Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta libros. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta libros. Mostrar todas las entradas

lunes, 18 de junio de 2012

Wonderbook, el libro como periférico


El poder simbólico del libro como tal, como objeto físico, está fuera de toda duda y así va a seguir siendo durante muchos años. La gente de Sony lo sabe bien, así que ha decidido desarrollar un nuevo sistema para su consola PlayStation 3 en el que el libro es protagonista indiscutible.
Como si fuera un mando más, el Wondebook se complementa con el sistema de realidad aumentada de la PlayStation -algo que también usa con acierto la X-Box de Microsoft- para transformar cada una de sus páginas en un apartado diferente en la televisión. El primero de los Wonderbooks es, nada más y nada menos, que el Book of Spells, el Libro de Hechizos, usado en las clases avanzadas de Hogwarths y escrito en la ficción por Miranda Goshawk, aunque ha sido la propia J. K. Rowling la que ha proporcionado los textos.
Por lo que podemos ver, el Wonderbook permite una interacción total, tanto a la hora de que el usuario practique en el libro -haciendo hechizos o manejando a un dragón- como manejando una versión virtual del libro, una especie de pop-up virtual con infinidad de opciones. Aunque este libro está dedicado principalmente al mercado infantil y juvenil nos da la impresión de que se busca la participación de los padres, ya que algunos elementos parecen algo más complejos de lo habitual para esas edades.
En Sony ya avisan que están negociando con otros conocidos autores para crear más Wonderbooks, aunque no sueltan prensa de si seguirán una línea juvenil o tienen pensado darle un contenido más adulto. Quién sabe, incluso es posible que puedan llegar a integrarlo en otros juegos como un periférico más, necesario para algunas fases concretas.
¿Qué opináis? ¿Es el Wonderbook una manera de integrar y acostumbrar a los más pequeños a los libros o significa el final de los libros infantiles tal y como los conocemos? ¿Os imagináis lo que tiene que ser un Wonderbook unido a unas gafas de realidad virtual? A mi me parece, en ocasione, que el futuro nos está alcanzando mucho más deprisa de lo que pensábamos en un principio.

viernes, 15 de junio de 2012

Books Update


The New York Times

June 15, 2012

Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'Barack Obama: The Story'

By DAVID MARANISS
Reviewed by JAMES FALLOWS
David Maraniss's book minutely traces Barack Obama's African and American lineages back for more than a century.
Dolphus Shields, seated, with relatives in Birmingham, Ala., was born into slavery on a Georgia farm. He was Michelle Obama's maternal great-great-grandfather.

'American Tapestry'

By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Reviewed by EDWARD BALL
Rachel L. Swarns tells the story of several generations of Michelle Obama's family in a book that reads like a panorama of black life in America.

Also in the Book Review

Alyson Hagy

'Boleto'

By ALYSON HAGY
Reviewed by BRUCE MACHART
In Alyson Hagy's novel, a young ranchman dreams of training a bay filly for a life in polo.
Michael Frayn

'Skios'

By MICHAEL FRAYN
Reviewed by ALEX WITCHEL
In Michael Frayn's novel, set in Greece, a charming sociopath assumes the identity of a famous lecturer. Mayhem ensues.
Mohammed Hanif

'Our Lady of Alice Bhatti'

By MOHAMMED HANIF
Reviewed by PARUL SEHGAL
To the afflicted at a Karachi hospital, the arrival of Mohammed Hanif's heroine is a sign of salvation.
CRIME

The Avengers

By MARILYN STASIO
In Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," a young woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary - and her husband is suspected of murder.
Fighters with the insurgent Free Syrian Army.

'The Syrian Rebellion'

By FOUAD AJAMI
Reviewed by DEXTER FILKINS
A Middle East scholar offers historical perspective on Syria's yearlong uprising.

'End This Depression Now!'

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Reviewed by MATTHEW BISHOP
The conventional wisdom in America and Europe is making things worse, Paul Krugman says.
Dan Zevin

'Dan Gets a Minivan'

By DAN ZEVIN
Reviewed by DAN SALTZSTEIN
The suburbs, a minivan, Costco. Dan Zevin's comic journey through adulthood continues.

'Miss Fuller'

By APRIL BERNARD
Reviewed by SARAH FAY
In this historical novel, April Bernard imagines confessional letters from Margaret Fuller to Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife, Sophia.

Children's Books

From

Express Yourself

By EMILY JENKINS
Three new picture books help young readers explore their emotions.

'See You at Harry's'

By JO KNOWLES
Reviewed by CLAIRE MESSUD
A teenager faces complications from siblings older and younger.

'The Secret Tree'

By NATALIE STANDIFORD
Reviewed by LISA VON DRASEK
Natalie Standiford's narrator stumbles upon a world of secrets.

Bookshelf: Dragons

By PAMELA PAUL
New picture books starring the fire-breathing creatures.
Surprise: From

Let's Eat!

