
Show HN: Read The Count of Monte Cristo and others in installments in your email - pipnonsense
https://www.serialliterature.com/
======
jaclaz
Congratulations, both for the idea and for the literature you chose the Count
of Montecristo and Great Expectations, for different reasons are among my
preferred books.

The Journal des Debats is available online.

The Conte of Montecristo was published according to Wikipedia:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo#Publ...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo#Publication)

> from 28 August 1844 to 15 January 1846

The original (book) has 117 Chapters:
[http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0720/2007023856.html](http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0720/2007023856.html)

As a matter of fact the first date there is chapter 1:

[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k446668c.item](https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k446668c.item)

And on the last date ther is chapter 117:

[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k447166b/](https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k447166b/)

And an indication that it is the fourth "part" and the dates where the
previous "sub-parts" were published.

They are not sequential (i.e. every day), and they have long gaps, so, without
checking the exact dates, it seems plausible that it was actually pubished in
117 times.

------
hombre_fatal
I love this idea, though I don't think it's necessary to only pick books that
were released through serial publication. What's useful about this project to
me is that, well, reading is already hard with so many distractions, but
having bite-sized episodes through email might help people make progress
without the overhead of sitting down with a book and feeling guilty when they
can't make progress.

Another idea is to graduate the project into a more cohesive system: one of
the emails you could periodically send is the first N pages of a random,
untitled book.

Subject: "[Mystery Book] A story about redemption, a wrongfully imprisoned
man." —just a byline summary like that.

And at the end of the email, you provide a link they can click that will
subscribe to the rest of that book.

~~~
Closi
On the other hand, I love the clarity behind this system being for things
released by serial publication.

Like the idea that if you read the book, you aren’t actually reading it as
intended.

~~~
sswezey
Exactly, its like binge watching a television show instead of piecemeal. You
don't have the cliffhangers since you don't have to wait a week or a year to
find out what happens next. A key tool to build suspense is rendered useless.

On the other hand, splitting a book that wasn't meant to be serial can make
certain sections feel meaningless - they aren't meant to be taken separately.
A perfect example is the movie adaptation of the Hobbit: you had two movies
that felt unresolved and one movie that just dropped you in right before the
climax of the book.

~~~
hombre_fatal
That's a good point. Though this service admits that it doesn't know the
actual episode boundaries used in the original publications, so it's just
chunking the books into chapters which might not necessarily fall on
cliffhanger boundaries.

------
dhosek
I have a vague notion that there was something along these lines in the '00s.
I think I even tried reading a book with it, maybe _Call of the Wild_. I
imagine it works great for some folks, but I didn't find it an improvement
over my existing reading practices in the least and didn't continue with it.

~~~
jamroom
I bet it was [https://www.dailylit.com](https://www.dailylit.com)

~~~
dhosek
It was. For some reason, searching call of the wild in my gmail archive didn't
turn up the emails, but dailylit found it and it was, in fact _Call of the
Wild_ (yay spectacular memory for useless details). Dailylit does have a click
here to get the next installment immediately feature and I read the 37
installments over three days (it's a short book).

------
S4M
It's a great idea, just one suggestion: would it be possible to choose the
language of the novels we decide to read? For example, I am French, so I would
rather read _The Count of Monte Christo_, _Twenty Thousand Leagues under the
Seas_ or _Madame Bovary_ in their original versions.

~~~
jeromenerf
I recently binged public domain audiobooks while woodworking and came close to
chop, cut or crush myself on Jules Verne’s not so romantic views on women,
Africans, employees, etc. Capitaine Nemo is different, just beware "5 semaines
en ballon".

Monte Cristo is a good summer read. The 3 musketeers and the follow ups are
also great.

I get these audiobooks from librivox and litteratureaudio.com. Fantastic work
is done there.

~~~
S4M
Thanks! I generally prefer books over audiobooks, but I may listen to an
audiobook for a change. I read plenty of books by Alexandre Dumas in the past,
and a few by Jules Verne.

I wasn't aware of Verne's views, but I would guess they were pretty common
during his time, so I would abstain to pass a judgement on him and focus on
his pioneering work on scifi.

------
julienchastang
The Count of Monte Cristo is also featured on today's Google Doodle. Does
anyone know why? It is not Alexandre Dumas' birthday. Coincidentally, I am in
the middle of this novel. It is pretty long :-)

~~~
pipnonsense
Today is the anniversary of the publication of the first installment of "The
Count of Monte Cristo" in the newspaper "Journal des Débats"(in 1884).

