Read any good vook lately?Yeoh Siew Hoon’s reading a gem of a book which is why she is determined to resist the many temptations out there that could forever change the way we read. I’ve recently discovered a game on my Blackberry and I have become completely addicted to it. I can’t stop playing it whenever I have any waiting time – at airports, boarding gates, inflight, taxi stands, bus stops, restaurants … Yes, the world has become my Wordmole oyster and I fear I am about to become a mole myself as I think this new, anti-social behaviour is sure to alienate my friends and ensure I don’t make any new ones. This addictive streak in me is why I have resisted buying the Kindle from Amazon because I fear that, instead of now only having my nose buried in books before bedtime, it could be buried forever in a new gadget and I won’t have time to smell any roses at all. I think I will also resist buying vooks, which is the term given to video-book hybrids. Those who have reviewed vooks says that “for fiction, video advances the story as well as enhancing it, while for non-fiction, the dual-media integration allows for greater clarity and more in-depth information." There are purists and skeptics out there of course who feel it is bastardizing the book experience but says Dave Rosenthal in The Baltimore Sun, "Just as the Internet opened up sound and video for newspapers, vooks (or whatever else they get called) can broaden the dimensions of the printed page." And as if vooks were not enough to tempt a weak soul comes news of yet another temptation – the new secret tablet that Microsoft is developing. Details of the Courier were leaked in Gizmodo.com and if you click on this link – http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet and watch the video – you will realise that this may forever change the way we interact with a device. The article begins with this preamble, “It feels like the whole world is holding its breath for the Apple tablet. But maybe we've all been dreaming about the wrong device. This is Courier, Microsoft's astonishing take on the tablet.” “It’s really like a booklet and the dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers.” Calling it “Microsoft's astonishing take on the tablet,” the article said, “The Courier user experience presented here is almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be, a kung fu eagle claw to Apple's tiger style.” It’s not clear when the Courier will be out but what’s clear is there are those who can’t wait. Commented one, “This thing makes me want to cry a little; I want it so badly.” I hear you, Voyou_Charmant. Yet I shall resist for as long as I can. This is because I am reading a book called “Shadow Of The Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Safon, an absolute gem of a read. It talks about a place called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Says the father to the protagonist, Daniel, when he introduces his son to the cemetery, “This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.” Imagine all the souls out there that would disappear if we all traded our books for vooks or the Kindle or Courier. |
Add your comment