We all thought J.J. Abrams had officially done it all. He is the simultaneous director and screenwriter of intense TV and film hits such as Lost and Star Trek, and was recently chosen to take on a huge (emphasis on huge) responsibility – Star Wars: Episode VII. Anybody who has watched Lost knows how confusing and, well, crazy Abrams’ created worlds of the screen are. Yet when a new project video teaser was released for a mysteriously titled “S.” nobody suspected anything more than a TV spinoff of a previous work at best. Yet it seems fans underestimated Abrams. He decided to write a book (a physical book…does anyone remember what that is?)
This book is not just a single story you read line by line for a few hundred pages. “S.” is an artistic book, and it takes work to read primarily because it is two stories in one. It is, at its base, a reprinted version of a 1949 V.M. Straka novel called “S.”, whose storyline is shrouded in mystery, “a highly symbolic, mystical tale,” much like the work of Abrams himself. But here comes the twist: the entire book is heavily annotated by two of Abrams’ and cowriter Doug Dorst’s created characters. A man accidentally leaves behind his copy of “S”, which is soaked in the ink of side comments. A young woman finds the book and makes her own annotations in response. Their margin conversations form a story in itself of a growing relationship between two readers. There are also some physical objects contained within the book such as a map scribbled out on a napkin, postcards, and the like. This means that the e-book version, while available, loses much of the quality and purpose of the physical book.
Don’t get me wrong- I love to read, and I really appreciate books. But to be honest, I never thought of books as an art; I had to double check about three times that this article was in the right section of the New York Times. Yet after reading it, Abrams’ somewhat exaggerated form of “book art” showed me the craftsmanship all books require. A regular book is an art, in my (newly formed) opinion. Authors do not have the same advantages as film as far as visual representations of ideas. They have to painstakingly paint a picture by stringing together the perfect combination of words, such as the original writer of “S.” whose bizarre story was only a representation of deeper things (Something we’re all familiar with after reading The Nose). A book can become even more of a visual experience in cases such as Abrams’, who somehow created an unfolding story in the teeny tiny margins of a book while simultaneously unraveling the mysteries of the original novel. Though Abrams’ spin on the story is more of a physical art, it is focused on dissecting the original work in the same way one would pick apart a painting.
I’m very curious to see how “S.” does in stores, especially compared with e-book purchases. Because it comes with physical materials, I don’t think the e-book version can compare; it’s rare these days that an old-fashioned book beats out rising technology. I know that physical books are on a slow decline, but I wonder if this creation will signal a new trend of books fighting back. Maybe this new form of books (not the same specific idea, but making a story more interactive and visual) will become more common, revolutionizing the industry as more interesting and appealing to consumers while decreasing the value of the instantly downloaded e-book. On the other hand, maybe it will be a one-time flop: a too expensive, too complicated, and too-slow-to-consume form of entertainment. I personally find it to to be a fascinating idea, and I plan on investing in this book (which came out October 29th by the way). I think that, for a very visual generation that needs constant stimulation, this form of reading is exactly what the readers of today want and and need.
WORKS CITED
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/books/j-j-abrams-and-doug-dorst-collaborate-on-a-book-s.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&adxnnlx=1383177705-m6uDTunwUKOIsSqnVxBItg&
I immediately clicked on this post because I am amazed of J.J. Abram for all of the wonderful creations he has made. The fact that he wrote a book just makes me respect him more. I think writing is an art in itself, whether it be a poem or novel. Personally, I think that it is a loss for our generation and the future generations for losing physical books. E-books are not the same as paperback or hardcover books, and “S.” is a perfect example as to why that is. “S.” seems like a very interesting book, and I as well plan to go buy it! Thank you for the insight.
It is really refreshing to me to see Abrams beat the system and make it actually beneficial to stick with a good old fashion book, rather than an e-book. I personally used to love to read all the time. I could go to the beach and let sand splash over the pages while I laid in the sun or read in bed under the glow of my lamp while I’m under my covers. Those are the kind of things that made me love reading, even if the story itself wasn’t so great. Once e-books came around it all changed for me. I now couldn’t bring my kindle to the beach for worry of sand destroying it; I couldn’t turn on my lamp at night because the glare of the pre-lighted screen made it hard to see; I couldn’t even simply sit down and read either because the pixels of computers, Ipads, and Kindles have messed my vision up to the point I must put on glasses to read an e-book. I don’t have those problems with books and therefore I’m extremely happy that I will have a new experience with this multi-encompassing book by Mr. Abrams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWwpXWGA-Ro
Wow, this is so cool! I agree with you that Abrams was very creative to make the book into an art, and I agree with you that the e-book defeats the purpose of Abrams’s work. Now I am very excited to get the book! What Abrams did is very clever, and maybe if his book becomes popular, this kind of artsy book style may become a trend! Having these artistic features in the book will attract a larger audience – because not all people like to read novels filled only with words, so a lot those who like seeing visuals will enjoy this book I am sure.
