Archive for February, 2012

Gearing Up for the Oscars

DailyLit is gearing up for the Oscars.  Here are a few of the highlights:

-Get in the Oscar spirit by signing up for  DailyLit’s Wikipedia Tour: Best Picture Oscar Winners; you’ll get daily installments that feature the best of the best.

-”And the Oscar Goes To…”  Name a fictional character that should win an Oscar (and for which role/film)? Feel free to take fictional characters from books and make them into imaginary film stars. You can answer our Question of the Week here.

-Which book has a great movie adaptation?  You can answer it here. (Thanks to @Golem100 for this question).

Happy Oscars!

—-

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 47 million book installments. DailyLit’s books and series are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles. Installments can be read in fewer than 5 minutes and can be read wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, or iPhone.

How do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways…

I thought for Valentine’s Day, I’d feature one of the most famous love poems — by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese, #53

You can sign up for daily poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning on DailyLit here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

—-

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 47 million book installments. DailyLit’s books and series are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles. Installments can be read in fewer than 5 minutes and can be read wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, or iPhone.

DailyLit News: Ch-ch-ch-chaaaanges

In case you missed the latest newsletter, here it is:

TITLE: DailyLit News: Ch-ch-ch-chaaaanges
<li><a href=”#link1″>Note from the Founder</a></li>
<li><a href=”#link2″>Creative Challenge: That One Pivotal Moment</a></li>
<li><a href=”#link3″>The Intellectual Devotional II</a></li>
<li><a href=”#link4″>Last Minute Love Notes</a></li>
<li><a href=”#link5″>Swooning Over Heathcliff</a></li>
<li><a href=”#link6″>Gives Me Goosebumps</li>
<a name=”link1″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>Note from the Founder</h2>
<p>Sometimes you have to go with your gut, hold your breath, and jump.  We just did that with our kids.  After 10 years in the suburbs, we took them out of school and all moved to New York City.  It’s been an awesome period of change. That’s why I’m celebrating pivotal moments in life with a <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/forums/other/qotw/2012/02/09/pivotal-moments-in-life?source=nl-12-11″>creative challenge</a> that asks for your key moments of change — and to mark Valentine’s Day, why not read a passage from one of the most romantic books I know.  The excerpt below highlights the pivotal moment in which two great loves of our lifetime (well, at least my lifetime) met —  author Antonia Fraser and Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
<br/>Cheers — to awesome moments of change!
<br/>-Susan
</p>
<p>Susan Danziger
<br/>Founder and CEO, <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com?source=nl-2-9″>DailyLit</a>
<br/><a href=”mailto:sdanziger@dailylit.com”>sdanziger@dailylit.com</a>
<br/>Twitter: <a href=”http://twitter.com/susandanziger?source=nl-2-9″>@susandanziger</a>, <a href=”http://twitter.com/dailylit?source=nl-2-9″>@dailylit</a></p>
<a name=”link2″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>Creative Challenge: That One Pivotal Moment</h2>
<p>Describe that one turning point — that one moment of major change — in your life.  Was there a moment when you went with your gut, held your breath and jumped? You can enter your moment of change <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/forums/other/qotw/2012/02/09/pivotal-moments-in-life
?source=nl-2-9″>here</a>.</p>
<a name=”link3″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>The Intellectual Devotional II</h2>
<p><a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/books/intellectual-devotional
?source=nl-2-9″>The Intellectual Devotional</a>  series on DailyLit, based on the bestselling Intellectual Devotional book series, proved to be one of DailyLit’s most popular series.  More importantly — at least to me :) — it’s a series I continue to enjoy every day.  In case you’re not familiar with this series, it’s a collection of daily lessons drawn from history, literature, philosophy, mathematics, science, religion, music and the visual arts. Given how much everyone seems to enjoy the series, I’ve decided to release <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/books/intellectual-devotional-ii
?source=nl-2-9″>The Intellectual Devotional II</a>.  If you signed up for the original Intellectual Devotional series, you needn’t do anything; you’ll automatically receive this sequel.  And if you’re new to this series, you’re in for a real treat!</p>
<a name=”link3″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>Swooning Over Heathcliff</h2>
<p>Which fictional character could be the love of your life? Proclaim your love <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/forums/other/qotw/2012/02/07/swooning-over-heathcliff?source=nl-2-9″>here</a>.</p>
<a name=”link4″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>Last Minute Love Notes</h2>
<p>Surprise your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day with love poems in his/her inbox.  Imagine receiving daily <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/books/sonnets-from-the-portuguese?source=nl-2-9″>love poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning</a> or <a href=”http://www.dailylit.com/books/sonnets?source=nl-2-9″>Shakespeare’s sonnets </a> with a personal, loving message.  Just click the “Gift this Book” tab when signing up for the poems and be sure to set the delivery date for February 14th.  Who says you’re not romantic!</p>
<a name=”link5″></a>
<h2 style=”font-family: Trebuchet MS; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color: #000000; letter-spacing: .1em; margin-top: 26px;”>Gives Me Goosebumps</h2>
<p>Given that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I thought I’d feature a passage from one of the most romantic books I’ve ever read. Reading it still gives me goosebumps. It’s from <i>Must You Go</i>, the diary of author Antonia Fraser who describes meeting the love of her life, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.</p>
<p><i>8 January 1975</i>
</br></br>A very enjoyable dinner party at Rachel and Kevin’s house in Addison Avenue: a long and convivial table.  I was slightly disappointed not to sit next to the playwright who looked full of energy, with black curly hair and pointed ears, like a satyr.  Gradually the guests filtered away.  My neighbors Richard and Viv King offered me a lift up the road.  ’Wait a minute,’ I said.  ’I must just say goodbye to Harold Pinter and tell him I enjoyed the play; I haven’t said hello all evening.’ They waited at the door.  I went over to where Harold was sitting, ‘Wonderful play, marvelous acting, now I’m off.’
</br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He looked at me with those amazing, extremely bright black eyes. ‘Must you go?’ he said.  I thought of home, my lift, taking the children to school the next morning, the exhausting past night in the sleeper from Scotland, my projected biography of King Charles II…’No, it’s not absolutely essential,’ I said.
</br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;About 2.30 in the morning, poor Rachel and Kevin were visibly exhausted and we were the last guests. In the end, it was Harold who gave me a lift home, in a white car with a driver (he never drove at night having once been found ‘weaving’ in Regent’s Park). I offered him coffee. I actually gave him champagne. He stayed until six o’clock in the morning with extraordinary recklessness, but of course the real recklessness was mine.
</br>__
</br><i>[N.B. They were together from that day on for 33 years until Harold Pinter's death]</i></p>
<p>Excerpted from MUST YOU GO? by Antonia Fraser. Copyright © 2010 by Antonia Fraser.  All rights reserved.  You can purchase a copy of this book at <a href=”http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307475572?source=nl-2-9″>an independent book store near you</a> or <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Must-You-Go-Harold-Pinter/dp/0385532504?source=nl-2-9″>here on Amazon</a>.</p>
<p>—-</p>
<p><i><a href=”http://www.dailylit.com?source=nl-10-11″>DailyLit</a> is the leading publisher of serialized books in digital form.  Selected the #1 Book Website by The Sunday Times, DailyLit has sent over 47 million book installments.  DailyLit’s books and series are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles.  Installments can be read in fewer than 5 minutes wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, tablet or iPhone.</i></p>

