We all knew it was coming. At every writers conference or fancy cocktail publishing hour* I've attended for the last few years, someone inevitably brings it up. "Enhanced e-books," they say, and then there is a hushed moment tinged with reverence and confusion.
I mean, conceptually, it sounds awesome, right? We've already accepted that e-books are the future. Whether traditional publishers sink or swim, whether bookstores still exist in 20 years, whether children will still bother to read instead of watching movies, etc., e-books are here to stay. They're cheap to produce, tablets to read them on are becoming more affordable and available in all kinds of fancy styles, and people buy them.
So, now that we've overcome our print identity crisis, "enhanced" e-books sound pretty great. Enhanced = "To make greater, as in value, beauty, or effectiveness," and god knows, traditional publishing needs to improve its e-books!
But at most of these parties, whenever someone brings up these mysteriously enhanced/possibly steroidal books, it usually ends in a bunch of us scratching our heads/ordering another martini. Because how DO you enhance an e-book? Add music to it? Isn't that going to distract readers? Add visuals? Doesn't that just make it a graphic novel? Add videos? Is it even still a book at that point!?
For better or for worse, the beginning concepts of these "enhanced e-books" are starting to appear:
And I can't decide whether I'm excited or concerned. Possibly both. Because I love the visuals on this one, and it would be really interesting to play around with. But... At what point does a book like this stop being a book? Is this a reading experience or a watching experience?
* by fancy of course, I mean that it's half price night somewhere decent where we can all buy sugary martinis that come with umbrellas...
Good point. Part of the joy and growing in reading is stretching your imagination. Seeing the characters how you want to see them, the world through your eyes. In that way they feel more personal and relatable. I don't know much about the enhanced e-books, but from what I see here it's more like a picture book.
ReplyDeleteWell, so far from what I've seen, the enhanced e-books conversation usually goes like this:
ReplyDeletePerson A: "Enhanced e-books will be the best thing since sliced bread!!! We will make them SO AWESOME YOU CANNOT HANDLE IT."
Everyone else: "Cool! What will they look like?"
Person A: "... well we still have to figure that out..."