Good e-Reader recently featured an enhanced ebook launch by a company that is taking full advantage of the capabilities that tablet-based reading has to offer. By incorporating embedded video within the pages of the text–as opposed to hyperlinks that require buffering–Wordplay Shakespeare has brought actors to the page, allowing the reader to watch the scene unfold in Shakespeare’s own words while reading along with the text. Readers also have the option to hit the Translate button, and to read that same text in a more modern rendition.
“We have one goal,” said The New Book Press founder and publisher Alexander Parker at the time of the launch of this title, “to present Shakespeare’s plays in a way that makes the best use of the new capabilities of tablets. That means bringing together text and video on the same page, providing communication and analysis tools, and ultimately lowering the barrier to enjoyment and understanding that have bedeviled student and adult readers of Shakespeare over the last 400 years.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth are currently available, and two other titles, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, are due to be released soon. Now, readers who subscribe to the publisher’s email newsletter have the opportunity to win a free download of the full ebook by subscribing at http://thenewbookpress.com by November 6th.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.