Archive for August, 2010

DailyLit is…

I’d love to hear what DailyLit personally means to our readers. Please complete this sentence: “DailyLit is…” and enter your thoughts here.

A (Bed)room with a View

Last night my daughter was (understandably) upset when my son “accidentally” dropped her toothbrush into the toilet. In trying to calm her down at bedtime, I realized I was out of good bedtime stories. I’d exhausted my fairies in the garden stories, my candyland capers, and it was clear she was getting bored of stories that began with “there was once a little girl who…”.

Then it dawned on me. I’d been re-reading the classic E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View on DailyLit (and I’ve always loved the film with Maggie Smith that was based on the book). Well, I began telling her the story from memory. I told her about the girl who needed to be chaperoned by her aunt when she went to Florence, about the boy and his father who traded rooms with them, and about her witnessing the murder in the Piazza della Signoria. I know, not exactly the most calming bedtime story, but it did do the trick. She was immediately entranced. And, most importantly, she forgot all about her toothbrush.

I think I’ve just stumbled upon great bedtime story material – wonderful, memorable classic books.

DailyLit’s Summer Creative Challenge: Drip, Drip, Drip…

I’ve just had my first sailing lesson, and it’s inspired me to pose this summer creative challenge on DailyLit: in one sentence, describe a moment in time in which water (in any form) played a pivotal or key role in your life. You can enter your soggy moments here.

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DailyLit is the leading publisher of serialized books in digital form. Selected to be the #1 Book Website by the Sunday Times, DailyLit has sent over 35 million book installments. DailyLit’s books are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles. Installments can be read in fewer than 2 minutes and can be read wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, or iPhone.

Of (DailyLit) course…

I’ve been thinking of adding mini-courses to DailyLit. You could choose a particular topic and in just a few weeks (7 or 14 or 21 installments) get a feel for it. I was curious whether such short courses would be of interest, and if so, which areas you’d like courses to cover. Should they be liberal arts-related – say, poetry or art appreciation – or more practical – say, business or self-help? Also, if you’re an expert in a particular area, are there courses you’d like to “teach”? You can add your thoughts here in DailyLit’s forums.

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DailyLit is the leading publisher of serialized books in digital form. Selected to be the #1 Book Website by the Sunday Times, DailyLit has sent over 35 million book installments. DailyLit’s books are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles. Installments can be read in fewer than 2 minutes and can be read wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, or iPhone.

DailyLit’s Favorite “Travel” Books

We’re traveling with the kids this summer, and it made me think of books that include a journey of one kind or another. My favorite “travel” book is E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View in which Lucy, a lovely young woman, travels to Florence, Italy and falls in love. In fact, when I was there two years ago, I remember being in the Piazza della Signoria where Lucy witnessed a murder. And then, via DailyLit, I could immediately start reading that book. What a treat!

We’re asking readers this week to let us know their favorite “travel” books. I hope you’ll share yours here in DailyLit’s forum.