Building a reading habit does not always require finishing a new book every week. Sometimes, it begins with making room for one thoughtful essay each day. Essays offer readers a way to encounter unfamiliar ideas, discover new writers and spend time with subjects they might not ordinarily explore. For anyone hoping to engage more deeply with literature, Àlócura offers a simple place to start: a daily essay selected around their literary interests and delivered straight to their inbox.

The free service asks readers to share the writers and books they love, then recommends essays from publications including The New Yorker, Granta, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, Brittle Paper, Chimurenga and Words Without Borders, as well as other corners of the internet. Each recommendation comes with an explanation of why it was selected, while readers can give feedback on what they enjoy and ask for alternatives. Essays remain on their original publishers’ websites, allowing readers to explore the publications and writers behind the recommendations. Users can also choose when their daily email arrives, making it easier to build reading into an existing routine. Readers can sign up at alocura.net.

Àlócura was created by Michael Inioluwa Oladele, a Nigerian writer, essayist and book reviewer who also works in technology and is based in the United Kingdom. Oladele, who writes online as Oriádé, has long engaged with books and literary culture; the project brings those interests together with personalised digital recommendations. Its name combines “Àló,” described on the website as the opening call of a Yoruba storyteller, with cura, the Latin word for care. The platform’s mascot, Ìjàpá, draws on the tortoise of Yoruba folktales, known for patience and cleverness. For readers looking to make literature a more regular part of their lives, Àlócura offers an invitation to begin with one essay a day.

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