Filed under: iPad
Dear John Makinson and Penguin, please don't "reinvent" books
"Reading literature makes you a more well-rounded individual." That's what an author told me once. Notice he didn't say "watching literature."paidContent:UK has an article on a presentation Penguin Books' CEO John Makinson gave here in London on Tuesday. Makinson presented ideas on how publishers might approach Apple's iPad and the iBookstore. Makinson revealed "We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do. The .epub format, which is the standard for ebooks at the present, is designed to support traditional narrative text, but not this cool stuff that we're now talking about."
"This cool stuff" includes turning books into applications with "online communities" for fans with live chat between readers and other multimedia effects. "The definition of the book itself is up for grabs," Makinson said. A copy of Pride And Prejudice might conceivably come with videos of Keira Knightly or Colin Firth (the various movie adaptation's cast). "We don't know whether a video introduction will be valuable to a consumer. We will only find answers to these questions by trial and error."
An electronic format with live chat, community forums, audio and video is called a web site. Or maybe an interactive Blu-Ray disc. Books are words arranged on a page (whether paper or digital) that are meant to be assimilated through the eye and processed in the brain with the reader adding much to the story itself – like what a character looks or sounds like.
We've got enough mindless entertainment in the world today. When I read War and Peace, I don't want to hear an actor reciting Bezukhov's lines. I want to read them for myself and add my own thoughts and conjecture to what he is saying and why he is saying it. When I watch a movie or listen to an audio book, very little is left to the imagination. Our active involvement becomes passive acceptance.
Reading does make you a more well-rounded individual. It also makes you smarter. Literally. Reading rewires synapses in the brain through neuroplastic changes in a way that passive entertainment like sitcoms or movies can't do.The magic in reading is that the reader must take a proactive involvement in the story. He must focus his attention on the words that form sentences that form paragraphs that form ideas. When I'm watching a movie, it's very easy to snack on food or talk on the phone at the same time. When I read I must be completely involved in the page.
There's an epiphany that comes with reading when you realize that something a character said, thought, or did is something that you have harbored in yourself and, for a brief moment, that little parallel between what you've read on the page and what you've actually experienced in the real world makes you understand yourself in a clearer light. That's something that distracting chat rooms and videos can't do because they take the quiet self-introspection out.
Penguin has always been about literature to me, not interactive hodgepodge. Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin, conceived of the company when he was standing on a train station platform in front of a magazine and junk fiction vendor. He could find nothing worth reading so he decided to start publishing classic paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine.
The current vending machine is Apple's iPad. It's a vending machine that would work well for magazines and, sadly, for Penguin's new multimedia take on books. I'm not against digitizing books, mind you. Digital books are good for some things like, as my colleague wrote, making notes in-margin, highlighting text, bookmarking, and in-text dictionary lookup. But leave the whiz-bang, short-attention-span features out. There's enough mind-numbing entertainment in the world today. Stick to the printed word. Stay true to Lane's vision and keep the "quality" in the literature. More often than not, in this day and age when you supplant words with video, the words lose and that "well-rounded individual" is a little less round because of it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
totoro said 11:11AM on 3-04-2010
Penguin didn't say they were replacing reading. They are merely giving people more options, and enriching certain experiences, which will in turn possibly bring new readers into the fold. Try being a bit more open minded about the possibilities afforded by the new technology, rather than being so threatened by it.
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ddebor said 11:12AM on 3-04-2010
I totally agree. For the longest time I was worried that the Kindle would kill books. Then I got one and realized that it's limitations are actually it's greatest feature, keeping words on a page as just words on a page. I don't WANT it to do anything more than let me read.
Apple is by far my favorite tech company and I usually can't wait to buy their products when they launch but I have to say no to iPad. As a netbook it's a great median computer. As an ereader, it is a dangerous path toward the destruction of books. I don't mind the kindle since it's basic abilities will leave nontechies buying paper books and therefore preserve their existence. The iPad on the other hand WILL destroy all that is beautiful as about literature and the reading experience, don't fix something if it isn't broken. Instead, the iPad should remain a device for casual gaming, web browsing, and porn. For a device in such a novelty category can never rival a timeless art form; no matter how much aluminum Jon Ive put into the thing.
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totoro said 11:28AM on 3-04-2010
I see. So even though you CAN read books on the iPad exactly the way you do on the Kindle, including on the Kindle app (or Stanza, or the B&N app, or IBIS reader) all of which allow simple text reading, you aren't getting an iPad, because its "dangerous, because it will tempt you to stray?
Or are you worried about what OTHER people might use their iPads for?
iest said 1:33PM on 3-04-2010
Don't fix something if it isn't broken?
My pen and paper never broke, but it turns out a typewriter is easier and faster.
My typewriter never broke, but a word processor on a computer is even better.
Should I have started with my quill and parchment? Scratching rocks with other rocks?
Don't be so naive...
The iPad isn't going to kill paper-back books.
Nobody is going to sit on the beach with an iPad in bright sunlight, especially with the possibility of getting sand in any conceivable orifice.
Books have that wonderful "throw it around and who gives a crap" feature.
Personally, if I can use my iPad to read a book, I will. Any other time, I'll use an actual book.
Ryan said 11:21AM on 3-04-2010
I dunno if I agree with you completely. It might be nice if they added the author speaking about certain parts of the book (like Valve does with the dev commentary in certain games) including early sketches, alternate endings and the like. Of course all completely optional. Or maybe to include the audiobook version (streaming or otherwise) so you can listen if you're too busy to read it. I'll wait and see before getting my hopes up though.
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newt said 11:23AM on 3-04-2010
I think it's worth remembering that a large part of Penguin Group is Dorling Kindersley. DK were, back in the day, a major powerhouse in multimedia before the web killed 'traditional' multimedia.
