Review: DailyLit.com

I recently came across an intriguing website that was launched earlier in 2007. It’s called DailyLit and it offers a unique way of reading ebooks – via email or RSS feed. Here’s how it works: After you complete the free and very simple registration process, you can choose any book from a surprisingly large library. All the classics are free, and now they are starting to feature more contemporary books that only cost a few bucks.

Once you select your book, you decide if you want to read it via email or by RSS. You then choose the frequency with which the section are sent to you, everything from just a few a week to everyday, and then you’re all set. All books are sent to you in bite-size sections, perfect for reading on your break at work (or even while you’re supposed to be working, I won’t tell).

For my first book experience on DailyLit, I decided on Treasure Island (aff link) by Robert Louis Stevenson. I decided on the RSS feed, since I sped much more time reading blogs on Google Reader than I do reading email. The book is sent to me in 88 parts- a new one every morning.

Here’s how my experience stacks up so far:

The Good
This service is incredibly convenient. You don’t need any special reading devices – just a computer with access to your email or an RSS feed, and you’re all set. Plus, each "section" of a book is sent to you in bite-sized pieces, so it’s very easy to read on your computer monitor.

They also have a decent selection. It’s nowhere near as big as Amazon’s Kindle ebook selection, or even Sony’s ebook store, but for a service like this, I was very pleased.

The Bad
The big negative I can see with DailyLit is also the one thing that makes it so convenient – email and RSS. Yes, people already read a lot of digital content via email and blog feeds, but many won’t want to sit and read a novel on their computer, even if does come in small chunks. And that brings me to my next point…

You can’t control how big the sections are (they are a predetermined length). Like I said, Treasure Island comes in 88 parts, and that’s one of the shorter ones. If you read one section a day, it’s going to take you 88 days to read the book. In DailyLit’s defense, however, you do have an option to get the next section before the scheduled time.

My Overall Impression
Personally, I love this service and plan to read many more novels from it. However, I know it won’t attract everyone. Ebooks in general are still only attracting a small (but growing) group of readers, and DailyLit will probably attract a subset of those people. If you’re willing to read books via email or RSS in small chunks, then it’s definitely worth a try.

I think part of what my experience great is I’m doing most of my reading on my trusty iPhone. When I read in the "landscape" view, it reads much more naturally. I’m not sure how something like this would work on a regular cell phone with only email access.

I really encourage people to give it a shot, though, because it doesn’t require an expensive ebook reader and you don’t have to worry about DRM ebooks that aren’t formatted to work with a device you already own. That in itself is a hug plus for me!

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