Current digital readers are taking off (Kindle at the forefront) with the obvious comment that the digital reader leaves behind the physical form of the book and the age-old experience of “curling up” and reading a book. This isn’t necessary a hurdle for the digital reader - after all the iPod has little to no recollection of the needle on a record. Instead let’s continue to celebrate the classic form of the book side by side with the fresh form of the digital reader. My solution addresses two major aspects of the challenges of digital readers - the timelessness of the bound book and the ecosystem of books and reading.
BOOKS AND THEIR COVERS
Books should walk a fine line between utilitarian objects and artisanal pieces. Certainly in more ancient times the book was so prized that it was a work of art in and of its self. Today more often than the cover art is the only artful aspect of the book. The kindle almost entirely loses this and for no reason. Despite the adage of how we should not judge a book by its cover, we do just that. It is how we pick out a book at a bookstore. It is how we take note of what others are reading at the park, on the bus, in the coffee shop. A book’s cover is present in all stages of the book reading experience - We remember a book by it’s cover; the book cover has a sensory appeal when holding the book and a kinesthetic appeal when opening the book; and these aspects are still hugely important to us when we pass a book along to a friend to read. This reader incorporates a wrapping screen that can display the typical spine front and back cover of a book. There is minimal buttons, etc. in favor of a touchscreen interface so that there is a little as possible to compete with the cover art. The side opposite the spine would have the texture of pages edges so that it is easy to tell by feel which side is the front of the digital reader is.
BLEND THE MIXED MEDIA OF MODERN BOOK READING
Today books are generally available in some combination of bound, digital, and audio form. When buying a book the reader is left to foretell the future as to which medium should be purchased. Unless the reader is prepared to buy the same words in multiple forms, the reader must know at the onset which medium will work best for the reader’s entire life cycle with the book. Will I want to mark up the pages? Will I want to lend this to someone? Will I want to listen to this read to me as I fall asleep one night? Will I just want to read this once and never need to look at it again? Do I want to proudly display this on my bookshelf? All of these are questions that only get answered over time. So here is a reader that most simply can scan the barcode of a book and instantly download the text, cover art, and audio for that book. This way the reader would have with one purchase the physical book, the digital text, and the audio version. Some notable details of this new book ecosystem would include:
- The barcode would have to be “activated” - In a bookstore, by a netflix-esque rental service, etc. Just like with gift cards in a store, they don’t work until you take them to the counter and purchase them. The DRM enthusiasts among us can sleep well with the potential that this activation could be linked to a user account so that I book could not be stolen or shared too much. That said, sharing shouldn’t be discouraged and if anything should be encouraged is supported by the interface.
- The digital reader’s interface has a speaker and headphone port to listen to an audiobook alone or with a friend.
- The interface would allow for note-taking as you read/listen, page marking, and passage highlighting and the sharing of all of these with fellow digital readers.
- The interface would allow one to snyc where they left off reading when switching between mediums