Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
sdanziger [at] dailylit [dot] com

Summer Big Read: Huckleberry Finn
What better way to launch the summer than with Mark Twain’s classic summer story of fun along the Mississippi? Join us in reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—for the first time or the umpteenth. Find it here.

Reader Challenge: 10 Word Summer Memories
We all have favorite memories of warm, lazy days of summer: an afternoon on a sunbleached dock, a family vacation, a runny ice cream cone at the county fair. We’re challenging you to share your favorite summer memory in just 10 words. Share your mini summer moments in our Reader Challenge Forum.

Readers’ Summer Reading List
We asked what you were planning on reading this summer, and you responded with a wonderfully diverse list. Here’s a sampling (and there’s still time to add your own list here):

The Sookie Stackhouse books—erinpayton
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. This is for 9th grade Honors English—spectrekitty
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson and Shanghai Girls by Lisa See—Moengey
Anna Karenina; The Great Gatsby; Catch 22; Moby Dick; The Count of Monte Cristo; A Tale of Two Cities; Dracula; 1984—digiworks8
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri—lolabean
The Crucible by Arthur Miller—hoelisha
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro—sdhomecare
War and Peace and American Prometheus—Ichasson

DailyLit’s Book Channel
Check out our book channel for recipes from Emeril’s latest book, Farm to Fork, which shows you how to use organic and locally-grown produce just in time for summer harvests. There’s also Heartbroken Open, an inspirational memoir about the woman who learns to live after her husband (author of “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff Stuff”) unexpectedly dies. And there’s Critical Care, a powerful, touching look at a hospital’s cancer ward through the eyes of a nurse. You can find these excerpts (made available courtesy of HarperStudio), and other bestselling, award-winning picks in our Book Channel.

Classic Shorts
With all this talk of summer reading we wanted to remind you about Classic Shorts: Eight Stories for Summer, a great collection curated by our friends at Poets & Writers. These shorts from literary masters—Tolstoy, Fitzgerald, Chekhov, Poe, and more—are ideal for getting some “serious” reading done without facing the 663 installments of War and Peace. Find Classic Shorts here. (Oh, and if you’re feeling inspired, War and Peace is here.)

Which character’s path from which book would you like to retrace?

Share your ideas in our Question of the Week forum.

Cheers—to a very happy birthday, DailyLit!

Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
sdanziger [at] dailylit [dot] com

Bestselling Heroes For My Son by Brad Meltzer
When his first son was born bestselling author Brad Meltzer set out to create a list of people whose courage and achievements would inspire his son: Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Jim Henson, Mohammed Ali (52 heroes in all). You can discover and share the lives of those who have changed our world in this bestselling collection of stories. Thanks to our sponsor, HarperStudio, you can read them all here.

Reader Challenge: Your Own Hero
Inspired by the bestselling book, Heroes For My Son, this month’s Reader Challenge encourages you to share your own hero. In 50 words or fewer, tell us why this person means so much to you. We’ll select our three favorites, each of whom will receive a signed copy of Heroes For My Son. Be sure to post your hero in our Reader Challenge Forum by Sunday, June 6th at 11:59pm EST to be considered.

Big Read: Robin Hood
With a reimagined version of “Robin Hood” hitting theaters this month—and judging from the previews this Robin Hood will not be wearing tights—we decided to revisit Sherwood Forest for our Big Read. Check out Chapter One—”How Robin Hood Became an Outlaw”—here.

Crazy Busy Beautiful by Carmindy
On the hit show “What Not To Wear” makeup artist Carmindy gives makeover subjects the finishing touches that, as anyone who’s seen the show can attest, make all the difference. Her new book, Crazy Busy Beautiful, shares the beauty tips that make her clients look so good—and we’ve got a taste, courtesy of our sponsor HarperStudio. Find it here.

Finally, to get us all in the mood for summer, here’s a poem by Emily Dickinson:

A something in a summer’s Day

A something in a summer’s Day
As slow her flambeaux burn away
Which solemnizes me.

A something in a summer’s noon—
A depth—an Azure—a perfume—
Transcending ecstasy.

