regardingjohn

Books in the Age of the iPad, by Craig Mod, is perhaps the most beautiful and thoughtful post I’ve read in years. In it, Mod argues that the iPad is a universal container for rich media and what he calls “well-formed content”— I’ll let you read the article (you should) to understand what he means. He notes that the iPad might minimize the production, distribution, and consumption of the printed book, saving significant resources. The iPad also “brings the excellent text readability of the iPhone/Kindle to a larger canvas. It combines the intimacy and comfort of reading on those devices with a canvas both large enough and versatile enough to allow for well considered layouts” — although it will also serve as a catchall basin for “disposable books” (those not really worthy of quality printing). He proposes the following for The Books We Make (i.e. those worthy of the traditional book format):

• The Books We Make embrace their physicality — working in concert with the content to illuminate the narrative.
• The Books We Make are confident in form and usage of material.
• The Books We Make exploit the advantages of print.
• The Books We Make are built to last

The article is, again, worth the read.