Happy Fourth of July!

The long holiday weekend is just about to begin, and we’d like to wish all of our readers a Happy 4th of July! If you’re feeling patriotic–or if it rains and you’re stuck inside–check out our collection of America’s Greatest Hits, which includes the Declaration of Independence and other inspiring words from some of this country’s most storied leaders. You can also tell us who your favorite American author is or share your pick for the “Great American Novel” in our forums. Or, if you need some ideas for your backyard party, we’ve got yummy free recipes for you in Emeril at the Grill. Enjoy! (And be safe! Remember, Moms take away fireworks for a reason.)

Best-Selling Author Joe Finder’s “Paranoia” Free on DailyLit

We’re excited to announce that best-selling author Joe Finder is now on DailyLit! Today saw the launch of Paranoia, a novel that Publishers Weekly described as “the real deal: a thriller that actually will keep readers up way past their bedtimes.” Espionage and corporate intrigue take center stage in this story of a slacker-turned-spy who gets in way over his head. The best part? Thanks to its publisher, Macmillan, the book is completely FREE for DailyLit readers. And we all heart free books. Enjoy!

Cory Doctorow’s “Little Brother” On Stage

The play’s the thing for one of our (and your) favorite DailyLit authors, Cory Doctorow.  His sci-fi novel Little Brother (which is free on DailyLit!) has been adapted for the stage and is currently being performed by the Griffin Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago. Boing Boing recently featured a few clips from the play, so everyone can checkit out. If you’re lucky enough to live in Chicago, you can see the play live–it runs through July 19. (And Cory himself will be stopping by on July 9!)

Question of the Week #31: American Writers

This week brings us the July 4th holiday. Before you break out the barbeque, take a second to celebrate America’s literary heritage by answering this week’s Question of the Week. Who is your favorite American writer? Why? Jump to our Question of the Week forum to weigh in.

Digital Publishing Group

If you’re interested in joining the Digital Publishing Group, which is organized by DailyLit, please visit our Meetup page.

Question of the Week #30: Books Go To Camp

School is out for the summer, and for lots of kids that means one thing: summer camp. Which books remind you of summer camp? (Both fond and not-so fond memories are welcome.) Jump to our Question of the Week forum to share your story.

DailyLit News: June 2009

Dear DailyLit Reader,

Can you identify books with colors in the title (think: Red Badge of Courage); birds in the title (think: The Raven); or where the main character’s name is the title (think: Anna Karenina)? Those of you who’ve been participating in our forums know about those fun mini-challenges. Come play!

Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
susan@dailylit.com

CLASSIC SHORTS: EIGHT STORIES FOR SUMMER

We’ve teamed up with Poets & Writers again to offer (for FREE!) Classic Shorts: Eight Short Stories for Summer. This will launch DailyLit’s series of short stories that you can enjoy throughout the year. Breeze through tales by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, and other master authors. Read FOR FREE.

DAILYLIT’S BIG READ: AMERICA’S GREATEST HITS

Be the smartest person at your July 4th barbeque! Join our Big Read of America’s Greatest Hits: Inspirational Reads that Define a Nation.  From the Declaration of Independence to President Obama’s Inaugural Address, these are works that give voice to the American spirit. Read FOR FREE.

READER CHALLENGE: CLASSICS IN 6 WORDS

Reader “auistinblan” originally suggested this idea, and we loved it so much we thought we’d make it this month’s Reader Challenge. Take the biggest, most literary, or most “important” book you know and summarize it in 6 words–no more, no fewer–and share your micro-masterpieces in our Reader Challenge forum.

NEW BOOKS ON DAILYLIT

- Mary Higgins Clark: Best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark comes to DailyLit with Where are the Children? This thriller will take you to Cape Cod, a summer paradise that becomes one woman’s nightmare. TRY FOR FREE.

- Indulge yourself: Feed your spirit with Chocolate for a Woman’s Soul, a best-selling collection of inspirational essays that make for decadent summer reading. TRY FOR FREE.

- Money Money Money: Instant Income can give you tips and ideas to help get you through this recession. Best of all you can TRY FOR FREE.

- Waiting by the phone? Why Hasn’t He Called? can help you figure out why the phone isn’t ringing. TRY FOR FREE.

- More Seth Godin: Marketing guru Seth Godin returns to DailyLit to share how his unique business strategies can help non-profits in Flipping the Funnel: Non-Profit Edition. You can read it FOR FREE.

FORGET YOUR USERNAME OR PASSWORD?

We’ve just made logging in to DailyLit that much easier by enabling “third party identity.” You can now use your username and password from Google, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, AOL, Yahoo, Windows Live ID and OpenID, and you’ll be all set to go. Read more here.

DailyLit Enables Third Party Identity Logins

Logging in to DailyLit just became a lot easier. Now you can use your username and password from Google, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, AOL, Windows Live ID, Yahoo, and OpenID to log in to your DailyLit account. And if you haven’t yet created a (free) DailyLit account, you can do that with your third party identity too. Read more about it here.

