Books Go Super-Interactive.

Do you love to read? I certainly do, though I unfortunately don't carve out enough time during the day, or weekends to read a "handheld" paperback novel. I'm reading Stieg Larsson's "Girl With a Dragon Tattoo" and "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Schteyngart (considered to be a 21st c satire, akin to Orwell's 1984).

For teens and young adult readers, there are a lot of interactive literacy opportunities. Stories go live online, or you can connect to your character through their twitter or facebook accounts....wow.

Here's a few new transmedia interactive literacy opportunities to check out:
Skeleton Creek interactive book series. Ryan is recovering from an accident, and writes in his journa while doing so. He gets emails from his friend Sarah who posts video clips which readers can access by entering passords found throughout the book.

Cathy's Book: If Found, Call 650-266-8233 is one of a series of books by Sean Stewart and Jason Weisman cotains an evidence packet along with a website for each book. The fictional character Cathy has facebook, flickr, and youtube accounts you can visit. There's even an iPhone App.

A web resource called DoubletalkWireless is available for fans to talk about the book.

Personal Effect: Dark Art is intended for mature teen and adult audiences. Written by JC Hutchins and Jordan Weisman, it introduces an interesting multi-media format. As a reader, explore Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital to learn more about the staff. Get to know Zach Taylor, the main character through his MySpace page.

You can also see the work of his girlfriend, Rachel, and read New York Journal Ledger news clips related to the book here.

The Selected Works of TS Spivet by Reif Larson is an example of imaginitive writing combined with a unique presentation style. It would be of interest to high level middle school and high school readers. Check out the website here, to extend your reading experience.

There are just some of the exciting transmedia reading opportunities for teens and young adults. Transmedia really began with radio readings, movies, and made or TV adaptations. The media is interactive and therefore naturally extends to social media so readers can participate in the experience.

Note: content attributed to Teacher-Librarian Magazine (June 2010 issue)