You know, once in a while you hear such a logical, well-thought-out idea that you start to wonder, even fear, that society will end up heading down some sort of interesting and completely boring path to productivity and peace. This is not that idea. HarperCollins has restored our faith in the wonderful futility of humanity with "Video Books." The publishing house is on the hook for six v-book versions of real books, which involve an ultra-abridged version of the title being spoken directly to the camera by the author. The first of these is Jeff Jarvis' book
What Would Google Do?, which is 23 minutes of the man speaking to your face in front of a white backdrop, and retails for $10. We were hoping for something a bit more like
Reading Rainbow, but we must admit the two minute preview we saw was strangely compelling. Authors receive 25 percent of the sales, on par with
e-book rates, but can you really put a royalty rate on the
future?
Read - HarperCollins Tries 'Video Books'
Read - What Would Google Do? V-Book
posted February 3rd 2009 4:39PM
You know, they have actually been doing this for years... They're called movies.
Apart from here, the reader looks like:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Death.jpg
If you want to get technical: movies are interpretations of books.
It would be interesting to see the book be turned into a music-video type affair. Just think of the crazy stuff they could put in the background.
Free tip for VBook companies: use a green screen :)
HarperCollins is owned by Fox. What more needs to be said?
you say that like NBC, ABC, CBS, etc are really any better. All the major networks have an agenda, and frankly, they ALL suck. I don't need any media company trying to shape the way I think. I reject them all.
CraigJ-
/concurrence.
As a writer and someone who intends to publish a book someday soon, this is an insult to my intelligence. Audiobooks are one thing that is workable, but this is ridiculous.
Now, it would be more effective if, say, not the author and some cool and attractive narrator did this. But still...this is their solution to declining book sales? They are going to have an ACTUAL piracy problem.
let me see if I get it straight. You let a foolishness of a useless act insult your intelligence? And what that supposed to tell your reader?
If you want to consider something for the future, look up Serial Fiction. Basically, you post your writing on a website and have a donation program on the side. It's like what webcomics do, but with words.
Some people have had some luck with it. I hear the guy who writes "John Dies at the End" has had such a success with his first Serial Novel that he's publishing a second version along with his second novel.
@The WC: I can see it being practical. It's basically an older-than-radio concept (many famous writers up to about the 1950's or so wrote serial fiction in periodicals before publishing), and it's a good way to earn a publisher (if that's how you want to roll). I see e-books and the Kindle as a way to bypass the system in the place by the publishing industry, not only through serials, but also (if Jeff Bezos ever considers this) selling short stories at a low price (like, say, $2 a piece).
@eugene I guess you have a point. But still, it's depressing what depths a publisher has to go to earn money. I feel bad for that author. He must feel like a moppet.
That looks incredibly boring.
With just video books, how will kids ever learn to spell C-R-A-P?
This is gonna be a hit! So instead of taking Ambien and risk sleep walking off a cliff, I'll just watch these "V-Books" and just sleep like a baby! Thanks HarperCollins!
I would love to see half way through this guy going "And so Google developed IM GOING TO KILL YOU google earth, which was initially a success."
Just to check they hadnt dozed off.
He does do that.
oh really?
wouldnt know, i dosed off
I can't think of all the ways this is stupid, but here are a few. One, I don't want to look at some tool while I'm reading/listening to a book. It's a psychological barrier. Second, how long before they start putting bad History Channel docudrama visuals in place of old dudes reading?
Last, what does this add that an audiobook can't do? It's not portable, and it adds no value to the experience. Utterly moronic.
This is what happens when you make products directly from surveys. Somebody's gone "people say they'll sit down to watch but not to read," then yelled "books you can see!" And, content that he is the ideas guy and not the how guy, basked in his glory.
I surprised this idea hasn't already took off in the soft-porn world. Imagine a skimpily clad pet reading the forum letters?
You wouldn't sleep through that, I'm sure. After, maybe.
They can read? (Not that they have to I guess).
But seriously, I wouldn't even torrent these.
Damnit you beat me to it!
Cool! It's like an audio book, only less convenient!
It smells of the future!
Fahrenheit 451...
so how many of you actually tried to clack...er click on that Play button?
next thing they need for this are CC for the hearing impaired :)
Very good :D
Well played...
That'd be a pretty sweet idea, Engadget: Reading Rainbow-styled books-on-video, with interesting backdrops and sound effects, small ones that don't take away from the reader's voice. I don't know if I'd ever buy one, but they seem like the next evolution of books-on-tape.
I think you've got a good point
'but you don't have to take my word for it' duh duh daa!
That sounds like my Italian class' aural comprehension skits-on-tape.
This is by far the dumbest thing I've heard about this week. Here's something that I might pay for: some comedy troupe taking the past month's-worth of viral videos/audios/etc. and acting them out/recreating them/spoofing them in a short video. Gotta have more Christian Bale.
Or maybe if they just got Christian Bale to f-bomb his way through abridged versions of books.
I'm sorry... this idea is just so completely ridiculous that I can't stay focused. Just like I probably wouldn't if I was watching the thing for real.
Maybe I'm just old, but I don't even really like audio books. I'm still waiting for an e-reader that I like, preferably one that plays music too so I can listen and read at the same time, but having someone read to me on video? lame, unless she's hot and nude.
Now I can just sit back and relax to a good listening of Philosopher's Stone. Ahhh, I can image the sights and sounds of Hogwarts, the grand views from the grounds. I can see our protaganist... a middle aged British woman...? Where's Harry? Actually, now I can't even image Hogwarts because this British chick has been eyeballing me for the past 4 minutes and I can't think about anything else. Whats that she said? Something about magic. It would be magic if she would stop looking at me! This is really creepy....
Screw it, I'll just get the book.
This isn't V-Books - this is Jackanory! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackanory
All this needs is touchscreen and some paint and it might just be worth the $10
Nah, not stupid, just a good, honest attempt to do something to make a buck. Unfortunately, the content isn't you can't get at, say TED. For free.
Just wait, in a couple of years, after this takes off, some clown is going to say "this needs subtitles for the deaf"...
Wow. This has to be the worst solution I've heard of. Just go ask any language professor what he will think about it >_