The Friday 56 (221) & Book Beginnings: The Paradiso by Dante Alighieri

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

In The Paradiso, Dante explores the goal of human striving: the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of the towering creations of world literature, this epic discovery of truth is a work of mystical intensity? an immortal hymn to God, Nature, Eternity, and Love.

Beginning: "The glory of Him who moves all things rays forth

                     through all the universe, and it reflected

                     from each thing in proportion to its worth."

56: "Yet all these were creations! Ought not they--

       if what you said of them before is true--

       to be forever proof against decay?'"

Comments: I finished reading Paradise, so I'm officially done with The Divine Comedy. This was a sweeping epic story, and I enjoyed every second of it. What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (215) & Book Beginnings: The Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

In The Inferno, Dante describes his journey to the depths of evil, to the recognition of the true nature of sin. In The Purgatorio, he describes his journey to the renunciation of sin, accepting his suffering in preparation for his coming into the presence of God. This brilliant translation of Dante's soaring canticle crystallizes the power and beauty inherent in the great poet's immortal conception of the aspiring soul.

Beginning: "For better waters no the little bark

of my indwelling powers raises her sails,

and leaves behind that sea so cruel and dark."

56: "That one who comforts him ruled formerly

the land where rise the waters that flow down 

the Moldau to the Elbe to the sea."

Comments: I finally got around to The Purgatorio. I'm officially two thirds of the way through The Divine Comedy, and I'm really enjoying it so far. What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (213) & Book Beginnings: Inferno by Dante Alighieri

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Belonging in the company of the works of Homer and Virgil, The Inferno is a moving human drama, a journey through the torment of Hell, an expression of the Middle Ages, and a protest against the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan.

Beginning: "Midway in our life's journey, I went astray

from the straight road and woke to find myself 

alone in a dark wood."

56: "And he to me: "Your own city, so rife

with hatred that the bitter cup flowers over

was mine to in that other, clearer life."

Comments: One of my blogging goals of 2022 is to read The Divine Comedy. I started at the beginning with Inferno, and I liked it. I'm really looking forward to The Purgatorio. What are you reading this week?