Book 2.0 Pitch

I love books, but one of the major downsides to a physical copy (especially if it is a textbook) is handling the weight of it. It’s even more cumbersome if you have to lug around multiple books all day long like many students, teachers, librarians, etc. You may be thinking, “Why don’t you just download an electronic copy to your computer?” Even today, not everyone can afford a personal computer and, even if you can, there is a limited amount of available space to download e-books, especially if you don’t have the latest, greatest model. Plus, computers can be pretty fragile, they can require a lot of maintenance whether in regards to the hardware or the software, and they require electricity and Wi-Fi access. When was the last time you had to charge a book? Physical copies of books aren’t going anywhere, but what if there was a way to make them a little easier to live with? What if we could make our books lighter and more compact? What if we could, in essence, shrink them? I propose the creation of a book that has the ability to be folded or molded until it has achieved a small enough size that a person could actually carry it around in their pocket if they choose to. This could not only improve your travel needs, whether between school and home or even between different states, but also any storage issues that could arise from simply owning too many books. The book’s elasticity could be achieved by incorporating mold-able plastics into the paper production process. There is even a company, InstaMorph, that could provide “light-weight thermoplastic” (The InstaMorph Team) for this product’s construction. When the plastic is warmed up, it is as mold-able as clay. When the plastic has cooled down, it can become as strong and hard as a counter-top. We could create a brand new type of literary material that could outlast anything that has come before it.

Works Cited

Taylor, Kelly. “Tiny Books.” Flickr, Yahoo, 22 Mar. 2008, www.flickr.com/photos/wmshc_kiwitayro/2358007302. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Team, The InstaMorph. “Home.” InstaMorph, Happy Wire Dog, LLC, 20 Mar. 2016, www.instamorph.com/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

4 thoughts on “Book 2.0 Pitch”

  1. What excites me most about this project is the creative potential. In today’s world, it seems like everyone is so focused on further developing e-reader’s and e-books that hard copies of books are forgotten. The physical book is long overdue for an overhaul and making them more portable, accessible and usable like this would be a great innovation.

    The only thing I’d want to see more of for this project is a more specific idea of what these lightweight books will look like. Would there still be pages as we know them? Or could the plastic be combined with some sort of shifting display to mold the new text onto the current page as you finished reading? With current environmental issues such as deforestation, our dependence on paper is not sustainable and your idea sounds like it could help the earth as much as our backpacks!

    I think if you nailed down a solid concept image in the minds of readers, regarding how the new material would look and feel, they would be completely sold on the ergonomic and environmental benefits you’ve proposed!

  2. What excites you about this project and why?
    I like the idea of being able to carry around a lot of books because I have a tendency to do just that. It will definitely appeal to readers who do like the idea of eBooks and prefer the physical book.
    What do you want to see more of and why?
    I want to see more of what would be added into the book materials to make this possible. And could you use 3D printing to make them, if not how else would you make them?
    What additional evidence does the audience need to be convinced that this research is complete?
    More research should be done about what other materials could be added to make this happen and on the weight of the book. Will the book be the same weight as when it’s folded/compressed as it is when it’s normal sized.

  3. What excites you about this project and why?
    For me, the most exciting thing is how this changes everything about how the book looks without having any digitization or computers involved.

    What do you want to see more of and why?
    I want to see illustration in these books, but I feel like with the material artwork–or at least detailed artwork–would be impossible.

    What additional evidence does the audience need to be convinced that this research is complete?
    Definitely do some research on how much weight these books would cost. This may be physically impossible.

  4. What excites me is the idea of having a tiny book in your pocket and then watching it turn full sized. I think this is a very good idea for not only creating more storage at home or on your person, but creating more longevity with physical copies of books. If this can turn out to be something that is easy to make and affordable, it will be a game changer.
    What I want to see more of is what the actual pages will be made of and can it stay in good condition if it got wet.
    The additional research would have to be the cost of the materials outside of the Instamorph and how much would be needed to make just one book.

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