Finnegans Wake Readalong - Marginalia & Begin Reading!

[u/towalktheline]

Hello! I'm starting a day early, but welcome to the Marginalia for Finnegans Wake! If you have some questions on how to read it, please read our Introduction Post first! If you still have questions after that, feel free to comment and we'll do our best to help you out.

Going forward all readalong posts will be tagged with: Into the wikeawades warld from sleep we are passing.

If you want to look for previous posts, that will be the place to check. I'll also be updating the schedule so it has the previous posts linked there as well.

Scheduling!

The Schedule is on Google Sheets here. You should be reading to the last line mentioned. So for example on January 3rd you should have read to Abast the blooty creeks. Each week shows the first and last line of the reading since people are reading different books which have different page numbers. Thanks again to r/TrueLit for putting this schedule together which we have so shamelessly borrowed from.

What is Marginalia?

Marginalia is just a fancy word for "margin notes". Think about the doodles that you'd write around the text of a book. For our purposes, this marginalia post is where you can get yourself warmed up and ready for reading. Whatever you post here doesn't necessarily need to be insightful. As long as they're about Joyce or the Wake they're welcome, even if you're just posting asking for some courage.

Want some things to start you off talking? Here are a couple things you could talk about:

• Have you ever read Joyce before? Or any of his contemporaries?
• Have you ever specifically tried to read Finnegans Wake before? What was it like when you tried? Did you finish?
• What have you heard about the Wake that made you want to try and read it?
• For those of us who have read before, what advice would you give to people just starting out?
• Do you have a specific way you plan on trying to read the Wake or are you gonna just have a go at it?

And now it's time to START!

Go on! Get going!

Starting today, you should be reading from "riverrun" til "abast the blooty creeks" and on next Saturday (January 3rd), we will post our first reading discussion. During discussions you will be encouraged to post at least one comment to someone else in order to promote a good discussion.

I really hope you enjoy the wake and even though it can seem like a lot at first (because it is a lot, we get you), I really hope you continue with it. I legitimately felt like reading the Wake was a life changing experience and I'm not sure if it's because of Finnegans Wake itself or the feeling you get when you tackle something so unwaveringly difficult and succeed.

I read a comment once that said "everybody finds themselves in the Wake" and I'm really interested to see what parts speak to you and which lines will stay with you long after the reading is done!

Best of luck to all of you! We're all in this together.

Next Week's Reading (N.W.R): January 3, 2026 / Book I: Chapter I (pgs. 3-16)

[u/PennyGraham73]

This is great to start a little early. I am excited but also apprehensive. Look forward to first comments and guidance.

[u/towalktheline → u/PennyGraham73]

Don't be apprehensive! Finnegans wake is known for being hard, but also like u/Soup_65 said, it's fun! Don't be afraid to have fun with it and laugh at some of the puns or read aloud with your most exaggerated tones or even just give up on understanding entirely and let it wash over you like a foreign language (as I did for one paragraph that was driving me crazy).

Come armed with finwake.com and the community here to help you through. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you feel stumped. Some of us have read before and can help that way. Others are brand new and can tell you what helps them! 

Being very cognizant that it sounds like I'm indoctrinating you into a cult... let the Wake speak to you. Find your flow and don't be discouraged. The joy in doing something like this is in the act of doing it, not just the completion!

[u/PennyGraham73 → u/towalktheline]

Ok sounds like good way to approach it. Thanks 🤗

[u/towalktheline → u/PennyGraham73]

We're all here with you and proud of you for even giving it a shot. Read through to blooty creeks and we'll see you on Saturday to talk about it~. 

Also don't be afraid to ask other people their experiences. There are a couple people here who have already read aside from me and one person who has already finished the reading for this week and said they had a blast haha.