Reading Gregory Cowles’ review of [Sic], a memoir by the composer Joshua Cody concerning his experience with cancer, chemo, cocaine, destructive relationships and insanity, I was pleasantly struck by two observations—1) that Cowles describes Cody, at 34, as a “young” composer and 2) that Cowles wished, “the book came embedded with MP3s in addition to its photos and paintings and scrap-paper notes.”

With his sympathetic view of multi-media and youth, Cowles is my kind of reviewer — I was about to knock out an MP3 embedded version of [Sic]’s first chapter on Vook to get his attention before realizing that would be inappropriate, having permission from nobody and lacking the will to transcribe a chapter and embed a Cody clip just to show Cowles how quickly we can gild the lilly. Cowles wouldn’t know anyway, unless I video taped the thirty minute process of doing it — which would look more obsessive than impressive.

“Gilding the lilly” isn’t a phrase I should use. ‘Lily gild’ is a grace note, enhancements can be essential. Our tool’s about making great looking eBooks, but when items like Cowles’ appear, or Diana Spiotta talks about film clips that could show up in Stone Arabia or I’m reading I Want My MTV and wondering what they’re talking about, it’s difficult not to think of what could be.

People talk about the expense of enhanced, the time, the uncertainty if reader’s want the additions, but applying the rule of my own experience before we had Vook’s platform, I wonder how much is that it’s difficult. Enhancing eBooks takes time. Enhanced has been getting a poor notice creatively, on the other hand, it’s been too laborious a process and too complicated. There’s uncertainty–is it worth the time it takes to get it right?

I used to edit film. A difference of a few frames could be crucial. One version was right, the other wrong. It made me think of the Platnoic ideal, that information and narrative had a perfect form, like Plato said chairs did. It didn’t seem like subtle editing distinctions would matter, but then they did.

The only way to get film or writing to the right point is to shorten the distance between the creator and what they’re fiddling with. You have to be able to fiddle to the point of getting it acceptably-not-perfect. That can be tricky for the creatives who want to write books and, oh, add enhancements? Sure . . . but they don’t know HTML or how to create an ePub.

So, enter Vook. So, easy audio and video additions. So, my wish that though we’re making a platform to create beautiful straight ebooks, everyone will come looking for what Gregory Cowles is talking about.

And just a note — Cody’s music is hard to locate. I think this video on YouTube for Animal Kingdom (the crime movie, not something Geographical) represents it. Though it does demonstrate Cowles is wrong on one point — the music’s not jazzy, but long and a little mournful. It would be a perfect downbeat counterpoint to a clip of Cody explaining, as he mentions in the book, how to pronounce his name right.