Friday Memes and Dryden's 'Against the Fear of Death'

Alison Can Read Feature & Follow
Second week of university is over and I am coping surprisingly well, I think! I have read Paradise Lost while translating some Old Norse and actually managing to review a couple of books this week! Yesterday I reviewed Just One More Day by Jessica Blair, which I remember some of you liking the sound of! Hop over to check it out and if you live in the UK and would like me to send you my copy, let me know in the comments! Now, onto the memes!

Follow Friday is hosted by Allison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week's question was submitted by Words I Write Crazy:

Do you read more than one book at a time, and if so, how, like a certain amount of pages per book before moving on to the next one in the queue?

I do read more than one book at the time, partially because I have to read books for university beside reviewing. When it comes to having to read for university I always give that priority. So if I have some free time I will pick that book up first and when I feel I have advanced enough I might switch to a review book. On the other hand, I sometimes just need to read something else, even when I am really enjoying a book. I always read based on mood so if I want to read something romantic I switch to a different book, but if halfway through my mood changes I might pick up a biography. Thanks to blogging I have learned to control myself a little bit so I am actually sticking with books a lot more than I used to.

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This week's question was suggested by Elizabeth from Silver's Reviews:


Is there anything that turns you off when you are reading a blog post? For example: two posts in one post such as answers to two memes?

Well, I am incredibly guilty of the later one since this post has four memes in it! I love reading other people's thoughts and blogs are an amazing way for people to express themselves in their own way. Therefore, in all honesty, there is nothing about blog posts that can really turn me off! If you want to put each meme in a different post, then by all means. If like me you shove them all into one post and hope that people don't get confused between all of them, that's also good. The great thing about blogging is that everyone writes differently and therefore no post is ever the same and it never gets boring!

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 are hosted by Gillion over at Rose City Reader and Freda over at Freda's Voice. This week I am using a long poem I have to read for university. I really enjoyed reading it and thought I'd share so of it with you! Get ready for the long-ass title: The Latter Part of the Third Book of Lucretius; against the Fear of Death by John Dryden.


BB:
'What has this Bugbear Death to frighten Man,
If Souls can die, as well as Bodies can?
For, as before our Birth we felt no Pain,
When Punique arms infested Land and Main,
When Heaven and Earth were in confusion hurl'd,
For the debated Empire of the World,
Which aw'd with dreadful expectation lay,
Sure to be Slaves, uncertain who shou'd sway:
So, when our mortal frame shall be disjoyn'd.
The lifeless Lump uncoupled from the mind.
From sense of grief and pain we shall be free;
We shall not feel, because we shall not Be.'
l.1-12

I just love the way Dryden has set up his ideas because I agree with him over almost anything. I do think that after death life ends and that that is not a bad thing. He just puts it into words a lot better than me!

F56: (in this case I'm using the lines around l.56!)
'If, while he live, this Thought molest his head,
What Wolf or Vulture shall devour me dead,
He wasts his days in idle grief, nor can
Distinguish 'twixt the Body and the Man;
But thinks himself can still himself survive:
And what when dead he feels not, feels alive.'
l.57-63

Ok, translation. Dryden is here critiquing the man who worries about what will happen to his body after he dies, even when he will obviously not feel the 'wolf' or 'vulture' pick at his corpse. He distracts himself from enjoying daily life by worrying about something he will never really have to deal with. I like it!

So, do you read one book at a time or more? And is there anything that turns you off blogging? Have a great weekend everbody!

Comments

  1. Nice! I'm a one book at a time girl! I can't focus on reading more than one because I'd likely crosswires on details and events when switching!

    Here's my Follow Friday

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  2. I don't mind a couple of memes together, I do the same thing. I usually have more than one book going on, but I really concentrate on one before I get too far along in the others. Have a great weekend.
    sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes

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  3. That is quite a title. The excerpts are quite contemplative.

    My Friday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2015/02/friday-focus-friday-56-book-beginnings.html

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  4. Memes together don't bother me at all. I just pick what I want to comment on! I read a few books at a time generally but they have to be different enough that I don't get confused. I normally have at least one print and one Kindle book going. I'm going to let you have my share of your books this week! I don't know if it's that I haven't had enough coffee but I can't seem to focus on either excerpt!

