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(Emerging) Books

(Emerging) Books

A novel re-definition through experimentation of the classical format of the book is emerging.

Consider the now defunct BookTailor. It used to sell its book customization software mainly to travel agents - but this technology is likely to conquer other niches (such as the legal and medical professions). It allows users to select bits and pieces from a library of e-books, combine them into a totally new tome and print and bind the latter on demand. The client can also choose to buy the end-product as an e-book. Consider what this simple business model does to entrenched and age old notions such as "original" and "copies", copyright, and book identifiers. What is the "original" in this case? Is it the final, user-customized book - or its sources? And if no customized book is identical to any other - what happens to the intuitive notion of "copies"? Should BookTailor-generated books considered to be unique exemplars of one-copy print runs? If so, should each one receive a unique identifier (for instance, a unique ISBN)? Does the user possess any rights in the final product, composed and selected by him? What about the copyrights of the original authors?

Or take BookCrossing.com. On the face of it, it presents no profound challenge to established publishing practices and to the modern concept of intellectual property. Members register their books, obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to someone, or simply leave it lying around for a total stranger to find. Henceforth, fate determines the chain of events. Eventual successive owners of the volume are supposed to report to BookCrossing (by e-mail) about the book's and their whereabouts, thereby generating moving plots and mapping the territory of literacy and bibliomania. This innocuous model subversively undermines the concept - legal and moral - of ownership. It also expropriates the book from the realm of passive, inert objects and transforms it into a catalyst of human interactions across time and space. In other words, it returns the book to its origins: a time capsule, a time machine and the embodiment of a historical narrative.

E-books, hitherto, have largely been nothing but an ephemeral rendition of their print predecessors. But e-books are another medium altogether. They can and will provide a different reading experience. Consider "hyperlinks within the e-book and without it - to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, user-interactive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other e-books (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and more".

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

In The News:

The death of the book, yet again
Financial Times, UK - 20 hours ago
It comes with 100 classics loaded for free, and more books can be bought through Waterstone’s newly launched eBook scheme. You have to do this through a ...
What's the story with ... e-books? The Herald
Books: Slow start in the shops for Caxton's latest competitor guardian.co.uk
My word of mouth on Kindle Crosscut
all 7 news articles

BusinessWeek
E-books don't furnish a room
Independent, UK - Sep 4, 2008
Nobody seems to feel neutrally about the e-book. The debate is about to get even more personal. Sony's eReader went on sale at Waterstone's yesterday. ...
One-Stop eServices for Perseus Clients Publishers Lunch Deluxe
all 9 news articles

E-books via the internet
Jakarta Post, Indonesia - Sep 4, 2008
Hereby, I would like to request President SBY rethink his new policy on electronic books via the internet for students of primary to senior high schools. ...

guardian.co.uk
Happy Ending For E-book?
Sky News, UK - Sep 3, 2008
A new electronic gadget is being launched that could change the way we read books forever. Ebook: Will it shake up the book market? ...
Sony’s Electronic Book Reader Gives A Glimpse Of Tomorrow's ... TopNews
They still haven't cracked the ebook guardian.co.uk
A library at your fingertips Times Online
The Press Association - Sky Newsall 14 news articles

e-books take weight of learning off the shoulders of students
Irish Times, Ireland - Sep 3, 2008
First year students Megan Toland and Theresa Andrews at Caritas College demonstrate the e-book. A GROUP of 18 secondary school pupils yesterday became the ...

BBC News
HMV lifted by in-home boom
Financial Times, UK - 20 hours ago
Waterstone's has entered an exclusive partnership with Sony to launch its e-book reader in stores alongside a range of e-books. ...
Update: Waterstone's hampers HMV growth ShareCast
Grand Theft Auto 4 gives HMV a lift Telegraph.co.uk
HMV boosted by technology and games prior to Christmas Daily News Round-up (press release)
all 76 news articles

The next phase of libraries rolls into town
Christian Science Monitor, MA - Sep 5, 2008
Rather than cede ground to search engines, e-book readers, and download services, more than 7500 US libraries are adopting their competitor’s tricks and ...

BBC News
Essay: Prophet's bride holds up publication
Chicago Tribune, United States - 15 hours ago
The Associated Press reported Friday that Beaufort Books, which released OJ Simpson's "If I Did It," would publish the book in the United States, ...
Publisher of OJ book to handle Muhammad novel The Associated Press
Author of controversial book finds new backing The Missoulian
US Publisher Picks Up Controversial Novel About Muhammad's Child Bride MyFox Wausau
PopMatters - Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)all 389 news articles

The Bookseller (subscription)
Waterstone's e-books open for business
The Bookseller (subscription), UK - Sep 4, 2008
Waterstone's e-book store opened for business today (4th September), with around 7000 titles available from its website as e-books, including titles from ...

Books of The Times A Leader Beyond Denial, as War Plans Flounder
New York Times, United States - 3 hours ago
... ground) and Thomas E. Ricks of The Washington Post. For that matter, this volume contains less compelling news than Mr. Woodward’s earlier Bush books ...

e books - Google News

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