{"id":1912,"date":"2014-04-25T06:51:45","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T10:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2014-05-07T06:57:02","modified_gmt":"2014-05-07T10:57:02","slug":"is-social-reading-an-oxymoron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=1912","title":{"rendered":"Is \u201cSocial Reading\u201d an Oxymoron?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Christo,<\/a>

The Gates (photo: the author)<\/p><\/div>\n

It isn\u2019t enough that people are discovering new ways\u2014and new apps\u2014to facilitate their digital reading, they are starting to explore the messy potential of \u201csocial reading<\/a>,\u201d fundamentally changing what for centuries has been a solitary endeavor\u2014and pleasure.<\/p>\n

The variations on this theme are nicely summarized in a taxonomy of social reading activities compiled by Bob Stein here<\/a>. 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\u2014commentary-as-you-go. You can see this last in action with a real-life example from a university English class.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> on the Institute\u2019s website the accompanying photo will make sense.)<\/p>\n

Some of Stein\u2019s 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\u2019m sure I\u2019d have benefited from external conversation and commentary while reading Rachel Kushner\u2019s The Flamethrowers<\/em><\/a>. But I wouldn\u2019t have wanted any external voices intruding on my enjoyment of Billy Lynn\u2019s Long Half-Time Walk<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s been there before. Possibly\u2014no, probably\u2014a someone who is smarter and more perceptive than I.<\/p>\n

While some book-scene observers may believe reading is inherently anti-social,<\/a> it would seem the future of social reading, though still in formation, has appeal as a way for people to, as The Huffington Post<\/a> says, \u201cstart book groups without even leaving their couches.\u201d Which doesn\u2019t sound very social to me.<\/p>\n

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