Vook = video + book

[Michael Essany]

Image via Entertainment Weekly


Contestant: "I'll take 'Electronic Readers' for $1000, Alex"

Trebek: This is what you get when you cross a book with video content.

Contestant: What is a Vook?

Trebek: Correct!

If someone had asked me the other day what a vook was, I would have said it sounded like something that belongs in a difficult category on Jeopardy. But it turns out that there's nothing overly complex or arcane about a "vook." In fact, the "vook" may sound vaguely familiar to some, as the idea has apparently been bounced around for a while. (I was probably busy jailbreaking my mom's iPhone during that discussion. Who has time to read anyway, right?)

But thanks to Simon and Schuster, it looks like many of us could soon grow more familiar with these digital book/video hybrids than we may presently anticipate.

From the New York Times this week:

In a book-bending experiment combining film and prose, Simon & Schuster and Vook, a multimedia company that produces video content for books, are releasing four digital titles in which links to short video segments are seamlessly interspersed throughout the text.

Essentially, these “vooks” are viewable on any browser-based device, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. Yet it isn't meant to compete with electronic readers like Amazon’s Kindle because that particular device can't support video. According to Simon and Schuster, vooks allow "readers to seamlessly read, watch, and enjoy both text and video at the same location on their screen."

Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is rolling out four initial titles as vooks. They include: “The 90-Second Fitness Solution” by Pete Cerqua, “Return to Beauty: Old World Wisdom and Recipes for Great Skin” by Narine Nikogosian, “Promises,” by Jude Deveraux, and “Embassy,” by Richard Doetsch.

The “vooks” will be sold on the Web sites of Simon & Schuster and Vook for $6.99 apiece. Versions for the iPhones will be available in the Apple App store for a promotional price of $4.99.

Are vooks anything to really get excited about?

I think the answer for now is "maybe."

I can't image that someone like Steve Jobs (who also seems to share my opinion that few people still read these days) won't be interested to see how well vooks perform in the coming months. Since there is an indirect relationship with Apple here - at least in that vooks can be enjoyed on Apple devices - an overwhelming show of success could prompt Apple to proceed with an electronic reader of its own.

[mattharris85]

Jeorapdy

Jeopardy lol

Sounds pretty cool, but they gotta do something about the name.

[domaid]

Reading doesn't appeal to me and guess what neither will that.

[iphone4idiots]

I either want to watch a movie or read a book. Not both. Why not make it part book part audio book while you're at it. Bad idea, but then again I thought Snappy Auctions was the dumbest business idea in a long time (Ebay retail store) and she made over a million just in franchise fees :0

[Azn_Sapper]

I think this is a bad idea. Personally, it would annoy the hell out of me if I have to keep clicking on links in order to watch small segments of the novel acted out. I would never finish the book! As iphone4idiots said above, either watch a movie or read a book... Not both.

[Ticko]

book + audio = alright ... book + video = i dont see the point

[JustinPizzle]

book + audio = alright ... book + video = i dont see the point

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"see'? pun intended? lol

[rwin84]

Sounds like a flopper to me. I guess if anyone will make it work it will be lazy americans that just thumb to the video so they dont actually have to read...

[User name5.2]

kind of like those kids books that you press the button and it makes the sound? Now you can see the cow moo!!

[dmaximob]

Isn't the fun in reading a book being able to use your own imagination and interpretation? Maybe this only applies to Fiction, but if I was a writer I'm not too sure I'd want a video to point my readers on an established path.

[cmwade77]

I can see this having potential for instructional books, such as:
How To do it Yourself
Cooking
Computer Programs
Etc.

I think it might even have some appeal in Travel books, but I don't think this would be all that great for Novels and such.

[billchase2]

I think I'll just watch the movie.

[mdc929]

wait so whats the point of this again?

[Azn_Sapper]

wait so whats the point of this again?

To have tons of people foolishly spend their money.

[juanluis_cl]

nice app