What is a book in the digital age?

When I started in book publishing, twenty-five years ago, books were books. Bound at the spine, with a cover. I didn’t know that digital pioneers were already reimagining ‘bookness’ in digital form.

From An unexpected adventure, illustrated by Emma Bosman for Book Dash.

Today, we build web books, upload EPUBs to Kindle, release apps, and also enjoy the thrill of a big print run and the smell of fresh ink. Everything we make is a book.

What is ‘bookness’ today, and does it matter? We know in our bones there’s a difference between an online book and a blog, even if both are websites. We can tell that an online textbook is not the same as an online course. We can distinguish between an audiobook and a serialised podcast.

Does the difference matter? Absolutely. Because people still recognise and value books, even if they haven’t figured out why, and even when they read on screens. To make the most of that, we need to know how to create them.

So how should we define a ‘book’ today? A book is a self-standing package of complex ideas.

• It is self-standing because, once you’re reading it, you can be completely alone and still find your way through it. It needs no guide or instructions, and asks no more of you than that you read it.
• It is a package because someone chose, with painstaking care, what went into it and what did not, and wrapped it beautifully for you.
• It carries complex ideas. This is true whether you’re a four-year-old reading Where’s that Cat? or a student reading The Economy.

Over the last twenty-five years I’ve been tempted by other, flashier media. But I’m drawn to books because I love the thoughtful solitude of reading, the power of design, and the infinite complexity of human thought. The book is their nexus.