Bucket List Books: Reading Ulysses and Proust
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Free
Date
Multiple dates
Description
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).
Click the button below to view the full schedule (from 6 February to 23 October 2025) and sign up for the course.
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.
| 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 |