Whenver a new medium comes along, we tend to apply the old model to it. Then somebody takes the new medium and makes a subtle twist, and we have something radically new.
Think text and hypertext. Subtle change, radical results.
But for every one of the new ideas that really sticks, there are hundreds of ideas that, for whatever reason, completely miss the mark.
With e-books, and particularly the iPad, we have a new medium. Sure, we could read books the old way, but now we can add more bells and whistles. We can read a book, and then come upon a video that is related to the text. Or maybe some audio that enhances the reading experience.
This is the idea behind a new book published by Hyperion and ABC Family–The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergans. The book is based on the TV show called The Secret Diary of the American Teenager. It’s basically a book set in the world of the television show, and is enhanced with video segments from the show.
Will this catch on? Will we start to see books with extra features catch on?
Well, yes and no. I don’t think this is such a good idea. If I want to watch TV, I do it. When I want to read, I do it. Mixing the two just doesn’t work for me. Maybe it’s done well, but I think the video would simply interrupt the reading experience–take me out of the experience.
That doesn’t mean we’ll see books with added features that don’t catch on. For example, I loved the Choose Your Own Adventures books growing up. I’d love to see a book with an added feature of clicking on your choice, and being taken to the portion of the book where you need to be.
And what about mood music? What about a book that played certain music based on what page you were on? Slow music during the pensive scenes, and faster music when things got more exciting? Cheesy? Maybe. But it could be interesting.
I think we’ll see books grow and evolve, but my experience is that most of these “new-fangled” ideas are just flashes in the pan. It takes a while before something really cool comes along, and then you hear a collective slap on the forehead from authors, publishers, and editors around the world when they say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