By ANN HODGMAN
Three books for children - and adults - who love to cook.

'Shadow and Bone'

By LEIGH BARDUGO
Reviewed by LAINI TAYLOR
A heroine's ability to summon light is just what her world sorely needs.
ADVERTISEMENT
Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert: By the Book

The author of "Eat, Pray, Love" likes to read Hemingway, Mantel and tabloid journalism.

Back Page

The Gray Zone

By LOUISA LIM and JEFFREY WASSERSTROM
Chinese writers employ stealth to elude the censors.
Gillian Flynn

Inside the List

By PARUL SEHGAL
Gillian Flynn, whose novel "Gone Girl" enters the hardcover list at No. 2, has said, "Female violence is a specific brand of ferocity. It's invasive."

Editors' Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

By IHSAN TAYLOR
Paperback books of particular interest.

Book Review Podcast

This week, Rachel Swarns talks about Michelle Obama's family history; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Dexter Filkins discusses Syria; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
ArtsBeat

Editor's Note

Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail. Feel free to send feedback; I enjoy hearing your opinions and will do my best to respond.
John Williams
Books Producer
The New York Times on the Web
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viernes, 8 de junio de 2012

Books Update


The New York Times

June 8, 2012

Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review

'Canada'

By RICHARD FORD
Reviewed by ANDRE DUBUS III
In Richard Ford's novel, a teenage boy's life is changed when his parents make the unlikely decision to rob a bank.

Also in the Book Review

Lucie Blackman

'People Who Eat Darkness'

By RICHARD LLOYD PARRY
Reviewed by SUSAN CHIRA
An account of the murder of a young British woman in Japan.
Lillian Hellman, circa 1939.

'A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman'

By ALICE KESSLER-HARRIS
Reviewed by DONNA RIFKIND
A historian's study of the dramatist with a genius for the concise phrase and the provocative gesture.

'College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be'

By ANDREW DELBANCO
Reviewed by MICHAEL S. ROTH
A professor deplores the current state of colleges.
Craig Claiborne, in 1990.

'The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat'

By THOMAS MCNAMEE
Reviewed by CORBY KUMMER
Thomas McNamee traces the career of Craig Claiborne, the food critic who expanded the culinary horizons of American home cooks.

'Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power'

By STEVE COLL
Reviewed by ADAM HOCHSCHILD
Steve Coll examines the worldwide operations and political influence of Exxon Mobil.

'The Hunger Angel'

By HERTA MULLER
Reviewed by RICHARD STERN
Herta Müller's novel of a Soviet labor camp.

'The Chaperone'

By LAURA MORIARTY
Reviewed by JENNY HENDRIX
In Laura Moriarty's novel, a Midwestern matron accompanies young Louise Brooks to New York in the summer of 1922.
Norman Manea

'The Lair'

By NORMAN MANEA
Reviewed by STEVEN HEIGHTON
Norman Manea explores the implications of exile in this novel about Romanian intellectuals living in the United States.

'The Undertow'

By JO BAKER
Reviewed by LOUISA THOMAS
This novel follows four generations of a British family, from World War I to the present.
The Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, circa 1985.

'The Last Hundred Days'

By PATRICK McGUINNESS
Reviewed by FRANCINE PROSE
The British narrator of Patrick McGuinness's first novel is an uneasy witness to the collapse of the Ceausescu regime.

'As Texas Goes: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda'

By GAIL COLLINS
Reviewed by LLOYD GROVE
For Gail Collins, Texas is the home of guns, deregulation and right-wing dogma.
A detainee at the Guantánamo Bay detention center in 2010.

'Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11'

By JACK GOLDSMITH
Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL
How presidential actions are scrutinized.

'Simon: The Genius in My Basement'

By ALEXANDER MASTERS
Reviewed by JORDAN ELLENBERG
Alexander Masters writes about meeting Simon Norton, an eccentric British mathematician.

'The Most Expensive Game in Town'

By MARK HYMAN
Reviewed by GORDON MARINO
How much are parents shelling out to give their children a leg up in sports? A heck of a lot, Mark Hyman discov
John Irving

John Irving: By the Book

The author, most recently, of the novel "In One Person" has little desire to meet other writers. "It's better to read a good writer than meet one," he says.
Jeff Shaara

Inside the List

By GREGORY COWLES
Jeff Shaara, whose Civil War novel "Blaze of Glory" hits the hardcover fiction list at No. 7, follows a friend's advice: "If you expect me to read your books, you've gotta hook me in Chapter 1."

Editors' Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

By IHSAN TAYLOR
Paperback books of particular interest.

Book Review Podcast

This week, Richard Ford discusses his new novel, "Canada"; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Mark Hyman talks about the rising cost of youth sports; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.
ArtsBeat

Editor's Note

Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail. Feel free to send feedback; I enjoy hearing your opinions and will do my best to respond.
John Williams
Books Producer
The New York Times on the Web