration

Schedule:

Session Day Date Time Location Reading
1 Thurs 6th Feb 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
2 Sat 15th Feb 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
3 Thurs 20th Feb 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
4 Sat 1st Mar 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
5 Thurs 6th Mar 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
6 Sat 15th Mar 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
7 Thurs 20th Mar 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
8 Sat 29th Mar 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
9 Thurs 3rd April 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
10 Sat 12th April 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
11 Thurs 17th April 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
12 Sat 26th April 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
13 Thurs 1st May 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
14 Sat 10th May 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
15 Thurs 15th May 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
16 Sat 24th May 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
17 Thurs 29th May 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
18 Sat 7th June 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
19 Thurs 12th June 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
20 Sat 21st June 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
21 Thurs 26th June 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
22 Sat 5th July 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
23 Thurs 10th July 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
24 Sat 19th July 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
25 Thurs 24th July 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
August Break
26 Sat 6th Sept 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
27 Thurs 11th Sept 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
28 Sat 20th Sept 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
29 Thurs 25th Sept 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
30 Sat 4th Oct 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
31 Thurs 9th Oct 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
32 Sat 18th Oct 3-5:00 PM Institut Français Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages
33 Thurs 23rd Oct 6-7:30 PM Irish Cultural Centre Proust: 100 pages, Ulysses: 40 pages

 

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