Free Digital Book: The Exquisite Corpse Adventure

Via Twitter from @kittent:

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure

Ever heard of an Exquisite Corpse? It’s not what you might think. An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.

Our “Exquisite Corpse Adventure” works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, has written the first episode, which is “pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!” He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.

Two chapters are up. It has a flip-book interface, like the Internet Archive:

Click = big

But don’t stop there. Go look at the Classic Books too, which have gorgeous illustrations!

Electronic Arts Enters Digital Books

This is a shock!

EA Announces FLIPS on the Nintendo DS

Each FLIPS title features multiple books and the first four titles will be released exclusively on Nintendo DS in the UK on 4th December 2009.

Titles include:

Enid Blyton (Egmont) – The Enchanted Wood(R), The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World(R) – Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World – Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World – Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)- Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) – Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) – Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

FLIPS uses the DS touch screen and stylus to enable children to read and interact by combining the world of storytelling with quizzes and references to characters, encouraging greater concentration and incentive to finish every chapter. Within the books, links appear to give the reader a unique way of interacting with the story and enhancing their experience.

I’m really stunned by this.

Who ever expected Electronic Arts to do digital books?

Yet it makes sense that a game producer would jump in.

And while Disney requires children to sit at a tabletop to read their books, kids can read these anywhere with the Nintendo DS.

What also fascinates me about this: Nothing for the Sony PSP?

Sergey Brin: Also Absolutely Inexcusably Clueless

A Library to Last Forever

… being a company that obsesses over the quality of our products …

Memo to Sergey:

Google’s One Million eBooks Of Crap!

That is “obsessive quality”?!!!?

And while I’ve got your attention:

The First Step Towards A Google Book Search Solution

I’m not a suckup, Sergey:

Suckups, Suckers, And Sloppiness Mislead eBook Readers

And whose books are they, anyway?

Google Thinks It Owns Our Books!

Steve Ballmer: Absolutely Inexcusably Clueless

PCs are best for e-reading, Microsoft’s Ballmer says

“I would love to see companies like Amazon and others bring their books to the PC,” Ballmer said. “Hopefully we can get that to happen with Barnes & Noble or Amazon or somebody,” Ballmer said.

Boldface emphasis added by me.

Wow. Just wow.

Memo to Steve Ballmer:

eReader (owned by Barnes & Noble, hello!) displays eBooks on a PC.

Adobe Digital Editions displays eBooks on a PC.

Sony eLibrary displays eBooks on a PC.

MobiPocket (owned by Amazon, hello!) displays eBooks on a PC.

Your own Microsoft Reader will display eBooks on a PC!!!

Any browser will display Google Books — and other eBooks!

And yet you think you need a joint venture or … something … with “somebody”?!!?

Moriah Jovan’s Asus eReading Flirtation

The handy-dandy all-purpose digital reader

Some time back ago, I said I wanted an Asus EeePC to read digital books because it was kind of an all-purpose device. As time went on, I decided maybe I’d rather have an iPhone or a BlackBerry, but then I found out about their mandatory data plans and I’m a cheap bitch, so no thanks. I wanted something reasonably portable that I could 1) read digital books on in any format I wanted; 2) listen to music; 3) keep my personal data on (now that I have this awesome personal information management standalone app); and 4) to basically be able to haul my brain around with me. I don’t like talking on the phone, so I would rather not have one at all, but must. I want to keep the phone separate from my other tasks.

She has a gallery of photos, displaying various reading programs.

And then there’s this: More on the Asus