Prior to this year, I had never read Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was not on my "to read" list, and being notoriously uneasy with horror films I had never given it a second thought.
Then I discovered Dracula Daily.
What is Dracula Daily?
Dracula Daily is a newsletter that emails you the entirety of Dracula in a series of emails. As Dracula is an epistolary novel, every part has a date attached to it. The newsletter follows the timeline in the novel by sending out the events that take place on each day of the story.
For example, if the characters write about events happening on October 3rd, then you will receive an email about those events on that date.
The timeline in Dracula runs from May 3rd until November 7th. By reading the events on the dates that they happen, you get to experience the story in 'real time'. It also means that everyone else also taking part in Dracula Daily is up to the same stage of the story - we're all reading it together as one large book club.
That book club aspect of it is what led me to sign up back in May, and it has become a huge part of the enjoyment that I get out of reading it. Sure, I could have read Dracula in a shorter timeframe and enjoyed it - but by sticking to the email format I got (among many things) a sense of community.
On any given day that I received a Dracula Daily email, my process was this:
- Read the email.
- Check social media (such as Tumblr, Twitter, etc) to see what others have posted about the latest email.
With so many people reading the same part of the book as I was, there were some lively discussions online between everyone. Every email seemed to result in nuanced breakdowns from others, and perspectives that I would never have considered on my own. But for every post teaching me something new about the 1890s (like did you know the postal service at the time would
deliver to houses multiple times a day? You could send a letter in the morning and expect an answer that afternoon), there were also plenty of memes and fanart and creativity.
At the time of writing this post, I am near the end of the book but have not finished it yet. Somehow, even now I still don't know how the story ends. The fact that people are avoiding posting spoilers on a book 125 years old is hilarious, but also much appreciated on my part. Instead, they wait until the emails 'catch up' to that part of the novel, and then publish their tweets and blog posts saying
"I've been waiting for this part to happen! Here's everything I waited to say about it." It's a charming piece of consideration and really speaks to the 'community' aspect of it all.
Thoughts on the novel itself
When I started reading I found out very quickly that though I knew what a vampire was and understood the basics of Dracula as a character, I had no idea what happened in the actual story of Dracula. Those of you that are reading this but have not read the novel yet - did you know there's a cowboy in it? He's even a main character!
If your knowledge of the story comes from film adaptions, you may be surprised to know that apparently most (if not all) of the adaptions are notorious for not sticking to the source material. Having not watched any of the films I cannot confirm that, but I can instead confirm that nothing I had picked up via cultural osmosis had prepared me for what happens in the book.
The Plot
Jonathan Harker, a recently qualified solicitor, journeys from England to Transylvania to Count Dracula's castle. Dracula is planning to move to England, and so Jonathan has been sent there to help with this. Things go rather downhill for Jonathan from there, as he is imprisoned in the castle for several months. Dracula then makes his way to England and starts causing all sorts of problems for the other main characters.
Plot summary aside, the status of the book as a classic is well deserved. The group of main characters are all interesting individuals, and while some are eccentric none seem unrealistic. The events that happen are devastating in the best way, and the emotional impacts still resonate when reading over a century after the book was first published.
Returning to the 'Dracula Daily' phenomenon; the email format also made the book seem more accessible. I used to read on the train travelling to and from work, but thanks to the ~world events~ of the past few years, I spend a lot more time working from home. Which is great for my commute time, but less great for my "to read" list progress. It is difficult to find time to pick up a book when it is not part of your routine. But reading an email? Sure, I have time for that! Having the book broken up into smaller more manageable chunks completely got me through the mental hurdle of finding time to read.
I also really enjoy the fact that it has popularised reading the classics, as others wanted to recreate or extend the "Dracula Daily" experience - but since the format involves sharing the novel, everyone has been using books that are already public domain. I have already started another book thanks to this:
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu - which I am about halfway through.
These are the books I signed up for that haven't started yet:
...And here are other mailing lists of books that I've heard of but didn't sign up for (because I realised I may have overdone things already):
It was a pleasure to be a part of Dracula Daily, and I'm looking forward to participating in these upcoming 'book clubs' in the future. Come join me!