And still within a summer’s night
A something so transporting bright
I clap my hands to see—

Then veil my too inspecting face
Lets such a subtle—shimmering grace
Flutter too far for me—

The wizard fingers never rest—
The purple brook within the breast
Still chafes it narrow bed—

Still rears the East her amber Flag—
Guides still the sun along the Crag
His Caravan of Red—

So looking on—the night—the morn
Conclude the wonder gay—
And I meet, coming thro’ the dews
Another summer’s Day!

Heroes For My Son is being published today and the full book is available for free on DailyLit thanks to our sponsor, HarperStudio. Enjoy!

Today’s the last day to sign up for our exclusive Berlitz Spanish Lessons. It covers the essentials–grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary–on key topics like conversation, traveling, and working. It’s great for beginners or those needing a refresher. And it says adios tomorrow, May 1. (As long as you sign up by tonight at 11:59pm you’ll receive the full course.)

Today is also the last day to enter April’s Reader Challenge, Your Words That Matter. Share the advice you’d like to pass on—to your children, your best friends, your family. We’ll choose three of our favorites to win a hard copy of Words That Matter. Post your entries in our Reader Challenge Forum by tonight at, you guessed it, 11:59pm to be considered.

Because remember: speaking English slowly and loudly is not the same as learning the language of the country you’re visiting. Don’t be those people: we’re here to help.

We have a selection of those quotes from Words That Matter thanks to our sponsor, HarperStudio. You’ll find inspiring words from such luminaries as Maya Angelou, Eckhart Tolle, Alice Walker, Elie Wiesel, Martha Beck, and even some wisdom of the ages from figures like Virgil. It’s great daily inspiration–DailyLitspiration?–that we hope you’ll enjoy. Read it here.

#131. The Case of the Two-Cent Candy
Years ago, I wrote about a retail store in the Palo Alto environs, a good one, which had a box of two-cent candies at the checkout. I subsequently remember that “little” parting gesture of the two-cent candy as a symbol of all that is Excellent at that store. Dozens of people—from retailers to bankers to plumbing supply house owners—who have attended seminars of mine have come up to remind me, sometimes 15 or 20 years later, of “the two-cent candy story,” and to tell me how it had a sizable impact on how they did business, metaphorically and in fact.

Well, the Two-Cent Candy Phenomenon has struck again—with oomph and in the most unlikely of places.

For years Singapore’s “brand” has more or less been Southeast Asia’s “place that works.” Its legendary operational efficiency in all it does has attracted businesses of all sorts to set up shop there. But as “the rest” in the geographic neighborhood closed the efficiency gap, and China continued to rise-race-soar, Singapore decided a couple of years ago to “rebrand” itself as not only a place that works but also as an exciting/“with it” city. (I was a participant in an early rebranding conference that also featured the likes of the late Anita Roddick, Deepak Chopra, and Infosys founder and superman Narayana Murthy.)

Singapore’s fabled operating efficiency starts, as indeed it should, at ports of entry—the airport being a prime example. From immigration to baggage claim to transportation downtown, the services are unmatched anywhere in the world for speed and efficiency.

Saga …

Immigration services in Thailand, three days before a trip to Singapore, were a pain. (“Memorable.”) And entering Russia some months ago was hardly a walk in the park, either. To be sure, and especially after 9/11, entry to the United States has not been a process you’d mistake for arriving at Disneyland, nor marked by an attitude that shouted “Welcome, honored guest.”

Singapore immigration services, on the other hand:

The entry form was a marvel of simplicity.

The lines were short, very short, with more than adequate staffing.

The process was simple and unobtrusive.

And:

The Immigration Officer could have easily gotten work at Starbucks; she was all smiles and courtesy.

And:

Yes!

Yes!

And … yes!

There was a little candy jar at each Immigration portal!!!

The “candy jar message” in a dozen ways:

“WELCOME TO SINGAPORE, TOM!! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY BESIDE OURSELVES WITH DELIGHT THAT YOU HAVE DECIDED TO COME HERE!”

Wow!

Wow!

Wow!

Ask yourself … NOW:

What is my (personal, department, project, restaurant, law firm) “Two-Cent Candy”???

Does every part of the process of working with us/me include two-cent candies?

Do we, as a group, “think two-cent candies”?

Operationalizing: Make “two-centing it” part and parcel of “the way we do business around here.” Don’t go light on the so-called substance—but do remember that … perception is reality … and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.