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  5. Whoa, lots of information to process at once.

    As for reading multiple books at a time, I switch depending on mood as well. Helps keep you interested. And sometimes I will have to go back and just force myself to finish something to get it off my plate, but I do actally go back and finish almost all of them.

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  6. Lovely prose! Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    I do combine different memes in one post quite often....I think a lot of people do.

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  7. I'm a one book at a time person. I need to concentrate. I also don't read much poetry and don't think I have ever read Dryden. Happy reading!

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  8. I like seeing more than one meme in one post. It just makes the one post much more interesting and I like seeing the various questions too.

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  9. I like the combination of Book Beginnings and Friday 56 if the same book is featured in both memes. It seems like a natural combination to me!
    I enjoyed your excerpt from Dryden but since I read for relaxation and escape, this sounds like too much hard work for me!
    Thank you for visiting my blog today. I always appreciate your thoughtful comments.
    Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG

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  10. I read multiple books and choose what fits my mood of the moment. Enjoyed your 56 and thanks for clarifying it. I'm deathly afraid of being eaten by something. I'll be dead so what does it matter, but it just does. LOL

    My 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/02/06/the-friday-56-51-the-promise/

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  11. I always find that this kind of prose is best spoken than read silently. Thank you for sharing and happy reading.

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  12. Book blogging has also helped in keeping my drive for reading active. I love your response to the Blogger Hop question too, and I couldn't agree more, there's nothing more gratifying for me, than to discover and read different types of writing styles :)

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  13. It was so hard for me to want to read books for pleasure aside from my studies when I was in college, that I didn't do that as much as I probably should have. lol.

    Happy Reading and Hopping Through!!! <3
    Have a fantastic weekend! :)
    Suz @ A Soul Unsung

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    Replies
    1. I had that problem in first year and having a blog definitely helped to keep me reading and loving it. So many people on my course slightly dislike reading now after 2.5 years of it! Thanks for commenting :)

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  14. The excepts from Dryden are pretty good. I haven't read prose like that since I was in college.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Amanda

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  15. That title is enough to scare me off... lol
    Happy weekend!

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  16. I think you do a great job of mixing up memes, Juli ;) Dryden seems like a nice contemplative read. Getting lots of contemplation lately ...

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    Replies
    1. Hahaha thanks! There is definitely a lot of contemplating going on with Dryden, let's hope I manage to understand any of it! Thanks for commenting :)

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  17. I prefer reading one book at a time but lately it's been a couple at a time.

    Great 56!

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  18. Everyone is different and creative in their own way.

    I like that comment.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

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  19. Just curious, why are you reading Dryden? I hadn't even heard of him or his poem before. I had to look it up. Ha! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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    Replies
    1. I am reading some of his poems for university, otherwise I might never have ran into him and his poetry! Thanks for commenting :)

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  20. Great post. I try not to read more than one book at a time, but if I do they have to be totally different: usually fiction and nonfiction. Not much about blogging bugs me. It's a creative outlet for many people, so why get bugged over it?

    Thanks for visiting The Busy Mom's Daily on Friday.

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  21. Great post. I try not to read more than one book at a time, but if I do they have to be totally different: usually fiction and nonfiction. Not much about blogging bugs me. It's a creative outlet for many people, so why get bugged over it?

    Thanks for visiting The Busy Mom's Daily on Friday.

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  22. Multiple meme's in a post don't bother me. I've actually discovered new meme's this way so I find it useful. And it does make it easier for the blogger. Great answers to all your memes! Have a great week!

    Kathy @ My Nook, Books & More
    My Blog Hop Answer

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  23. Stopping by for two different memes. :) I read more than one book at a time as well. It's the only way I'll ever read all the things I want to. Following you via Bloglovin'.

    I am one of those people who gets bothered when there are several memes in a post, just because it can sometimes make the post seem long. But it is handy when I'm visiting a blog for more than one meme, like on yours. :) I will sometimes put 2 in one post, but this week I just did 2 memes and I ended up putting them in separately.

    Book Blogger Hop Answer
    Feature and Follow Answer

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  24. I dont mind it too. At all. As long as it is readable :)

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