Dracula Daily Offers A New Way To Read The Classic

Ever since its original publication in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula has irrevocably shaped the cultural landscape, becoming a staple in Gothic Horror and defining the vampire mythology. Told in letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings, the epistolary novel follows a close-knit cast of characters as they struggle to find and defeat the undead Count, ending the threat he poses to England and the world at large.

Despite its importance to the world of horror and literature, Dracula can sometimes be a difficult read for first-timers. This is where Dracula Daily comes in clutch.

Dracula Daily is an email subscription service that sends out pieces of the novel based on the in-book day it is dated. The novel opens with a diary entry from Jonathan Harker dated May 3, and Wednesday, May 3, 2023, is the day the first email will go out to subscribers. Emails will continue almost daily (there are some small breaks with no entries, the longest being almost two weeks) until Tuesday, November 7, 2023, which is when the last entry of the novel is dated.

Reading the novel in this fashion is also interesting for those who have read it before—the novel's entries are not in chronological order, and so reading the events as they occur can bring new insight into the plot, character motivations, etc.

Last year, many who participated took to discussing the day's reading via social media, resulting in something like a worldwide book club all coming together to read and discuss Dracula.

If you'd like to check out Dracula Daily, visit this link. If you don't subscribe by May 3, don't worry: the Dracula Daily website hosts an archive of each email.

Or, if you'd rather just read the novel as is, the Birmingham Public Library has multiple editions and formats available, including digital ebook and audiobook. 

By Charlie Bodiford | Librarian Ⅱ, North Avondale Branch Library