As the world watches to see where the position of leader of the Catholic church is headed and who will be tapped to fill the role, to those on the outside of the issue there may be some confusion about the election of a new Pope and the status of the previous one. After Pope Benedict XVI announced he was stepping down to health concerns, rumors began swirling about his true motivations, the pending leadership of the Church in his absence, and the way history will remember this one-time conscripted Hitler Youth member.
Coulombe’s title, The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI (Diversion Books), may only be a digital short that contains less than 25,000 words, but the well-known author of titles the chronicle the Catholic church packs an astounding amount of history and cardinal regulation into that brief title. While at times the book seems to veer off course into issues facing the Church that have no bearing on the outgoing Pope, the simple fact that it is a work of long-form journalism lends itself to this level of historical data. An almost-distracting number of hyperlinks embedded constantly throughout the text may make the work unappealing to some, but could also provide constant valuable clarification to readers who are not already familiar with the workings of the papacy.
It is important to state that ebooks such as Couloumbe’s aren’t intended to become timeless works of non-fiction, but are rather almost rushed through to digital publication in order to reach readers in a timely way. One of the benefits to the format of the digital short or e-novella is that ability to bring even more in-depth information to readers as the events in the text continue to rage.
The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI is available now from Diversion Books and Kobo.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.