I had the site ready for launch today and already including "The Count of
Monte Cristo", but I pushed the book to be the first one on the list and
mention it in the title precisely because of the Google Doodle.

~~~
taejavu
You’ve quoted google’s write up, but surely they made a mistake - the year
should be “1844”, no?

[https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-alexandre-
dumas](https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-alexandre-dumas)

~~~
pipnonsense
You are right! I did a better research while creating the site, so it is
correct there. To answer this question I just went to check Google's
explanation and copied their mistake.

Yes, 1844 is the correct year.

(I can't edit my reply above anymore)

------
SCNP
I like this idea but I think I would want a link in each e-mail to mark that I
had read the current installment. That way, I wouldn't have them building up
in my inbox if I didn't get to them. I suppose that's a bit more overhead for
the developer and kind of goes against the creator's and original author's
intent. I really do like this though. I signed up for the Count of Monte
Cristo.

~~~
TruckMangione
I want to mention that I had the exact same thought. A feature to essentially
say, "I have finished this section, please send me the next one."

~~~
DetroitThrow
You've spent 2 years with such a great username but only shared your thoughts
just now?

------
dmje
I'll go against the grain of all the people saying "why didn't I think of
this, it's brilliant" and say: I'm not sure this is such a good idea.

Like: where's the place where All The Things are clamouring for your attention
more than anything else? Yup, your email inbox.

Where's the place you unsubscribe from as much as you possibly can to keep it
clean?

Where's the place there are even automated "unsub" tools and "zero" is
considered the Holy Grail?

Where's the place you're likely to give up your literature reading when yet
another urgent email from your boss pops into view?

I'm just not convinced that long form reading in your inbox is what people
want, or if it'll stick.

I guess I also just think: buy the book. Buy the book, in paper form, turn off
your phone and actually _live_ the story rather than trying to turn it into
some serialised, EASY snackable form. Sometimes words and books are hard, but
that's often the point. Be immersed in it, lost in it, consumed by it.

I'm ready to be proved wrong so will sign up and see, but these are my initial
thoughts.

~~~
jmiskovic
I agree on all but the last point. Having to wait for a week to get another
chapter after each of Monte Cristo cliffhangers would be more intensive
experience than binging on the book.

It's partly delayed gratification, but it's also having something in your week
schedule to look forward to. I experienced similar thing with Planetarium
([https://www.beholder.uk/planetarium/](https://www.beholder.uk/planetarium/))
and I'd recommend it to anyone.

------
irs
Something similar [https://notimeforbooks.com](https://notimeforbooks.com)

~~~
steven_pack
That's my baby!

------
lbj
This is one of those ideas where I immediately go "Why didn't anyone think of
this before?"

In periods of high-stress I can barely bring myself to pick up a book, but Im
sure I'd read that email first thing in the morning. Very well done!

Now please, add Atlas Shrugged to the list, its due a re-read :)

------
globuous
Nice job !! I finished the count of Monte Cristo a few years ago, and I must
admit I fell in love, I cannot wait to read it again. Side note, I'd love
Tarantino to make his version of it, either as a movie or even better, as a
show ! Maybe even in today's time kinda like Sherlock did !!

~~~
livueta
It's not Tarantino, but occasional friendly reminder that Gankutsuou exists
and is pretty dang good, occasional glimpses of awkward early-2000s CG aside.
Jouji Nakata as the Count is easily one of his most memorable performances.

~~~
robotmay
Thank you for letting me know this exists! This sounds really entertaining.

------
stopachka
Love this! Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite work of fiction — read it at
least 4 times now. I saw it differently as a kid, teenager, and adult. If you
read it a while ago I highly suggest a re-read

------
Waterluvian
I’m sold. Amazing idea.

I wish I could decide how large each instalment was.

Edit: the most bizarre thing. I’m trying to scroll and the ink is smudging
everywhere and I can’t read things.

~~~
pipnonsense
Ok, sorry, definitely not the experiment I planned with the ink drop effect.
What's your browser/device? It should be just a drop on click/touch that
disappears with further clicks or scroll.

The custom size for each installment is interesting, but tricky to do right.
I'll think about it.

~~~
avisk
I too see this. I am using Google Chrome browser in IPhone SE 2020.

Love your idea.

------
markx2
I have used [https://www.dailylit.com/](https://www.dailylit.com/) on and off
for years

Why is this service better?

------
creaghpatr
Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite novel and I highly recommend it but it's
north of 1000 pages...that's a lot of email installments.

~~~
robotmay
It's one of my favourites too but it's a very quick way to find out who's the
fastest reader of your friends when you recommend it to people :D

It's pretty epic in many ways, and for me it's the ultimate revenge story.

------
tmhrtly
Does this use your browser's timezone or do I need to convert into another
timezone when entering the time I'd like the email chapter?

