The Digi-Novel: The New Electronic Reading Format?

Donnageddon · 09-02-2009, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Anthony Zuiker, creator of the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" U.S. television series, is releasing what he calls a "digi-novel" combining all three media -- and giving a jolt to traditional book publishing.

Zuiker has created "Level 26," a crime novel that also invites readers to log on to a website about every 20 pages using a special code to watch a "cyber-bridge" -- a three-minute film clip tied to the story.

….
"Just doing one thing great is not going to sustain business," he said. "The future of business in terms of entertainment will have to be the convergence of different mediums. So we did that -- publishing, movies and a website."
….
Zuiker said people's attention span was becoming shorter and shorter and that it was important to give people more options on how they consumed entertainment and books.

As the article explains

Quote:

Increasingly, people are reading books on electronic readers like Amazon.com's Kindle and Sony Corp's Reader.

Those devices don't play videos, so "Level 26" readers still need to log on to the Internet on a different device. Apple Inc is said to be developing a touchscreen tablet, which some analysts envision as a multimedia device that could play videos

What do you think? Being as you are already reading in a new way (ebooks), are you interested in a new dimension of reading?

Lyanna · 09-02-2009, 02:15 PM

I don't think this is a very new concept - it was already done more or less with the Heroes series. As long as ereaders don't show video's and don't have a browser with which to surf the internet I don't see how it really ties in with the ereader concept.

Moejoe · 09-02-2009, 02:16 PM

Gimmick. Big fat whopping gimmick. There's nothing new about this idea, it's basically an interactive CD rom, but the multimedia parts are being 'offshored' to the web. Also, telling that he talks about fiction in the 'business' sense. Business this, and business that, all leaves me very cold.

if you want to see the digital being used in new ways, exciting ways, read some microfiction like "Password Inccorrect" by Nick Name or his similarly inspired "Hashtag Stories", you might also want to try the first Twittter Novel (Twovel) "Eating Grass" by Small Stories, which was written one tweet at a time. (all available on Feedbooks).

evenstr · 09-02-2009, 06:31 PM

Personally, I would think that the money spent making the videos was wasted. I read a lot on the go (school, car, etc.) and A) wouldn't stop reading until I saw the video and B) wouldn't go back to watch the video if I was 10, 20, 30, however many pages from where the "bridge" was supposed to be.

Granted, I didn't read the whole article, just what was quoted, so I may have missed something.

nomesque · 09-02-2009, 09:13 PM

Meh. I know some people like these concepts, but I think I'm old-fashioned or single-minded in this regard. I like my books as text, my movies as moving pictures with sound, and my music as... well, just damn music

Hellmark · 09-02-2009, 09:18 PM

Do one thing, and do it well.

carlobee · 09-02-2009, 10:32 PM

I've been doing this one with the Heroes series. not pretty much new to me but i enjoy it.

emellaich · 09-02-2009, 10:56 PM

Not for me. Also, its a concept that plays to the need for big media conglomerates. Who wrote the last movie you saw? Producing a book plus a video takes a company with a range of talents. Instead of a book by David Weber (or by an indy author) we have a production by Pixar.

acidzebra · 09-03-2009, 04:19 AM

Quote:

cyber-bridge

Argh, toe-curlingly painful to read. Cyber-gag me with a cyber-spoon.

Quote:

Zuiker said people's attention span was becoming shorter and shorter and that it was important to give people more options on how they consumed entertainment and books.

...says the guy with a website which won't last 5 years and links which will probably break much sooner, or was he planning to offer access to his cyber-bridge via the same URL forever?

Crowl · 09-03-2009, 07:05 AM

<sigh>

These stupid gimmicks are just so pointless, they aren't going to convert people that don't already read books and they will at best be ignored or at worst annoy people that want to read the book.

If I was being cynical my main assumption is that the book itself just isn't very good and thats why he is trying to market it this way.

09-02-2009, 02:16 PM	#3
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,113 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	Gimmick. Big fat whopping gimmick. There's nothing new about this idea, it's basically an interactive CD rom, but the multimedia parts are being 'offshored' to the web. Also, telling that he talks about fiction in the 'business' sense. Business this, and business that, all leaves me very cold. if you want to see the digital being used in new ways, exciting ways, read some microfiction like "Password Inccorrect" by Nick Name or his similarly inspired "Hashtag Stories", you might also want to try the first Twittter Novel (Twovel) "Eating Grass" by Small Stories, which was written one tweet at a time. (all available on Feedbooks). Last edited by Moejoe; 09-02-2009 at 02:18 PM.

09-02-2009, 09:13 PM	#5
nomesque Snooty Bestselling Author Posts: 1,487 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia Device: PRS-650	Meh. I know some people like these concepts, but I think I'm old-fashioned or single-minded in this regard. I like my books as text, my movies as moving pictures with sound, and my music as... well, just damn music __________________ ...

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09-02-2009, 02:15 PM	#2
Lyanna Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: none	I don't think this is a very new concept - it was already done more or less with the Heroes series. As long as ereaders don't show video's and don't have a browser with which to surf the internet I don't see how it really ties in with the ereader concept.

09-02-2009, 06:31 PM	#4
evenstr Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 498204 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: none	Personally, I would think that the money spent making the videos was wasted. I read a lot on the go (school, car, etc.) and A) wouldn't stop reading until I saw the video and B) wouldn't go back to watch the video if I was 10, 20, 30, however many pages from where the "bridge" was supposed to be. Granted, I didn't read the whole article, just what was quoted, so I may have missed something.

09-02-2009, 09:18 PM	#6
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,499 Karma: 3629753 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Maryland Heights, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505	Do one thing, and do it well.

09-02-2009, 10:32 PM	#7
carlobee Fanatic Posts: 535 Karma: 972 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: The new iPad	I've been doing this one with the Heroes series. not pretty much new to me but i enjoy it.

09-02-2009, 10:56 PM	#8
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,017 Karma: 3630887 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm=> Ebookman=> IPaq=> Axim=> Cybook=> Kindle 2=>IPAD 1 & Kindle 3SO	Not for me. Also, its a concept that plays to the need for big media conglomerates. Who wrote the last movie you saw? Producing a book plus a video takes a company with a range of talents. Instead of a book by David Weber (or by an indy author) we have a production by Pixar.

09-03-2009, 07:05 AM	#10
Crowl Wizard Posts: 1,186 Karma: 1007430 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Munich, Germany Device: Blackberry, iPad, PlayBook, Kindle 3, Kindle Paperwhite	<sigh> These stupid gimmicks are just so pointless, they aren't going to convert people that don't already read books and they will at best be ignored or at worst annoy people that want to read the book. If I was being cynical my main assumption is that the book itself just isn't very good and thats why he is trying to market it this way.


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