Archive for the ‘Reader Challenges’ Category

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.

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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.

Twitter Tales: DailyLit’s Creative Challenge

Our latest creative challenge is to come up with a story, Twitter-style. For those not familiar with Twitter, the story should have a maximum of 140 characters (but feel free to make it shorter). Note that each letter, space and punctuation mark counts as one character.

You can post your Twitter tale here. And of course feel free to tweet it out (please use #dailylit so we can all find it).

Thanks to DailyLit reader DominiqueM for the idea behind these Twitter tales.

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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 40 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.

Your Sentences

I asked DailyLit readers to come up with their own sentences — that is, a sentence that encapsulates each of their lives. The idea came from Daniel Pink who said it was a way to orient your life. I thought you’d enjoy reading what readers have come up with; you’ll see some are poignant, others uplifting, and still others that are quite sad):

-She did it HER way (by moengey)

-She spent her life trying to be invisible; now she wants to be heard.
 (by lmarsh1)

-He survived another snow day without strangling the kids. (by NearChaos)

-Work in progress. (by saturntv)

-She didn’t get the fairy tale. (by robind)

-She bit off more than she could chew, and chewed it. (by smorge01)

-He died without ever finding a reason to live. (by Fips)

-For 60-odd years so many mistakes; so many different worlds; so many repercussions; and now at last she begins preparations for life in her own real world, excited at finally living on her own terms doing what she was made for but fearful of there being insufficient time. (elizarussell)

-He crash landed on my heart like warm pancakes. (by birdhugger)

-The best lie goes to: “I love you more!” (by ladybeth22)

-She came and went and I was glad. (by Golem100)

-She never quite felt like she fit in and then happily hit 40 and suddenly didn’t care! (by fnevlntine)

-I’m still circling the drain. (by BashoKatzenjammer)

You can read other sentences written by DailyLit readers here or add your own here as well.

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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 40 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: Time to Chillax

In case you miss the latest arriving in inboxes today, here it is:

NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER

I think we have it all wrong. We should all be taking off the month of August. There is absolutely no reason we should be sitting at our desks, pretending to work when we could be out by the water “chillaxing” (that is, chilling and relaxing). So I thought I’d highlight the next best thing: a few short stories to transport ourselves to other lands and various creative challenges to keep our minds off work.
So cheers, to chillaxing!
-Susan

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

SHORTS AND TAILS
Here are some short stories and tails (well, OK, tales) for some light summer reading:
-Margaret Atwood’s White Horse (meeting her was one of the high points of the year; what an amazing woman!)
-Jhumpa Lahiri’s Hell-Heaven (one of my favorite authors)
-Classic Shorts (featuring stories by Fitzgerald, Chekhov, and Poe; selected by editors of Poets & Writers literary magazine)
-Grimm’s Fairy Tales (I still can’t remember the difference between Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin; can you?)
-Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (I’ve been meaning to re-read this novella — or do I just think I’ve read it?)
-E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View (always transports me to Florence!)

VOTRE PASSEPORT, SI’L VOUS PLAÎT

Even if you can’t swing a trip to France or Spain this summer, you can armchair travel with Berlitz Essential French Phrases or Berlitz Essential Spanish Phrases.

HIGHLIGHT: CREATIVE CHALLENGES

At least look as though you’re getting serious work done by tackling one of these past creative challenges (or just check out other readers’ contributions):
- 50 Word Challenge (write an extremely short story with a beginning, middle and end)
-10 Word Summer Memories (quick, before you forget!)
-Summer Love in One Sentence (who can resist?)
-What’s Your Favorite Word? (Mine is “chillax” — introduced to me by my 11 year old son as in, “You need to chillax, Mom.”)
-And then for a couple of aspirational, thought-provoking challenges: What’s Your Sentence? (need to think of a sentence that describes your life) and Before I die… (enough said).
-Your Perfect Day (our latest challenge: “What does your perfect day look like?” Mine would start in a cafe in Paris reading The International Herald Tribune, eating a freshly-baked croissant and sipping cafe au lait; I’d then hang out at Shakespeare & Company bookshop followed by a stroll through the gardens of the Picasso Museum.) And yours? What’s your perfect day?

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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 40 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.