~~~
pipnonsense
It uses your browser timezone

------
richardbrevig
Not entirely off topic, but I recently attempted sharing my life story with
people via daily written installments:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUC2aFkBHiw&8d3=7f5h](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUC2aFkBHiw&8d3=7f5h)

The video basically introduces me and what I'm doing.

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aladine
Love this idea. I was a fan of this novel a long time ago. I really want a
bite-size reading newsletter style like this.

What I think is you should have an index of similar novels too. You can put a
list of recommended novels in the newsletter email, or sent a follow up email
after finishing the whole seris of 117 chapters of Monte Cristo.

------
DanSmooth
Great idea! Just subscribed to get some Dumas in my mailbox.

A preview would be nice. Something to get a feel of how long a chapter might
be. Also time is a fickle thing. Your 3pm might differ from mine. You might
want to include the timezone somewhere. Finally: What's up with the blots that
appear onclick in the upper quarter of the page?

~~~
pipnonsense
Thanks! I get the timezone from your browser, so it should work as expected
for you (if not, it's a bug, please let me know by replying the email). But
enough people asked me about the timezone that it is worth adding it
explicitly in the UI.

The ink drops are just a quirky effect that I found cool to add. Hopefully it
didn't disrupt your experience (it works better on desktop btw).

------
antasvara
There's also a new app called Serial Box
([https://www.serialbox.com/](https://www.serialbox.com/)) that has a
combination of new works of literature designed for the serial format, as well
as some old classics.

------
jvandonsel
If you like this sort of thing then you may also like Samuel Pepys' diaries
read in "real time" on twitter.
[https://twitter.com/samuelpepys](https://twitter.com/samuelpepys)

------
chris_st
Signed up!

I always kind of hoped Cell phone novels [0] in English would come, but I've
never seen any.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone_novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone_novel)

------
rozab
I think it would be great to read these works as they were intended to be
read, and it's awesome you're leveraging public domain literature to do this.
Not sure which I'll start with yet, but I'll be sure to sign up!

------
tezzer
Great idea! You should specify a time zone in your selections, or identify
which one you use, since the internet is available in a few different places
these days.

~~~
pipnonsense
I do it in the background. The hour you select will be the hour you receive
your email in your timezone (if everything goes right at least lol). But maybe
I should make the timezone explicit in the UI (maybe even editable).

~~~
emuss
I'd be in favor of this. I'm currently not in my home timezone, so would want
to be able to change that. Good work though, super cool project!

~~~
emuss
Nevermind, just reread your comment and see what you mean now. But yes, at
least making it explicit should clear up the confusion! :)

------
calmworm
This is great. Thanks for sharing!

Does anyone know of new works being written and released in installments this
way? Through newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc?

~~~
joshvm
This is still quite popular in science fiction and fantasy literature. There
are several periodical magazines like Asimov's Science Fiction which still
regularly publish new people (regular as in 6 issues a year, but you could
subscribe to multiple mags).

------
publicola1990
There were a couple similar services already I think in a similar vein, like
DailyLit and DripRead..

But nice implementation, nonetheless...

------
tekkertje
Love the idea! Finally a way to force myself to start reading some books on
the list, as I keep a zero inbox policy.

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ponker
The Count of Monte Cristo is worth doing the audiobook for. Absolute
masterpiece. "Rebecca" is another one.

------
pwinnski
This is pretty brilliant. Kudos!

------
lubujackson
I've seen this exact idea before. Did you look to see if it existed first?

~~~
goatherders
Why does that matter?

~~~
scpedicini
Because if you lifted the idea from somewhere else you should disclose that
fact, otherwise it comes off a little disingenuous especially in a show HN
where many readers might assume that you came up with this independently.

~~~
goatherders
I suppose that's true if you care whether someone came up with something
independently. I dont, at all. Nothing is created in a void and my experienxe
is that even the most original or clever idea, large or small, has plenty of
other instances in existence.

~~~
scpedicini
That's not always the case. And obviously only the developer of this knows the
truth, so it's really up to ones moral compass, but there is a difference
between being inspired by a product to make something new versus literally
copying someone else's work with zero impactful changes.

------
tvalentius
Interesting idea! Can I request for more sci-fi titles like The Foundation?

------
westondeboer
This is very fun!

An example at the top would be perfect, Of what the email would look like.

------
smarri
I think this is great, thanks for making it.

