I am on page 37.
Those first 37 pages took 2 weeks and were making me lose the will to ever read again. I had to look up 4 words and a phrase that I still don’t understand. And I ignored the Latin. I can see why a scholar would call it ‘rich’, but I cannot bring myself to carry on…
Great books blog 
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May I suggest you try listening to Frank Delaney’s excellent podcast re:Joyce? It will guide you through the myriad references and allusions which make Ulysses both amazing and infuriating.
You can certainly argue that in order for a book to be truly great, it should be possible to read without resorting to a road map like that, but that’s a different question entirely. Ulysses is not a book meant to be read without an incredible amount of reflection and consideration, and it’s not exactly what I’d call a ripping yarn. But it is brilliant in many ways, and the characterizations and descriptions of people and their thoughts are extraordinary.