What Do You Think (3) : The Interactive Book Experience

Last month, there was big hype over what Pottermore.com was going to be. We've since learned that not only is it for the exclusive distribution of the e-version of the Harry Potter books,  but Rowling said she "wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new generation". The site is an interactive environment and includes some 18,000 words of new writing! Just like Harry, users will be assigned a house by the sorting hat, mix potions, shop for their own wand and compete with their friends for a house cup by playing games. How cool is that! This week limited access to a beta version is being given to those who answer Magical Quill Challenge clue, with a full launch to all users in October. There is only a limited amount of registration spots available each day and only two days left.

Scholastic's 39 Clues series has a successful interactive edge to it, with cards in the books containing codes that unlocked even more clues. I loved this and so did my son, for him it was a great way to learn new things, in a fun way.  There was over $100,000 in prizes given away!

Now, Michael Grant, the writer of the best selling GONE series has a new series coming out. Where Pottermore came out after the series was complete, the fun begins for BZRK prior to it's release. Go BZRK, the book, "comes out this winter, but the interactive part starts now. One leads up to the other, but they're part of a complete package" according to Mr. Grant. You don't have to participate interactively, "but the deeper you plunge the wetter you get. I think every part of this is fun, I think people will enjoy the ARG, the app, the site and the books". You can get started by visiting societytwins.com and register with nexushumanus.com. There will be video, puzzles, community collaboration, and more!

I love seeing new promotional tools, something really different to create early buzz. I'm curious on how this will play out, what it is that will make me want to revisit which I think is the key to it's success. I know I've said this before, but the Harry Potter series is in a league of their own and I do see me wanting to spend time in that world again, not only to share it with my kids but because I love it so much!

So, what do you think? Is transmedia the wave of the future? Will you try it out? Is it something you see yourself coming back to regularly? What series would you love to see made interactive?

39 Clues Book Signing With My Sons!

This past Sunday was a really exciting one for the family...my 8 yr old son won a contest to meet & greet plus introduce two authors of the 39 Clues series, Peter Lerangis & Gordon Korman at their book signing in Toronto. Thanks so much to Peter & Korman for being just awesome, and of course to Scholastic Canada for such an amazing opportunity! My son asked if we could put his video up on Youtube - I think he feels like a rockstar now ;)

Gordon is a fellow Torontonian & his name sounded so familiar. When I told my mom about the event, she knew right away who he was. Low and behold my older brother was reading Gordon Korman's first books, This Can't Be Happening At McDonald Hall, back when he was around my son's age - how cool is that?! Peter also writes YA books, one book that came out last year you may recognize wtf :) I've been meaning to read forever, ahhh, I never thought to get the book signed!



(L-R: Gordon Korman, Justin, Jacob & Peter Lerangis)

If found this quite fascinating: between the two of them, Peter & Gordon have written for about 50 yrs and over 200 books!




The 39 Clues series is truly amazing. Not only do you have an amazing team of writers creating stories that include historical figures & worldwide travel, the books are interactive with card collecting & an online game added to the mix! Whoever thought of this, is pure genius...the perfect recipe for getting the attention of every kid, especially the reluctant readers.

Ok, enough about my love for the 39 Clues books LOL. Time to share some cool things I learned from the book signing:

I thought it was interesting when Gordon talked about how normally writing is a more solitary job. However, with 39 Clues, working on a team of writers meant that each time a new book is written, the bar is raised for the next book. I can picture these guys sitting at their computer, rubbing their hands together & giggling as they think they’ve just written the best scene ever OR an evil laugh as they write something challenging for the next books author to deal with.

The books in 39 Clues take place all over the world & Peter gave us some tricks of the trade on how to write about places you've never been (too bad the authors didn't get to travel all over in the name of research!). It had never actually occurred to me how powerful & useful YouTube & Google Earth really are. Peter talked about how informative YouTube videos were, showing what people wear, how they act, what they eat etc. Google Earth is a great tool to see what streets look like, and if you have a landscape in mind, you can even search around to find your location! There’s no need to actually travel to all these places, you can visit them in the comfort of your own home :)

If you have young kids, or just like fun adventure stories (I've been reading these with my son & LOVE them myself) I suggest looking into the 39 Clues series and of course playing the games on the39clues.com!