Archive for January, 2010

Featured Book Friday: David Copperfield

We all have certain classics that we simply love but that don’t get the attention they deserve. Enter Featured Book Fridays, which allow us to put our favorites in the spotlight. First up: a Dickensian classic.

Title: David Copperfield
Author: Charles Dickens
Publication Date: 1850

“Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.” When Dickens wrote that in his introduction to the 1870 version of the novel, he had already written all of his novels (except The Mystery of Edwin Drood), so his words have real meaning. David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel too.

Why? It’s funny–David’s Aunt has a problem with donkeys–and populated by memorable characters (I think the creators of South Park must have had villain Uriah Heep in mind when they made an episode about “creepy ginger kids”). There’s good old Victorian melodrama and, like several of Dickens’ other novels, David Copperfield is a great story of a young man’s adventures as he grows up. But these are qualities that many of Dickens’ novels possess.

What makes David Copperfield special is that it’s the most autobiographical of Dickens’ novels; parts of David’s childhood in the book echo experiences Dickens had when he was young. It’s natural for us to want to see David as a direct link to Dickens himself, but knowing that his audience would be hoping for the revelation of secrets, Dickens makes David aloof in interesting ways. As David’s story unfolds we grow to know him, but we’re also aware, because this is a novel, that we can’t truly know him, or Dickens. David Copperfield is a great story with memorable characters, but I especially love it because I think it shows Dickens exploring what it means to write the story of one’s life–a fascinating question that strikes at the heart of what literature is all about.

(If you’d like to recommend for a Featured Book Friday, email us at support[at]dailylit[dot]com.)

The Lovely Bones in DailyLit’s Book Channel

As the film adaptation hits theaters this week, Alice Sebold’s bestselling book The Lovely Bones is back in the news. It is an unusual novel, told from the perspective of a dead girl who watches events unfold from somewhere beyond earth as we know it. It is, however, as hopeful and beautiful a story as you will find. Enjoy this excerpt in our Book Channel, but please note that it is an intense scene that includes the beginning of a physical assault.

More of Your Questions Answered

–When I click on “Home” it doesn’t take me to the front page-maybe that could use some clearing up?
The “Home” tab on the landing page–signified by a small house icon–does take you to the landing page. The “Settings” tab takes you to a page that allows you to manage your profile and the books you’re reading, create Booklists, and more account management features. Hope that helps clear things up.

–I would appreciate having a selection of books that were available for immediate download, as opposed to a “daily dose.”
The goal of DailyLit has been to provide a unique reading experience–just a small bite a day.  That said, you can read full books in your browser using the “preview” function of DailyLit (just click the “Preview” button on any book’s page). If you’re also interested in downloading full books there are numerous websites that allow you to download entire classics at once and many ebook retailers that provide the same for more contemporary books.

–Been getting a lot of garbled type in your emails and copy…impossible to read.
Hm, not sure what the problem could be here. If you ever have problems with your DailyLit emails please contact us at support[at]dailylit[dot]com so we can work out the issue.

–Keep up the good work. Can we suggest books?
Thanks! And yes, you can suggest books in our Book Request Forum.

–Please provide DailyLit access to the rest of the volumes of Remembrance of things Past.
Unfortuantely Swann’s Way is the only part of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past that has an English translation freely available. (Volumes I-IV are available online in the original French.) If you have an interest in reading the full work (in either English or French) you might try your local library.

Bestselling Author Elizabeth Kostova’s New Book in DailyLit’s Book Channel

Elizabeth Kostova, author of the bestselling hit The Historian, has just published her newest book, The Swan Thieves, and we’ve got an excerpt to share with you in our Book Channel.  Thanks to an advance copy I’ve already read the book and can tell you that this excerpt, which showcases Kostova’s beautiful prose and reveals the beginning of a captivating mystery, is a great taste of the novel. It’s  already received numerous glowing reviews, and you can count mine among them! I enjoyed reading this book and hope you will too.

Question of the Week #58: What I Like About You

What do you think about DailyLit? Tell us what works for you–and what you’d suggest for improvements–in our Question of the Week forum.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Anne Tyler in DailyLit’s Book Channel

Our Book Channel is dedicated to bringing you new and noteworthy books, and there’s nothing more noteworthy this week than the publication of Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author Anne Tyler’s newest novel Noah’s Compass. It’s a work that’s coming up in bookish conversations this week, so take a taste of the novel with the excerpt we’ve found for you and see what it’s all about.

Follow DailyLit Authors on Twitter

We’ve made it easy to follow our contemporary authors on Twitter: check out our DailyLit Contemporary Authors Twitter List. Favorites like Cory Doctorow, Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty), Emeril, and others are all using Twitter to share news and bits of their lives with followers. That’s really the great part about Twitter–it gives you the chance to hear from and interact with writers in a new way. (Well, not the classics–we won’t raise those authors from the dead but we do have something in the works, so stay tuned.) Follow our list and let the writers know you’re reading them on DailyLit–who doesn’t like to know their work is appreciated?

If you spot a contemporary DailyLit author on Twitter that we’ve missed, let us know at support [at] dailylit [dot] ! Try as we might, we’re not perfect.

A New Sara Nelson Pick Featured in DailyLit’s Book Channel

In the first installment of 2010 in our Book Channel we’re featuring a new pick from Sara Nelson, former editor of Publishers Weekly, author of the bestselling So Many Books, So Little Time, and the current Books Director for O, the Oprah Magazine. It’s actually not yet available in the U.S., but because we have nice friends we’ve gotten a sneak peek of Sara’s pick this week, The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham. Sara introduces the excerpt by telling us what inspired her to pick up this new biography of the celebrated writer.

Question of the Week #57: New Year’s Resolutions

Welcome to 2010! What are your literary resolutions for the new year?

Share yours in our Question of the Week forum.

Happy New Year from DailyLit!

It’s another Friday holiday so DailyLit HQ is closed for the day, but we wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Near Year! Here’s to another year of great books, thoughtful discussion, fun challenges, and happy reading!

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