CONTENTS

NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER

Sometimes you have to go with your gut, hold your breath, and jump. We just did that with our kids. After 10 years in the suburbs, we took them out of school and all moved to New York City. It’s been an awesome period of change. That’s why I’m celebrating pivotal moments in life with a creative challenge that asks for your key moments of change — and to mark Valentine’s Day, why not read a passage from one of the most romantic books I know. The excerpt below highlights the pivotal moment in which two great loves of our lifetime (well, at least my lifetime) met — author Antonia Fraser and Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
Cheers — to awesome moments of change!
-Susan

Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
sdanziger@dailylit.com
Twitter: @susandanziger@dailylit

CREATIVE CHALLENGE: THAT ONE PIVOTAL MOMENT

Describe that one turning point — that one moment of major change — in your life. Was there a moment when you went with your gut, held your breath and jumped? You can enter your moment of change here.

THE INTELLECTUAL DEVOTIONAL II

The Intellectual Devotional series on DailyLit, based on the bestselling Intellectual Devotional book series, proved to be one of DailyLit’s most popular series. More importantly — at least to me :) — it’s a series I continue to enjoy every day. In case you’re not familiar with this series, it’s a collection of daily lessons drawn from history, literature, philosophy, mathematics, science, religion, music and the visual arts. Given how much everyone seems to enjoy the series, I’ve decided to release The Intellectual Devotional II. If you signed up for the original Intellectual Devotional series, you needn’t do anything; you’ll automatically receive this sequel. And if you’re new to this series, you’re in for a real treat!

SWOONING OVER HEATHCLIFF

Which fictional character could be the love of your life? Proclaim your love here.

LAST MINUTE LOVE NOTES

Surprise your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day with love poems in his/her inbox. Imagine receiving daily love poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning or Shakespeare’s sonnets with a personal, loving message. Just click the “Gift this Book” tab when signing up for the poems and be sure to set the delivery date for February 14th. Who says you’re not romantic!

GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS

Given that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I thought I’d feature a passage from one of the most romantic books I’ve ever read. Reading it still gives me goosebumps. It’s from Must You Go, the diary of author Antonia Fraser who describes meeting the love of her life, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.

8 January 1975

A very enjoyable dinner party at Rachel and Kevin’s house in Addison Avenue: a long and convivial table. I was slightly disappointed not to sit next to the playwright who looked full of energy, with black curly hair and pointed ears, like a satyr. Gradually the guests filtered away. My neighbors Richard and Viv King offered me a lift up the road. ‘Wait a minute,’ I said. ‘I must just say goodbye to Harold Pinter and tell him I enjoyed the play; I haven’t said hello all evening.’ They waited at the door. I went over to where Harold was sitting, ‘Wonderful play, marvelous acting, now I’m off.’
He looked at me with those amazing, extremely bright black eyes. ‘Must you go?’ he said. I thought of home, my lift, taking the children to school the next morning, the exhausting past night in the sleeper from Scotland, my projected biography of King Charles II…’No, it’s not absolutely essential,’ I said.
About 2.30 in the morning, poor Rachel and Kevin were visibly exhausted and we were the last guests. In the end, it was Harold who gave me a lift home, in a white car with a driver (he never drove at night having once been found ‘weaving’ in Regent’s Park). I offered him coffee. I actually gave him champagne. He stayed until six o’clock in the morning with extraordinary recklessness, but of course the real recklessness was mine.
__
[N.B. They were together from that day on for 33 years until Harold Pinter's death]

Excerpted from MUST YOU GO? by Antonia Fraser. Copyright © 2010 by Antonia Fraser. All rights reserved. You can purchase a copy of this book at an independent book store near you or here on Amazon.

—-

DailyLit is the leading publisher of serialized books in digital form. Selected the #1 Book Website by The Sunday Times, DailyLit has sent over 47 million book installments. DailyLit’s books and series are all free and feature bestselling and award-winning titles. Installments can be read in fewer than 5 minutes wherever you receive email, including on any computer, Blackberry, tablet or iPhone.