The “New” Book

I am usually a fan of new technology, but I found this to be challenging when I was trying to function with an e-reader instead of a book.  A few years ago, I bought my daughter a Kindle (e-book reader), and she loved it.  She is an active member of her school’s reading team, and the immediate access to the next novel was pivotal in her success.  So, I thought I should give this technology a try.  I did, and I found myself wanting to retreat to one of the physical books on my shelf.

As I was reading the book Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, I read a passage by 14-year-old Arthur.  He elaborated on the benefits of e-books; he even went so far as to talk about the next step—interaction between the author and readers.  I thought this was somewhere far in the distance future.  Then, I was perusing the technology section of The New York Times, and I found a fascinating article by Noam Cohen entitled “Blurring the Line Between Apps and Books.”  Suddenly, I realized that the somewhere-in-the future-concept is readily available and gaining popularity.

Mr. Cohen talked about a series of books called The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott.  This series can be purchased as an app.  However, the app does not simply give you access to an e-book, the app takes reading to the next level.  This app comes equipped with a chat room.  Wow.  While in this chat room readers can interact with other readers or even the author.  While interacting, readers are able to leave comments about the book and to read responses of other readers.  To me, this is simply amazing.

Although I have not been able to buy into the e-reader concept, I can see the benefit of this app.  As an avid reader, many times I would love to have an immediate audience to share my thoughts with or to pose my questions to.  This old dog may finally want to learn a few new tricks.