What is it?
Otherwise known as the flipback book or dwarsligger in the original Dutch, it is a lightweight, small-format book invented in 2009 by Dutch publisher, Jongbloed. The book is designed to be read in one hand, is printed on super-thin onion skin paper, measures 120 x 80mm and weighs slightly more than an iPhone.
First seen in this article in The Age online.
What do we think?
While we are nonplussed by a new book format, we are bemused and embarrassed that The Age, together with other news outlets including the UK’s The Guardian, have chosen to write about it in the way they have. “New pocket-sized books could compete with eBooks” is blatantly ludicrous.
An eBook is primarily attractive not because it is small and light, but because it is a device that holds thousands of titles. A flipback book may be small, but it can and will never compete with a whole library in your hand.
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