I have always thought of books as art, being an avid reader myself. But J. J. Abrams new book seems like it will be an entirely new kind of ‘book art.’ Books as art for me has always been solely about the story, but now it seems that he will force us to consider books as a physical art as well. You bring up a really interesting point about how this sort of book could be used to beat the ‘e-book’ trend. I personally love to read actual books, like Jake I enjoy taking a book with me to the park or on the subway and have never felt reading books online as stimulating.
It does seem like Abrams is putting one over on all of the readers who get books online, whether legally or otherwise. But I think this could definitely backfire if his additions, the tissue and the other removable things, do not actually add anything to the story. It sounds like a very interesting idea but I am a little bit dubious that it will really make the book better. But your article did make me curious and I may have to read his new book to find out.
Before this post, I wasn’t the most familiar with J.J Abrams. Your post which is very well written by the way brings it to light. He seems like quite the visionary and artist. I liked how the article in the Times changed your view on art to now include books. I was compelled by your interest in seeing how the book would sell and see if the books can “fight back”. This book seems like an adventure in of itself. It almost reminds me of some of the books like the Series Of Unfortunate Events books with the ruffled pages that have a tangible aspect to the reading as well. To me, even with the popularity of e-books and I like that you included that in your perspective, nothing can beat picking up a book and actually having a feel for it. I am interested in taking a look at this “S” book now myself.
The description you gave of Abrams’ book is fascinating. To have a story created by the annotations made by two separate people… I’ve never thought a book could be created that way. I’ve always thought that books can represent art. It’s not just the writing it contains, although that, too, is art in itself. But the way the book is presented. What type of binding was used, the colors of the covers, the fonts, the pictures or lack of, and the material it was made of. Yet, to include other things such as napkins and postcards – it’s quite interesting.
I agree with you on the e-books. Reading it through there really loses the crucial parts of the book. It shows that there is more to a book than just the text, which many people forget. I hope people will be able to read this book and appreciate other aspects that make a book a book.
Before reading this post I wasn’t very familiar with Abrams. However, the way you described his book “S” was really fascinating and I would definitely get myself a copy. When I do read it, I would choose to actually have a physical copy of the book. I agree that books are forms of art. As an avid reader and bookworm, I really love having stacks of books. The feeling isn’t the same with e-books. Honestly, I never really liked e-books or devices like the kindle. Yes, they are much lighter and at times more convenient, but I feel like I have a better reading experience when I’m actually reading from a physical book. I think that Abram’s book really shows the art of books and he seems like a creative and innovative author.
I have always considered books art. The amount of work that authors put into making their characters come alive is fascinating. Have you ever tried to write a story? I have. And I failed several times, simply because it takes so much effort and thinking. The author has to think ahead, and make sure that the plotline is still coherent, relevant and at the same time interesting. It’s not an easy feat to complete. Then there’s the simple fact that authors have to create emotion using only words. Movies are beautiful and all, but most of the emotion comes from both dialogue AND music. Authors are at a disadvantage in that sense. They cannot give their readers a song while they read, though if that could be done it’d be quite interesting… Maybe it’s time for me to patent an idea?
I have also considered books to be art. I believe books are not part of visual or audio art but books are creative. Many books’ story lines are created from scratch purely out of authors’ creative minds. I compare writing books from scratch to painting pictures from scratch or writing songs. To me they all have the common denominator of creativity. I believe anything involving creativity is considered art. Even when books are not created from scratch, there is still creativity put into the books.
I don’t have a kindle or any other form of e-books. The only things I read on the screen is my math textbook. I think that even though book market is declining, books are irreplaceable by e-books. Books could beat e-books in many ways. Books could be collected and have time value. Every time I went to visit some of friends’ houses, the book shelf always shocked me. I mean books are more than a reading tool. They could symbolize, represent, and reflect something far beyond the content while e-books are no more than a reading tool. What J.J Abrams. is trying to do is to give books more values and I really like the way he promotes it. Books could be art but e-books not.