Announcing Next DPG Lunch: June 8, 2009 with head of digital at Martha Stewart

I’m pleased to announce that Gail Horwood, S.V.P. of Programming and Strategy for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, will be presenting “What is a Publisher?” at the next brown bag lunch for the Digital Publishing Group on June 8 in New York City.  Gail is not only a longtime friend of mine (dating back to high school days!), but also has that rare combination of pragmatism and knowledge about the digital space that will surely make for an enlightening talk.    Here’s her bio:

Gail Glickman Horwood is SVP, Digital Programming & Strategy at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Prior to joining MSLO she spent almost six years at Time Inc. serving as Executive Director, InStyle.com and Executive Director, Creative Development for Time Inc. Interactive overseeing web strategy and development for AOL Living and Time Inc.’s women’s brands including In Style, Real Simple, Cooking Light and Parenting. She was formerly the VP of Content for Zagat Survey, where she managed both digital and print product initiatives including the company’s expansion into movies, music, golf, and shopping. She was editor-in-chief of epicurious.com, an affiliate of Condé Nast Publications and a member of the launch team for that site in 1995. Prior to that she was Managing Editor/Style Editor of Worth magazine and an editor of Condé Nast Traveler. She is a graduate of Colby College in Maine.

The Digital Publishing Group, sponsored by DailyLit, is an industry group designed to educate, inspire, and empower publishing professionals to take advantage of the digital space. The group holds monthly events featuring talks by leaders in the digital realm.  All industry professionals (and aspiring professionals), including publishers, agents, service providers, and booksellers are welcome to attend.

If you’re interested in attending this brown bag lunch (for free), please contact Maggie Hilliard. She can be reached at events [at] dailylit [dot] com or on Twitter at @MaggieHilliard. (And don’t forget to follow @DailyLit on Twitter!)

DailyLit May Newsletter

Dear DailyLit Reader,

This month marks 2 years from our official launch – happy birthday to DailyLit!   What better way to celebrate than with free food – well, free recipes that is. Check out our launch of DailyLit’s Cookbook Tastes with Emeril at the Grill, just in time for Memorial Day. We’ve also got free essays by Toni Morrison and Nadine Gordimer from Burn This Book and a fun creative challenge that can help support the National Book Foundation. Oh, and your “To Read” list just got a lot smarter. Check out our new feature below.

Happy Memorial Day!

Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
susan@dailylit.com.

DAILYLIT’S BIG READ
By popular request, we’ve named one of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous mysteries, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, as our next Big Read. With only 13 installments, it’s elementary, my dear Watson. READ FOR FREE.

NEW READER CHALLENGE
Imagine a sequel to your favorite book (think PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 2). Create a title and write the first sentence of that book. Then share your title and sentence in our Reader Challenge forum. You can read sample sequels FOR FREE via DailyLit to get your creative juices flowing. And, if you enter your sequel at www.bookthesequel.com as well, your creation could be selected for Book: The Sequel, to be published by the Perseus Book Group, with proceeds going to The National Book Foundation.  Deadline for entries: Thursday, May 28th at 4pm. Here’s one to get you going: “Call me, Ishmael!” from Moby Dick’s Guide to Dating at Sea.

FREE ESSAYS FROM BURN THIS BOOK
Read essays by Nobel Prize winners Toni Morrison and Nadine Gordimer that celebrate free speech.  READ FOR FREE.

FREE RECIPES FROM EMERIL AT THE GRILL
We’re launching DailyLit’s Cookbook Tastes (that is, a line of recipes from new and noteworthy cookbooks), and chef Emeril Lagasse is kicking off the line by making recipes from Emeril at the Grill available for FREE to DailyLit readers – just in time for Memorial Day. Check out his take on classic barbeque chicken or yellowfin tuna with pineapple salsa. And for dessert? Grilled banana split.   READ FOR FREE.

NOTEWORTHY BOOKS JUST LAUNCHED
- By popular demand, we’ve added another book by marketing master Seth Godin. Check out his Flipping the Funnel: Company Edition. READ FOR FREE.
- An award-winning journalist goes behind diets to find out from 21 women how they stay motivated, happy, and healthy in The Secrets of Skinny Chicks. TRY FOR FREE.
- If you blow off work to read your DailyLit installments all day, maybe it’s time to switch careers. Three Signs of a Miserable Job shows you what you can do to get back on a track you love. Just don’t give up your DailyLit! TRY FOR FREE.

TIP FOR BLACKBERRY USERS
In case your installments aren’t rendering properly on your Blackberry (or other mobile device), switch your format to plain text. Here’s what you need to do: click on the “Manage all your book settings” link in any installment, select the “More” option, and change the format from HTML to plain text. Or, you can visit DailyLit on your computer, log in with your username and password, and click on the “Manage the books you’re reading” link on your Settings page.

NEW: YOUR “TO READ” LIST JUST GOT A LOT SMARTER
We’re happy to introduce the new “To-Read” list auto-start feature. Now, when you finish reading a book, the next book on your “To-Read” BookList will automatically start arriving in your inbox. Learn more.

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