Daily Reader suggestions
December 19, 2024 12:06 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations for books that are meant to be read in daily sections like "The Assassin's Cloak" which is a collection of journal entries for each day or "Year of Wonder" which covers 365 musical pieces.
The Autobiography of Santa Claus is written in 24 chapters meant to be read the first 24 days of December.
How Winston Delivered Christmas and How Winston Came Home for Christmas are both written in 24 1/2 chapters, also meant to be read the first 25 days of December.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 12:53 PM on December 19, 2024
How Winston Delivered Christmas and How Winston Came Home for Christmas are both written in 24 1/2 chapters, also meant to be read the first 25 days of December.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 12:53 PM on December 19, 2024
Oh sorry, I just realized you want recommendations, not examples. Well since I assume you are not a young child, you probaby don't want to read the Winston Books.
However, I do recommend the Autobiography of Santa Claus. The man has led a fascinating life and while there may be a couple of places where I wonder if he embellishes a little, the book really helps to address lot of sort of "missing links" in what I had know of his story before and how he went from this nepo-baby Catholic bishop secretly granting dowries to living at the north pole and having specialized almost exclusively in toy-giving. And of course answers the questions we've all wondered, like who is wife and the elves are, how Coca-Cola found out what he looks like if no one has ever seen him (though of course lots of people have seen him!), etc. etc. Not a kids book. A very interesting read.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:08 PM on December 19, 2024 [2 favorites]
However, I do recommend the Autobiography of Santa Claus. The man has led a fascinating life and while there may be a couple of places where I wonder if he embellishes a little, the book really helps to address lot of sort of "missing links" in what I had know of his story before and how he went from this nepo-baby Catholic bishop secretly granting dowries to living at the north pole and having specialized almost exclusively in toy-giving. And of course answers the questions we've all wondered, like who is wife and the elves are, how Coca-Cola found out what he looks like if no one has ever seen him (though of course lots of people have seen him!), etc. etc. Not a kids book. A very interesting read.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:08 PM on December 19, 2024 [2 favorites]
There are several poetry ones.
* The two volumes of Poem for the Day, ed. Nicholas Albery.
* A Poem For Every Day of the Year, edited by Allie Esiri. She has several others, including "Shakespeare for Every Day", but I've only read the original.
* A Poem to Read Aloud Every Day of the Year, ed. Liz Ison - and it looks as if the same publisher also has "a nature poem every day" and "a happy poem" but I haven't read those.
* A Poem a Day: 365 Contemporary Poems 34 Languages 279 Poets, ed. Gulzar.
posted by paduasoy at 1:12 PM on December 19, 2024 [3 favorites]
* The two volumes of Poem for the Day, ed. Nicholas Albery.
* A Poem For Every Day of the Year, edited by Allie Esiri. She has several others, including "Shakespeare for Every Day", but I've only read the original.
* A Poem to Read Aloud Every Day of the Year, ed. Liz Ison - and it looks as if the same publisher also has "a nature poem every day" and "a happy poem" but I haven't read those.
* A Poem a Day: 365 Contemporary Poems 34 Languages 279 Poets, ed. Gulzar.
posted by paduasoy at 1:12 PM on December 19, 2024 [3 favorites]
Harry Mathews' 20 Lines a Day (inspired by Stendhal) is a delight.
posted by dizziest at 1:55 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by dizziest at 1:55 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
Shepherd and I are wrapping up Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year; we've been reading one each night to each other. I have a copy of A London Year, which also does the daily snippet thing, and that will be what we will read to each other in 2025.
posted by Kitteh at 4:11 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 4:11 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
Not exactly what you are looking for, but two “daily bite” books I enjoyed:
* The Intellectual Devotional - “Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music.”
* War and Peace - has 365 chapters so “A Year of War and Peace” is a thing. I did it along with this podcast, but you can do it on your own or with a book like this.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 6:13 PM on December 19, 2024
* The Intellectual Devotional - “Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music.”
* War and Peace - has 365 chapters so “A Year of War and Peace” is a thing. I did it along with this podcast, but you can do it on your own or with a book like this.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 6:13 PM on December 19, 2024
Ross Gay’s Book of Delights! I’m not sure there are exactly 365 essays (he may have skipped a day or two), but close enough and it is indeed delightful.
posted by dudley at 9:25 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by dudley at 9:25 PM on December 19, 2024 [1 favorite]
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.
posted by tofu_crouton at 5:01 AM on December 20, 2024
posted by tofu_crouton at 5:01 AM on December 20, 2024
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. Read one chapter each day in the month of October.
posted by maurice at 6:43 AM on December 20, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by maurice at 6:43 AM on December 20, 2024 [1 favorite]
If you're up for a longer-term project, this site sends an entry of Samuel Pepys diary for the current date (off by only 363 years).
posted by Dotty at 8:10 AM on December 20, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by Dotty at 8:10 AM on December 20, 2024 [2 favorites]
My Utmost for His Highest is daily reflections/readings from an early-20th-c. Scottish Baptist minister. (I think somebody gave me a copy of this in the 90s, and I don't remember being wowed by how it had aged even back then....but it seemed to fit your description.)
Dracula Daily is cool, and I've daydreamed about doing something similar for Two Years Before the Mast but I'm not sure that hits the "one reading, every day, for a year" point.
posted by adekllny at 8:30 AM on December 20, 2024
Dracula Daily is cool, and I've daydreamed about doing something similar for Two Years Before the Mast but I'm not sure that hits the "one reading, every day, for a year" point.
posted by adekllny at 8:30 AM on December 20, 2024
Never heard of any direction on how to read it, one entry per day or like a novel (which is how I did it) but Brian Eno documented his 1995 in his Year Of Swollen Appendices.
posted by Rash at 8:51 AM on December 20, 2024
posted by Rash at 8:51 AM on December 20, 2024
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote Gmorning, Gnight! (collected from his tweets)--I think it has about 200 "little pep talks" but it's meant to be a daily-ish read.
posted by CiaoMela at 11:26 AM on December 20, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by CiaoMela at 11:26 AM on December 20, 2024 [1 favorite]
Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but the old newspaper serials used to come out with little segments daily or weekly. Serial Reader has some, and also splits other books into daily chunks.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:25 PM on December 21, 2024
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:25 PM on December 21, 2024
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Phssthpok at 12:33 PM on December 19, 2024 [4 favorites]