Way ahead of you, bubba
Alert Janeite Lisa sent us a link, annoyed at yet another eejit who thinks Jane Austen was a Victorian.
“Let’s say you’re reading Pride and Prejudice. Imagine a world where you have links to movie versions integrated into the text, so you could click and see a director’s vision of a scene. Or if you wanted to know more about Victorian culture or language, or more about Austen, the information is only a click away.”
We were annoyed, too, but for different reasons.
These are all valid observations that Siemens and his researchers are taking into consideration in developing new online reading models. Upgraded technology, such as gentler monitors and the invention of “e-book readers” will likely address some of the practical complaints, while our own expectations about the reading experience will gradually change with technological advancement.
“e-book readers” in “quotation marks”? And speaking of the invention of “e-book readers” as though they haven’t been invented yet? Oh, for a Cluebat of E-book Righteousness with which to smite the unbelievers! We read e-books on our smartphone all the time; we just had a post about reading Pride and Prejudice on a BlackBerry last week. Right now we have our beady eyes on one of these numbers; and Amazon is rumored to be putting out an “e-book reader” of their own very soon, which might make e-books incredibly popular; apparently it includes a wireless connection–a phone connection, mind you, not Wifi, though it might have that, too–for over-the-air downloads.
We don’t think e-books will ever completely replace paper books, but we think once the publishers and device manufacturers hit the sweet spot between price and convenience, they will have a place. And interactive e-books certainly will have a place, as well.
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