The Gates (photo: the author)
It isn’t enough that people are discovering new ways—and new apps—to facilitate their digital reading, they are starting to explore the messy potential of “social reading,” fundamentally changing what for centuries has been a solitary endeavor—and pleasure.
The variations on this theme are nicely summarized in a taxonomy of social reading activities compiled by Bob Stein here. They range from the post-read book discussions on sites like GoodReads to ebooks with dynamic margins, where you can share annotations, comments, and questions, right alongside the text—commentary-as-you-go. You can see this last in action with a real-life example from a university English class.
Stein is a founder of the Institute for the Future of the Book, which aims to influence the shift of printed page to networked screen in a positive direction. (If you check out some of the more obscure links on the Institute’s website the accompanying photo will make sense.)
Some of Stein’s examples in the taxonomy sound kind of interesting, others intrusive. I can imagine feeling differently about how much social interaction I would enjoy and appreciate, depending on the book in question, not to mention the insightfulness of the commentators. For example, I’m sure I’d have benefited from external conversation and commentary while reading Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers. But I wouldn’t have wanted any external voices intruding on my enjoyment of Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk.
In a weird way, the experience reminds me of reading a used book, in which the thrill of discovery is steadily devalued by the coffee stains and greasy crumb-prints of the person who’s been there before. Possibly—no, probably—a someone who is smarter and more perceptive than I.
While some book-scene observers may believe reading is inherently anti-social, it would seem the future of social reading, though still in formation, has appeal as a way for people to, as The Huffington Post says, “start book groups without even leaving their couches.” Which doesn’t sound very social to me.
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