Four chapters down and lots more to go. I’ve gotten past the first three chapters, which are from Stephen’s perspective, and I’ve moved on to Calypso, the first chapter with Bloom. I find Bloom’s narration a bit easier to get through, because Stephen’s chapters are so esoteric in nature that I keep having to look up tons of references in my book of annotations for Ulysses (which I might add, is actually longer than Ulysses itself).

This isn’t my first time reading the novel, but this is the first time I’ll have read the chapters in order. Right now, I’m having a hard time preventing myself from skipping ahead and just reading my favorite chapters—Aeolus, Cyclops, Ithaca, and Penelope. They will be my reward for getting through the other, more difficult bits. However, I will say I find myself liking Leopold Bloom more and more with this reading. I found the Calypso chapter a more pleasant read this time around, and I hope the same will be true of the other chapters.