To the Teacher of Literature

Somehow I found myself reading some lists of the 100 greatest novels of the last century, of the English language, etc. I realized I wanted to read some of them and thought I'd give it a shot. I'm always intrigued by things like this, and I although I never complete any such list, it's fun to get started. So the first novel on the list I decided to go with was James Joyce's Ulysses. I've heard of James Joyce but never read anything of his, and I had never heard of Ulysses. It happened that the Chambers County Library on Eagle Drive had a copy, so I picked it up on my lunch break one day.

The thing is, I can't make heads or tails of it. It's a pretty long novel, but if it's good, that doesn't bother me. I've read 25 pages. I keep having the sensation that maybe a page was ripped out and that's why it makes no sense. But no, the page numbers are there and nothing's missing. It does throw me that there are no quotation marks when a person is talking. You just have to infer where they should be.

I didn't want to have my impression of the book spoiled by reading summaries and things on the web first, but I think I'm going to have to. Have you read Ulysses? Have you read any James Joyce? Is it just his style? I know the problem isn't just the age, because I've read older things than this with no problem, but maybe the style just isn't timeless? If not, how did it make number one on this list?

Not sure what to think, probably off to research it now. I'll try to find sources other than just wikipedia. :)

Nickel Creek, again

I know I keep saying this, but I really like Nickel Creek. They are my default music when I need to chill out or when I'm driving. When I listen to Robin & Marian or Out of the Woods, I feel a mix of passion and chill, which, I like to think, is the balance I live in ('cause I'm a scorpio? well-rounded? grown-up? I don't know.). As far as I know, there's no sound like theirs, because there's an energy in the instruments and a sweetness to the vocals that I just can't find anywhere else. Yes, I've been exposed to the instruments of bluegrass (I come from a heritage of Southern musicians), sweet ballads in young voices, and some minstrel-ish storytelling reminiscent of the singer-songwriters of the 70s, but for every track on their eponymous first album, I instinctively smile and say to myself, "Yep, I LOVE this song. There's just nothing else like this."

Am I wrong? Is there something else out there that I should be liking, too?