Start: Have your staff collect “two-cent candy stories” for the next two weeks in their routine “life” transactions. Share those stories. Translate into “our world.” And implement.

Repeat regularly.

Forever.

(Recession or no recession—you can afford two cents.)

(In fact, it is a particularly Brilliant Idea for a recession—you doubtless don’t maximize Two-Cent Opportunities. And what OPPORTUNITIES they are.)

With the weather warming up, we decided to shape up and change the look of our installments so they fit neatly onto your mobile phone. Of course, there’s no form over substance with DailyLit. This month, we’re featuring a star-studded line-up with stories and inspiration from Sam Shephard; Tom Peters; and O, The Oprah Magazine. And we’re launching a new Sci Fi Channel with help from bestselling author Cory Doctorow and major sci fi publishers. If poetry’s your thing, don’t forget that it’s Poetry Month—there’s still time to sign up for daily poems from Knopf featuring John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, and Sapphire. Oh, and don’t forget that you have until the end of this month to sign up for Berlitz’s Spanish Lessons. And then, it’s adios!

-Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
sdanziger@dailylit.com

Thought we’d bring a little movie glamour this month to our Big Read (actually, three little reads). We’ll be featuring three short vignettes by movie star/author Sam Shepard. In case you’re not familiar with his written work, don’t worry, Shepard, the author, is the real deal—in fact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning real deal. Enjoy them here.

Tom Peters: The Little Big Things

Back by popular demand, management guru Tom Peters returns to DailyLit with his latest book The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence. Inspire yourself daily with tips, anecdotes, and advice—all in the pursuit of excellence. The entire book is available on DailyLit thanks to our sponsor, HarperStudio. Find it here.

Words that Matter from O, the Oprah Magazine

Words that Matter gathers some of the most inspired ideas and quotations to appear in O, the Oprah Magazine over the last decade. You’ll find insights from Maya Angelou, Eckhart Tolle, Alice Walker, Elie Wiesel, Suze Orman and dozens of others on love, friendship, gratitude, success, money and beyond. We’ve got a free taste for you, courtesy of HarperStudio. Find it here.

Reader Challenge: Your Words that Matter

We’re feeling inspired by Oprah’s words and want to know which words you live by. In just one sentence share the advice you’d like to pass on—to your children, your best friends, your family. We’ll choose three of our favorites to win a copy of Words That Matter. Make sure to post your inspirational quote in our Reader Challenge Forum no later than Friday, April 30th at 11:59pm EST to be considered.

New on DailyLit: Sci Fi Channel

Our new Sci Fi Channel is where you can discover up and coming science fiction writers, read recommendations from folks in-the-know, and enjoy excerpts from newly released sci fi books delivered right to your inbox—and it’s all on us. We’re kicking off the channel with a collection of short stories from Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, excerpts from Tor Books, and recommendations from Cory Doctorow. Find them here.

Last Chance for Berlitz Spanish Lessons

You only have have until May 1st to sign up for our exclusive Berlitz Spanish Lessons. If you’re not on board by then it’s hasta la vista, baby. Find them here.

DailyLit’s New Look

DailyLit has gotten a facelift! In order to make reading easier on mobile devices, we’ve changed the look of our installments. Hope you like our new look.

The creepy kid motif has been popular in movies for decades–think Damien (aka the Antichrist) in The Omen and the child characters in The Shining, The Sixth Sense, and The Ring. The Turn of the Screw is the granddaddy of them all.

The book opens with a group of travelers gathered in an inn, telling stories to pass the time. One character begins to read from a manuscript of a governess he claims to have known, but who is now dead. It is her story that makes up the rest of this short novella.

The governess takes charge of two young orphaned children whose uncle remains in London and, strangely, demands that the governess never contact him regarding the children. Flora is already at the country house and Miles, her brother, joins them after being expelled from his boarding school under mysterious circumstances. As the days go by the governess begins to see strange things–or apparitions?–at the country house, and the children seem to be wrapped up with these occurrences in unsettling ways. From that point to the end of the novella the governess’s world–or is it her mind?–unravel, leading to a final scene you won’t soon forget.

The first time I read this novella I did so in one sitting. It is deliciously eerie–the country house atmosphere is ominous, the children enigmatic, and the story from a dead woman’s hand. Read it here.

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