Would an e-book that included some video bits make you more likely to buy the book? Well, Avon (the book publisher, not the cosmetics firm) has released Lady Amelia’s Secret Lover, “a historical romance novel with a decidedly modern bent”. Plus, “as you read this e-book, author Victoria Alexander will pop up onscreen [sic] at various points in the novel to talk candidly about the plot’s turning points and her vivid characters. This multimedia experience will draw you into the novel with words and insights directly from the famed romance author!” I’m intrigued enough to have spent the $3.99 (actually a reasonable price for an e-book!) had it been more my style (Horror, SciFi, maybe even Fantasy). Sounds interesting though.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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One Reply to “Would you like some video with that ebook?”
While I think it is a good idea to do something with e-books that makes them more than a text-rip of a physical book (there is a disconnect between form and function) I’m not convinced that this is it. Commentary like this is exactly the kind of pap that 99% of people now ignore on DVD’s. Personally I was sad to see hypertext books fail as I thought that was a better use of the medium.
While I think it is a good idea to do something with e-books that makes them more than a text-rip of a physical book (there is a disconnect between form and function) I’m not convinced that this is it. Commentary like this is exactly the kind of pap that 99% of people now ignore on DVD’s. Personally I was sad to see hypertext books fail as I thought that was a better use of the medium.