Archive for September, 2009

50 Cent’s Book a New York Times Bestseller

Rapper 50 Cent and Robert Greene’s new book, The 50th Law, is now on the New York Times‘ bestseller list. The book combines Greene’s business advice with 50’s personal motto: fear nothing and you will succeed. And it’s completely FREE on DailyLit–enjoy!

Write a Crime Noir in 50 Words — Judged by James Ellroy — Deadline 10/4

There’s less than a week left to participate in DailyLit’s creative challenge to come up with a 50 word mini-crime-noir.  James Ellroy himself, known for his intense crime-noir novels, will be reading the submissions and selecting three winners, each of whom will receive a signed copy of his new book, Blood’s A Rover.  You can learn more about the challenge here — and read the essays that have been submitted so far.  Deadline for submissions is October 4th (at 11:59pm) — that’s 10/4 (over and out!)

Question of the Week #44: Best Banned Books

This week is Banned Books Week. What’s the best banned (or widely criticized) book you’ve ever read? Why? Share your responses in our Question of the Week forum.

For inspiration, check out this list of classics that have been banned at one time or another.

30 Stories in 30 Days Update

Here’s an update for those of you who’ve signed up for 30 Stories in 30 days. You’ll be getting all your stories, but it may take an extra day. To make sure you’re up to date, you can hit the “send next installment immediately” link at the bottom of your latest installment. If there’s one in the queue that hasn’t been pushed to your email yet, you’ll receive it then. If you’re caught up, you’ll see a message that tells you there’s nothing you haven’t yet received.

We hope you’re enjoying the stories.

30 Stories in 30 Days Bug

Some readers are experiencing difficulty receiving their installments of 30 Stories in 30 Days. We are investigating and will have more information soon.

Question of the Week #43: Writers and Rockers

This week’s question comes from reader “Dreamdust” (thanks!). Which author’s writing reminds you of which musician’s music? Head to our Question of the Week forum to share your response.

Cool New Technology…

DailyLit is on a roll.  We’ve just released some cool new technology to bring you open-ended series, allowing us to add the latest and greatest content over time.  Our new DailyLit Selects: Book Excerpt program uses this technology to periodically send you excerpts of interest.  Dan Brown’s new book is kicking off that program.

The technology also allows for timed releases so we can bring you content according to a set schedule.  And just in time.  We’re releasing 30 stories in 30 days next week – all by David Wellington – to celebrate the launch of his front list title, Frostbite (a tale of werewolves in the frozen north).

Oh, and did I mention these series are all free?

DailyLit News: September 2009

Note from the CEO
I’m thrilled to announce that DailyLit has delivered over 25 million book installments! To celebrate, we’re launching the DailyLit Selects excerpt program starting with an excerpt from Dan Brown’s new book. We’re also celebrating Darwin’s 150th anniversary with this month’s Big Read, and we’re releasing David Wellington’s 30 stories in 30 days–all available for FREE.

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

New: DailyLit Selects: Excerpt Program–Dan Brown Kicks it Off
You asked for excerpts from noteworthy books, and we’re making them available. To kick off this new program, we’re launching an excerpt from Dan Brown’s new book, The Lost Symbol. We’ll periodically send you excerpts from books we think you’ll enjoy. FREE for you.

DailyLit’s Big Read: Darwin’s On the Origin of Species
Join the world-wide celebration of the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and find out for yourself what all the controversy was about. We’ve taken the first four chapters and made them this month’s Big Read (but don’t worry, you can go on to read the rest of the chapters–or go for it all at once with the full version). Join the Big Read–FREE.

New Reads: 30 Stories in 30 Days; Momlogic; The 50th Law; Defining Twilight

  • 30 Stories in 30 Days: A first for DailyLit. We’re joining in the countdown to the publication of author David Wellington’s Frostbite–a tale of werewolves in the frozen north–by releasing one of his short stories each day for 30 days, all for free. But no cheating! One story is released per day–you won’t be able to skip ahead. Read them—FREE.
  • Momlogic Recession Survival Guide: Times are tough. The experts at Momlogic have created this guide to help you and your family get through the downturn. And it’s completely FREE–a price any budget can handle. Read it–FREE.
  • The 50th Law: Robert Greene’s book The 48 Laws of Power was aimed at business types, but it deeply moved one fellow you might not expect: rapper 50 Cent. Greene and 50 teamed up to write The 50th Law, a book for everyone who believes that if you fear nothing, you will succeed. The publisher has made the entire book available to our readers. Read it–FREE.
  • Defining Twilight: Studying for the SAT or ACT or know someone who is? Defining Twilight uses the blockbuster novel to teach vocabulary words and test-taking skills. We’ve got four weeks’ worth of words. Read it–FREE.

Reader Challenge: Crime-Noir in 50 Words with Guest Judge James Ellroy
Best-selling author James Ellroy is known for his intense crime-noir novels. He’s even been called the Demon Dog of American crime fiction. Venture into the world of hard-boiled cops and criminals and come up with your own 50 word mini-crime-noir. Don’t forget to create an intriguing title. James Ellroy himself will judge the entries and select three winners, each of whom will receive a signed copy of Ellroy’s new book (to be released on Sept. 22nd), Blood’s A Rover. Post your mini-crime-noir no later than October 4th at 11:59 p.m. in our Reader Challenge Forum.

Classics by Request–The Brothers Karamazov
Thanks to requests from “jogrebe,” “wsimpson,” “psycheinaboat,” and others, we’ve just launched The Brothers Karamazov on DailyLit. Experience the intense story of love, death, betrayal, and faith that makes this Dostoyevsky work–his last–a true classic. Read it–FREE.

Question of the Week #42: Whodunnit?

Agatha Christie’s birthday is this week (she would have been 119). Celebrate by telling us: What’s your favorite mystery–fiction or real-life, book or screen? Do you love Sherlock Holmes? Or would you rather kick back and watch a Law & Order: SVU marathon on TV? Share your favorites in our Question of the Week forum. (And check out Agatha Christie’s books on DailyLit (free)!)

25 Million and Counting

I’m thrilled to announce that DailyLit has now delivered over 25 million book installments.

How happy are we that we didn’t have to hand-deliver each one!

Hope you had a great weekend.