Ander Monson Pens A Half-eBook
Ander Monson is an essayist and poet. His new book of nonfiction, Vanishing Point, is about to be released by Graywolf Press on March 30th (which means it might already be in stores).
It’s an unusual book, not only because its full of smart and odd observations like this one about the ramifications for the future of the two competing clans of Wikipedia editors, inclusionists and deletionists:
Are you an inclusionist or a deletionist, the future personality test might ask you, I mean, philosophically, thinking broadly, like think harder, dude? Do you reflexively cut things out or stitch them on? Protect the tower or tear it down? Iron patches on your jeans or shotgun blast them up?
but also because a good portion of the book exists on the Web, though Graywolf said it currently has no plans to create an eBook for this title. In his preface, Monson says that while the physical book is “fixed in time, in space, in print,” sometimes his observations “can continue to grow past the book itself.”
Hence, he has added a page to his Website to host these expanding pontifications. Throughout the book, Monson has inserted dagger symbols in the text. Wherever you see one, that’s a signal to click over to the Website for more info.
On his page, you’ll see a search box at the top. Try, for instance, typing the word “dagger” in there and see what happens.
eBookNewser is planning to interview Monson on his thoughts about the relationship between eBooks and print books, so in preparation, maybe go pick up a copy of this book.
