Disappearing book

[TheDustyZebra]

There's a new Spanish-language book, an anthology of previously unpublished authors, printed in ink that disappears in two months after being exposed to light. Supposedly it's an incentive for the readers to read the whole thing and not just toss it on a pile. Sounds more like a way to sell more copies! If you want to read it a second time, you have to buy it again. If you want to share it with a friend, you have to buy it again. No library sales, obviously.

I don't think I would buy a book that was going to be blank in two months.

Vanishing ink book

 

[Boneman]

Do you get your money back when the ink disappears? Under the sale of goods act, in the UK, you have 28 days to take something back if it's faulty, and I'm pretty sure this would qualify!

 

[HareBrain]

Call that a gimmick?! The pages in my book are going to be blank to start with, and the story will only appear after the reader has started it -- and what's more, the story follows each reader's desires individually! And it comes with a free pen.

 

[Dozmonic]

If advertised as disappearing then that wouldn't be a faulty product

 

[Ursa major]

And it comes with a free pen.

Very funny.

 

[Vertigo]

I have to say I think that is utterly ridiculous. If it is really for the reasons given then to my mind it completely invalidates the reason we would buy a book as opposed to borrowing it from a library. Is it designed only for rich people who don't care about throwing their money away? On the other hand if it's just some piece of pretentious art demonstrating the ephemeral nature of literature or some other such tosh then that is all it is: tosh.

Either way I won't be rushing out to buy it. (Though according to that article it seems the Argentinians are doing so).

 

[HareBrain]

On the other hand if it's just some piece of pretentious art demonstrating the ephemeral nature of literature or some other such tosh then that is all it is: tosh.

If you look on the link, you'll see the idea was created with the help of an advertising agency, and its only purpose is to create buzz and get people talking about it -- which is precisely what we are now doing.

You can almost hear them cackling into their frappaccinos as they pull our behavioural strings.

 

[mosaix]

I suppose that answer is to keep it in the dark and read it under and infra-read lamp.



Very good, HareBrain. Who gets the film rights?

 

[The Judge]

... read it under and infra-read lamp.

If a blue joke is read under infra-red do you get purple passages?

 

[Kylara]

Just put some lemon juice on it, or tea and put it the oven, vanishing ink always has a flaw...haha infra red light...GENIUS

 

[Ursa major]

If a blue joke is read under infra-red do you get purple passages?

Possibly. And definitely if the book was called Fifty Shades of White.

 

[nightdreamer]

If you look on the link, you'll see the idea was created with the help of an advertising agency, and its only purpose is to create buzz and get people talking about it -- which is precisely what we are now doing.

You can almost hear them cackling into their frappaccinos as they pull our behavioural strings.

Sort of makes you wonder how much money they paid the advertising agency to get people to sit around and talk about something no sane person would buy.

 

[Vertigo]

If you look on the link, you'll see the idea was created with the help of an advertising agency, and its only purpose is to create buzz and get people talking about it -- which is precisely what we are now doing.

You can almost hear them cackling into their frappaccinos as they pull our behavioural strings.

It's a problem that one. I thought exactly the same when reading the 50 Shades of Grey thread. Problem is; how can you not discuss some of the crazy ideas people come up with, especially when they actually seem to work?

If a blue joke is read under infra-red do you get purple passages?

 

[Montero]

Only works if us talking about it translates into sales.

Remember the many colours of Burton (if I am remembering it right) The adverts got odder and odder. Certainly talked about but....

 

[Ursa major]

Wasn't that Benetton?

From Wiki:

The company is known [...] for the provocative and original "United Colors" publicity campaign. The latter originated when photographer Oliviero Toscani was given carte blanche by the Benetton management.

Carte blanche, indeed....



The article also says:

These graphic, billboard-sized ads included depictions of a variety of shocking subjects...

and then goes on to list many of them.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

You know guys, there is one advantage to this book. I wouldn't buy it, but gosh darn it, in six months from now when all the books are blank I'd be happy to tell everyone that one of my stories was in there! I mean, how would they know?!!!

And just think of the press - headlines like "Author sues publisher for losing his master piece!" In six months that book could suddenly have two thousand contributing authors all peeved that their masterpiece vanished!

It reminds me of an American bus crash that I saw not that long ago on the idiot box. It had a driver and three passengers, but somehow fifty people managed to claim that they had suffered serious injury from being on the bus when it crashed!

Cheers, Greg.