In this day and age of spaced-out zombie telecommunications and stale mommy porn literature, it’s important to stop and ask oneself: what would James Joyce do? It seems that Hong Kong’s International Literary Festival team has all the answers, though, as they’ve organised a languid 10-hour reading session on Saturday June 16 in celebration of Joyce’s magnum opus Ulysses.

From 12midday to 10pm at the Culture Club in Soho, Joyce fans can drop in to relax and drink lashings of Jameson Irish Whiskey (optional, of course) while listening to select readers recite the passages from Joyce’s most famous tome. But that’s not all. Joyce music, Joyce discussions and Joyce prizes are all in store for lucky Joyce-goers. Recent Time Out interviewee and well-loved Hong Kong based author Justin Hill is among those who have signed up to read.

A little bit about the man himself: born in 1882, James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was raised as the eldest of a 10-sibling middle-class family in Dublin. He initially wanted to train as a doctor in France but gave up and instead devoted his life to teaching and writing. His most famous works include Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses. He is a well-known polyglot, having studied English, French and Italian at the University College Dublin. Joyce was also a film fanatic, having managed Ireland’s first cinema, the Volta Cinematograph, in 1909. He died in 1941.

About the International Literary Festival: The 2012 festival is due to take place from October 5 to October 14, with confirmed literary names such as foodie Fuschia Dunlop, poet Luka Lesson and novelist Colm Toibin. The festival’s inaugural book club event will also take place on June 22. For more details, visit the website at www.festival.org.hk. Readers must raise $2,000 in advance (or $500 for students) for a 20 minute slot. Attendees can sit without reading for an entrance fee of $50. Reading places and seat reservations can be booked via events@festival.org.hk. Places are limited, so be sure to book soon.