Revisiting 10 Word Summer Memories

I thought it would be fun to revisit some past creative challenges, and I came upon this one that asked folks to describe summer memories in exactly 10 words. You might enjoy taking a look at these 10 Word Summer Memories, and they might inspire you to add your own. Here are a few:

#
Jersey Shore, sunburned shoulders, going to bed on ironed sheets.
eileenweirJun 28, 2010 8:26 am
•  Cape Cod, big house, hooded sweatshirts, COLD ocean, horseshoe crabs… (by lskohn)
•  Jersey Shore, sunburned shoulders, going to bed on ironed sheets. (by eileenweir)
•  No school, no shoes, Good Humor bells, fireflies, water sprinklers (by patk)
•  1968, Berkshires, bestfriend, silent nights, blue-eyed farmer, homemade donuts (by livinonthecrowrock)
•  Watermelon under the tree, blueberry popsicles, corn on the cob (by kogawa)
•  Summer afternoon library books crumple a quilt under the elm (by bookmonster)
•  Cold chocolate milk from the milkman, only twenty-seven cents (by deirdre1952)


You can read other summer memories here; add your own as well.  Have a field day!

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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 40 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 Readers’ (Fictional) Summer Destinations

Given that this is the season of travel, I thought I’d highlight responses to a recent creative challenge that asked which fictional place (from a novel or story) would you want to go this summer. Here are some of the responses:

-Well, the Secret Garden, of course!!! (by scdebbiet)
-To the bliss of Shangri-La! (by dreamdust)
-Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory! (by rootdarc)
-Narnia (suggested by changolote, DominiqueM and ohbejoyful)
-19th century Petersburg from Dostoevsky’s White Nights (by messenger7)
-I’d love to visit one of the fictional lands in Enid Blyton’s children’s novels… (by tinuviel)
-Turn of the 20th Century archeological dig in Egypt (with the Emersons) (by raggsragan)
-Neverland (by lewis.m17)
-Hogwarts/Hogsmeade (by Irene_Gulliver)
-I would like to walk the streets of London with Sherlock Homes and Dr. Watson… (by provolone)
-Same place I’ve visited for the past 65 years…OZ. I miss Dorothy, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion and especially the Scarecrow (by andrejules and also suggested by crucible3)
-Why to Mr. Darcy’s arms of course! (by pattiecake321)
-To Italy for a stay in the Room With a View. (by linderanniscrabby)
-Tara, from “Gone With the Wind” Yes, Rhett darling, I do give a d—. (by WandaMaynard)
-Never, Never Land….I don’t want to ground up! :> (by lsavadge)

You can view other fictional destinations (or enter your own) 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 40 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 asks: What’s Your Sentence?

I read Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, over vacation, and in it he challenges us to ask ourselves the “big question”: What’s your sentence?

For instance, on a grandiose scale, Pink explains that Abraham Lincoln’s sentence may have been: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.” But someone else’s may be as simple as: “She taught two generations of children how to read,” or “He raised four kids who became happy and healthy adults”. Pink explains it’s a way to orient your life towards a greater purpose.

So, as the year begins, I’d like to ask: “What’s your sentence?” You can enter it in DailyLit’s forums here.

And thanks, Dan, for the inspiration.

–—

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 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.

Creative Challenge – Come up with DailyLit’s Slogan

I’m asking readers to help come up with a slogan for DailyLit. I’m looking for memorable slogans that will make people take notice of DailyLit. So if you have any ideas, please include your them here. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

-Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO
DailyLit
@susandanziger, @dailylit

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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 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’s Reader Challenge: 50 Word Fright

DailyLit has just launched a new creative Reader Challenge that gets us in the spirit (so to speak!) of Hallowe’en, which is just around the corner. It’s frighteningly simple. In exactly 50 words (no more, no less), tell the creepiest, scariest, most chilling story you can possibly imagine. And remember, you don’t need blood and guts to make it scary!

Enter your 50 Word Fright 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 and series 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.

Winners of “Heroes” Reader Challenge

Thank you to everyone who participated in our “Heroes” Reader Challenge, inspired by Brad Meltzer’s bestselling book Heroes For My Son. We definitely got a little warm and fuzzy feeling reading about your heroes. Here, in no particular order, are our three winners, each of whom will receive a signed copy of Heroes For My Son. Congrats!

“I learned to read, I learned to sing, I learned to share, and I learned to care…all at the knee of my blind and deaf grandfather. I learned to really look, take time to see, listen carefully and hear clearly. I learned that a 5-year old cannot sneak past her grandpa, no matter what his challenges and capabilities. I dedicate my doctoral work in education to my first and best teacher, my grandpa!”
ggarner58

The most heroic deed is not celebrated, not even known. Manifested everyday in common people who suffers in silence for their loved ones. No need to look far and beyond, just true and discover that heroes are amongst us, in each one of us!
ladybeth22

My grandmother, a teacher and friend. A college-educated and working mother many years before the norm, her well-lived life was of joys and tragedies, memorable days and thousands more simply ordinary. She was a smart, funny, generous, imperfect woman who lived 97 years always looking forward to tomorrow.
thehappywordsmith

Thanks again to everyone who participated. Don’t forget to check out our new Reader Challenge: 10 word Summer Memories.