Hey guys, sorry about the lateness of the blog post for last weeks question. I was struck down with a brutal winter cold and fell behind on a few things. So today I will be posting a couple of entries to get up to date. Please bear with me as I go back to the blogging question that asked us to find an example of an e-book/app/digital text that reinvents the page in an interesting way. I have to admit that I struggled at first to find an example I thought was interesting enough to discuss.
After searching the internet, however, I was able to find an eBook I thought was an interesting example of a book doing something innovative and different when it comes to both the concept of the book and of the page. Follow this link below to examine the layout, design etc.
After searching the internet, however, I was able to find an eBook I thought was an interesting example of a book doing something innovative and different when it comes to both the concept of the book and of the page. Follow this link below to examine the layout, design etc.
http://store.vook.com/reader/book/shuffle-an-e-novel.html
I stumbled across an e-book titled “Shuffle”, which is a book of seven stories that can be read in any order you like. The order you read it in determines the plot and the ending. One interesting aspect about this book is the fact that it only exists as an eBook. Although it certainly is not the first book to do this, it does continue this new trend and how it changes the idea of the page and the history of page design. It is also important to note that the book was also accompanied by this website, http://www.lulzlit.com/.
The book was published under the pen name James T. Raydel and was rumored, so says the website, to be written by seven different people, however, it was in fact only written by one person, writer Chris Rickaby. This e-book utilizes both the traditional form of the book and combines it with new technologies (Ipod, Ipad/Kindle, websites) to create an innovative interactive experience. When discussing his book in an interview Raydel explains his inspiration :
“As I was listening to a Johnny Cash song, I hung my head on my iPod one afternoon and the image of the shuffle mechanism and the possibility of shuffling seven stories that were each distinct but connected by shared themes and images leaped into my head. I thought that it would be a great way to structure content that had been designed specifically as a purpose-built e-novel, not just a print book that happened to be available via iBooks, Kindle etc. To create, in short, a book with seven possible beginnings and seven possible endings letting the reader decide which is which” (http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/shuffle-chapters-like-a-playlist-in-this-ebook_b60371).
It is interesting to see here just how influential new technology is for the design of the book and more importantly the page. The stories included are not structured on a page by page basis. What is more important is the readers control the structure and they decide how to read the book and what kind of role the page has in telling the story. Because it is not printed on paper it does not have to follow the rules that are attached to a paper based page.
The book was published under the pen name James T. Raydel and was rumored, so says the website, to be written by seven different people, however, it was in fact only written by one person, writer Chris Rickaby. This e-book utilizes both the traditional form of the book and combines it with new technologies (Ipod, Ipad/Kindle, websites) to create an innovative interactive experience. When discussing his book in an interview Raydel explains his inspiration :
“As I was listening to a Johnny Cash song, I hung my head on my iPod one afternoon and the image of the shuffle mechanism and the possibility of shuffling seven stories that were each distinct but connected by shared themes and images leaped into my head. I thought that it would be a great way to structure content that had been designed specifically as a purpose-built e-novel, not just a print book that happened to be available via iBooks, Kindle etc. To create, in short, a book with seven possible beginnings and seven possible endings letting the reader decide which is which” (http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/shuffle-chapters-like-a-playlist-in-this-ebook_b60371).
It is interesting to see here just how influential new technology is for the design of the book and more importantly the page. The stories included are not structured on a page by page basis. What is more important is the readers control the structure and they decide how to read the book and what kind of role the page has in telling the story. Because it is not printed on paper it does not have to follow the rules that are attached to a paper based page.
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