What they are basically doing here is re-inventing the multimedia applications they used to do back in the early 90s. I think re-inventing the book is rhetoric, no more.
Penguin have a fairly massive investment of time and effort involved in ePub - it's part of business as usual to create an ePub of each and every Penguin title (not necessarily the other imprints).
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SkwidSpawn said 11:35AM on 3-04-2010
There are always people who claim that the new medium will "destroy society" and that it is not needed. These changes are definitely a technological improvement over the current crop of books.
Besides, if you "just want to read" then you can head down to your local Bookworm and "just buy a book."
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totoro said 11:37AM on 3-04-2010
No, no, apparently its the "Dangerous Path to the Destruction of Books". Watch your step!
doodad said 11:36AM on 3-04-2010
I'll be interested in seeing exactly how all this interactivity is embedded in books outside of a movie demo. It doesn't take much nowadays to put together a cool swoopy demo tape of TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE, but to actually have it implemented is another thing entirely. The kind of demos we are seeing just reminds me of Encarta from the early 90s.
Additionally, while the Kindle isn't that great when it comes to searching for books, I've found it to be a pretty amazing book reading device, easier than reading a real book. You rest your thumb on the button, and click it to turn the page. One handed, single tiny motion simplicity. Every demo I've seen of iPad stuff indicates broad swipey motions which requires a two hand approach. From an e-reading perspective, the iPad interface (or any other touchscreen only system) just seems to be "coolness overkill." Would it really be so hard to add a few mechanical buttons along the bezel?
And, by the way, having an early kids book interrupted on each page with a video game is REALLY bad. The idea is to get kids interested in words and letters, not video games.
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Cy Starkman said 11:53AM on 3-04-2010
The swipe is an option, it's just what gets shown lots cause it visually cool.
starq said 12:12PM on 3-04-2010
"Every demo I've seen of iPad stuff indicates broad swipey motions which requires a two hand approach."
I'm sure that one will merely tap anywhere on the left or right hand side to turn the page. This is how the Kindle app on the iPhone operates. This makes it even easier to use than the Kindle as one has no need to to rest your finger on a single button.
Just and FYI.
Kacy said 11:38AM on 3-04-2010
The sky is falling...... Again.
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Boilerblues said 11:39AM on 3-04-2010
I agree and disagree. I love reading, and I love using my own imagination to create the voices and draw the pictures that come from the pages. However, as I read this I thought "wow, this could be really cool." Having additional features tied to the book could be really cool. There's been many times when reading something that I ran across a name or a place, and I went to Wikipedia to find out more info. Yet I also agree that when I read I want to read, and not be distracted.
I guess my hope would be that they integrate these things into the books in a useful, but subtle way, and offer the ability to hide everything to just focus on the book. Maybe an open/close drawer at the bottom of the page that allows access to the features, but also allows them to be hidden.
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Sean said 11:45AM on 3-04-2010
If Penguin doesn't do it, someone else will. It's just a fact of life. However, I think it's an add on, not a complete replacement.
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Brian said 11:53AM on 3-04-2010
Interesting article. Lets look at the past....
I remember when music video came out... all the crying that it would destroy all the beauty in what music is about. Sure you can argue that it has created some singers that are more of a "brand" then they are an artist - however it has not overshadowed the raw talent that still exist in all forms of music today. You can not argue that people are "listening" less today or that people do not "experience" music any less when they hear it on the radio/CD/MP3 and VIDEO? There is room for both-just more options.
"The video did not kill the radio star" and I am sure "The ipad will not kill the book star"!
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Tom Gregson said 11:56AM on 3-04-2010
I'm sure someone criticized the first illustrated book in much the same way you are addressing ebooks Michael. Showing their disdain for illustrated books, they probably said something like (to paraphrase your website analogy): "An illustration with a title is called a painting. Books are words arranged on a page that are meant to be assimilated through the eye and processed in the brain."
The fact is, this is the way things evolve. Why fight it? With that logic we would all be reading scrolls by candlelight while someone outside our door tried to push their square wheeled cart along the path.
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John said 11:59AM on 3-04-2010
It seems like we are limiting the definition of a book to just fiction. There are also cooking books, home improvement books, auto repair books, etc. that would benefit greatly from interactivity
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Michael said 1:43PM on 3-04-2010
Yes! Great point! A cookbook that showed me exactly how to do each step would be brilliant!
And before anyone says "that's why cooking shows are for" or "YouTube"... Think about it:
you've got each direction written out on the page, and an illustration next to it (picture, drawing, whatever),then when you tap on it it just shows that exact instruction! No fast forwarding or rewinding to see it again like in a cooking show.
starq said 12:01PM on 3-04-2010
As opposed to bemoaning the dearth of book reading — you should embrace the new technologies and realize that they are not intended to supplant your precious texts, but will likely bring renewed enthusiasm to those who rarely read at all.
Case in point: Myself
I was a voracious reader during my school years. So much so, that my Mother insisted that I, "Put that book down and go play catch with your brother for 10 minutes!" As the challenges of adulthood brought children, careers and other pastimes I found that years would pass between reading full length publications.
That all changed when I loaded the Kindle App on my iPhone. Hesitant at first, (I'm not going to read an entire novel on this little screen!) one night my insomnia prompted me to give it a try and I found that it was indeed an enjoyable experience. I'm now on my 7th book in two months — which surpasses the last decades total.
All this — while having 128 apps only a flick away. I believe the iPad shall enhance reading and while I understand your concerns, they will soon be alleviated when we see how the iPad transforms the publication industry.
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davej said 12:02PM on 3-04-2010
Please don't replace "paper" newspaper either!
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