I’m not done reading my Vook, but I’m going to give a halfway report. First of all, the vook I bought is Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It. Although I’d never heard of Vaynerchuk before I bought the vook, I’m a sucker for all social media literature at the moment, and his looked genuinely interesting. Now that I know he’s the “Social Media Sommelier” of Wine Library TV, I’m that much more interested.
I first read about vooks when a Grottoite forwarded a NYTimes.com article about the company, which caused people to recoil in horror. The company began by rolling out four books, all from Simon & Schuster, and then added Vaynerchuk’s later. The vooks can be viewed online, on an iPhone or on an iPod Touch. Because I don’t have an iPhone (yet), I’m viewing mine on my laptop. The disadvantage is that I do a lot of my reading while nursing my baby, and it’s much more difficult to hold a baby and a laptop than hold a baby and a book, but that’s a problem unique to few. Although the nonfiction books sold by Vook (the inventory comprises four how-to nonfiction books, a romantic novella and a thriller), are also sold as books by traditional booksellers, the novels are not. I imagine this is because in order to make fiction work as a vook, you have to reveal some of the plot through the video, plot that is crucial to the story and without which you wouldn’t have a complete book (although additional chapters could be added for the book.)
So, my thoughts thus far on the vook? I love it! I can’t vouch for the novels, and frankly they look really cheesy from the covers, but for a how-to book, the vook is the perfect medium, especially if you’re watching someone like Gary Vaynerchuk, whose energy is so inspiring. I feel more connected to him as a reader after seeing his personality on the screen. Second, it’s fun to watch videos. Third, the material is supplemental, and it’s a nice break from reading a computer screen. If I had any complaints about the vook, it would be that I want MORE videos instead of just one per chapter. I find that when I’m reading, I’m in a hurry to get to the beginning of the next chapter to watch the next video. My other complaint? No one likes reading books on a laptop, which is why all these e-readers have e-ink that goes easy on the eyes. What I want is an e-reader (preferably nook) with video. I don’t know if the tablet PCs expected out (Apple’s Tablet and Microsoft’s Courier) will use e-ink. That’s something to consider when deciding between an e-reader and a tablet PC.
Now if I can just get the courage to fork out $6.99 for a fiction vook, I’ll report back on how well the plot is integrated between the video and the text. I’m a sucker for suspenseful movies, so I just may get hooked … on the vook.
