29.Jul.2009 | Sara Nelson
Devils’ Advocates? I love ‘em. Controversy? Bring it on. .
Ok, I admit it: I’ve drunk the Vook Kool-Aid. But trust me: my first sip was bitter. I love books, I live in a world (and an apartment!) flooded with books. I like movies, too — but honestly, for me they always have been a completely different experience from reading. So when I first heard that Bradley Inman was starting Vook — and I like Brad! — I was waaaay skeptical. Even my fifteen year old son said, “Mom, when I want to read a book, I’ll read a book — when I want to see a movie, I’ll see a movie. (That’s my boy!)
So when I first read the posts from another skeptic at the Website ireaderreview I understood. Why “integrate” such different experiences? But this guy, like me a few months ago, hadn’t seen what vooks really were. They’re not a forced combinaton, they’re an option. You can just read ‘em if you want. You can read one time, come back later and watch the videos separately. You can watch first, socially interact later. And for certain kinds of books — stories that instruct and advise — there’s nothing like the shared abilities. I don’t just want to read about how to make beef stroganoff (believe me, you wouldn’t want to taste the results. . .) but maybe if I could read the recipe AND watch somebody do it at the same time, I just might not poison my family. Ditto some of the other, more impressionistic vooks: done seamlessly, as vooks are, the added value of a video in a piece of fiction can add not subtract from the experience.
Don’t believe me? Ok, I understand that too. .. so why not sign up at vook.com for our beta, coming soon? It won’t cost you a thing — except your skepticism.
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