The iPad and the Book

Interactive publishing

Along with the wheel, the engine and perhaps the bow and arrow, the book has to be one of our greatest inventions. And anyone interested in the future of it should probably take a look at the wonderful video (down at the bottom) that was released on Paid Content earlier on this month.

The video gives us a snapshot of how Penguin envisages its readers (if that’s the right word for them) might interact with books on the iPad.

It’s impressive stuff. You can point, paint, tilt and rattle at various prompted points, with each of these actions causing some different effect or other. It’s something of a mash up between an etch-a-sketch, a coffee table book and a computer – and it’s got quite a few people rather excited.

For me, this looks like an interesting step forward: turning publications into something far more interactive than they have ever been before. But I think it’s important not to muddle the arrival of the iPad up with the fate of the book.

3,000 years on

Reading a book is a solitary pastime, which requires concentration and reflection. All told, it is probably one of the most intellectually rewarding activities we have. To suggest that that might be replaced by the iPad seems, to me, to be a little short sighted. To give an analogy, it would be a little like replacing a gentle lie down on the beach with half an hour on a trampoline.

I saw Professor Iain Stevenson lecture at UCL last week on the future of the book and he said a great many sensible things. He pointed out that books are a durable technology (the original codex has been about for 3,000 years now and has not been replaced by anything more efficient), they are intuitive and attractive.

People can forge deep personal connections with books that I can’t ever imagine that they will do with an iPad. This emotional attachment is intangible but strong. People remember where they bought books and why they bought them. No two books are identical: some are marked; others scuffed, torn, stained or bulging at their bindings after an involuntary swim in the bath tub. (Heaven knows what would happen if the iPad went into the bath).

So, what Penguin demonstrate here is a new type of interactive publishing. I expect we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of it over the next few years.

A little more reading (and listening):

Shelf life: The future of the book – UCL Podcast

The Future of Reading in a Digital World – Clive Thompson in Wired

The Decline and Fall of Books – the Times

Charing Cross: the fading world of books – infographic from the Guardian

How Penguin will Reinvent Books – Paid Content