Cindy Tackles a Digi- Novel

Coiuld this be the shape of books to come? Cindy Tham at The Nutgraph writes about her encounter with a hybrid book, a "digi-novel" called Level 26: Dark Origins, in which :

... readers are given a code to access cyber-bridges or videos that flesh out parts of the plot in vivid detail. There is also an interactive forum for readers to chat with other readers and contribute ideas on how the authors could revise the story for future editions and sequels.

and she wonders whether this is the shape of books to come as society becomes more immersed in digital technology.

Two problems she highlights based on this experience - little is left to the reader's imagination, and of course this is the best part of the reading experience, and the cyber-bridges can be disruptive to the reading flow.

But she vows to keep an open mind about the future of "vooks" ... and so will I.

How the E-Book Will Change Things

I knew then that the book's migration to the digital realm would not be a simple matter of trading ink for pixels, but would likely change the way we read, write and sell books in profound ways. It will make it easier for us to buy books, but at the same time make it easier to stop reading them. It will expand the universe of books at our fingertips, and transform the solitary act of reading into something far more social. It will give writers and publishers the chance to sell more obscure books, but it may well end up undermining some of the core attributes that we have associated with book reading for more than 500 years.

Steven Johnson at The Wall Street Journal* contemplates the profound ways in which the very nature of reading is set to change with the advent of e-books.

The biggest downside he reckons, is that :

... one of the great joys of book reading -- the total immersion in another world, or in the world of the author's ideas -- will be compromised. We all may read books the way we increasingly read magazines and newspapers: a little bit here, a little bit there.

And here's what I want e-books to become - Vooks! Let's enjoy our printed on paper books, but use the technology for something more exciting.

(*Thanks, Chet!)