100TH 'BLOOMSDAY' STIRS ZERO FANFARE ... HERE.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

The only thing harder than reading James Joyce's "Ulysses" is finding someone in town who celebrated the book's big birthday Wednesday.

It was the 100th anniversary of "Bloomsday" - that is, June 16, 1904, the day that the celebrated author from Dublin chose for the epic events undertaken by his hero, Leopold Bloom.

"Ulysses" is considered one of the world's greatest novels, and 40 or so countries recognized Bloomsday on Wednesday. Thousands celebrated in the streets of Dublin, giving Ireland its biggest-ever literary carnival.

Even Google joined in: The popular Internet search engine worked a doodle of Joyce into the company letters on the Web site.

But Bloomsday in Eugene-Springfield? You had a better chance of committing the 783-page "Ulysses" to memory.

A number of booksellers held no promotions whatsoever, and the Eugene Public Library also skipped it. Why?

Some simply got caught with their bloomers down: "Since we haven't had anybody bring it up and we ourselves didn't know about it, we didn't do it," admitted Laura Carroll, spokeswoman for Barnes and Noble at Valley River Center.

Others saw little value in promotion of a book that, like quantum physics, is obscure and hard to follow.

"It's probably not generally in the public consciousness," said David Rhodes, co-owner of Tsunami Books.

"Unless you're in a larger, metropolitan area, you just wouldn't find the interest," said Joe Pettit Jr., of Smith Family Bookstore. "It's known as one of the greatest novels of all time, but it's also one of the most difficult to read."

Rob Everett, the library's public services manager, said his attentions were focused on the upcoming summer reading program for children. Like the others, he questioned whether Joyce plays well to mainstream America.

"He's not part of our natural life," Everett said. "He's probably that kind of figure in Ireland or the U.K., but that is not true here."

Booksellers generally characterize "Ulysses" as a steady seller, among classics such as John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."

But many readers will relate to Maggie Springer of Eugene. She found parts of the novel "impenetrable" when she tried to read it in her early 20s; she might have a better chance now that she's 60, but, "I don't tackle hard books now," she chuckled.

You know a book is difficult when it comes with a guidebook ... of 250 pages.

The novel's blessing is also its curse: Joyce's use of stream-of-consciousness takes readers in multiple directions - even within a given sentence - but stands as an uncommon literary achievement, scholars say.

"We all have this stream of consciousness - fully formed thoughts, but also little bits and fragments," said Michael McDonald, an English instructor at Lane Community College. "Joyce tried to capture that in all its fullness and richness and beauty and ugliness. The breadth of his vision makes it such a great novel."

Still, McDonald did nothing special on Bloomsday.

For that, you had to go to the coast, where a Newport-based literary group called Writers on the Edge held readings and a film in the coastal town of 9,600. Fifty or so people joined in an Irish feast at the Sylvia Beach Hotel, named for the American expatriate in Paris who first published "Ulysses."

The writers' group wanted to draw attention to Joyce, "Ulysses" and turn-of-the-century Ireland.

Where Bloomsday revelry was concerned, dinner looked like just the beginning.

"I think there will be more who go to the pub crawls," hotel manager Ken Peyton said.