“It can be one of those things, but only if those choices are interrogated and integrated into the way the work makes meaning” (Borsuk, 122).
I see a fairly bright future for digital books and publishing. Rather than see it as a competition to physical books, I see it as a great opportunity to explore elements that can further enhance a book’s meaning and be that expansion for creators who want more.
Digital publishing, while losing some interactions on your sense of touch, can enhance your other senses.
One large example I like to bring up when talking about digital books are webtoons. Webtoons are digital comics. Webtoons have become popular within pop culture and I can see why.
Some artists take advantage of using digital publishing by creating elements to go hand in hand with their works to give a more immersive experience for readers and make their world come to life. For example, some webtoons play music in the background as you scroll through the pages. Other webtoons use animations to animate certain scenes.
One webtoon I like to share is a horror webtoon called “Shriek” by various artists. Each story is a different horror story but what’s most interesting is the use of technology they use. It has scary music and sound effects playing at certain times, your phone vibrates to scare you, there are animations on certain scenes, and some webtoons have a fake pop up text notification from the ghost. It makes the story immersive and popular amongst readers.
I guess overall my thoughts on digital books and publishing is fairly bright, especially if digital books like the one I mentioned is just the beginning. I can see that technology can enhance a reader’s experience and really help them dive deeper into the author’s world.