Searching for a fitting way to share his love for Ellen Ullman’s 1997 book Close to the Machine, San Francisco-based “media inventor” Robin Sloan created an interactive book review based around a web-based JavaScript console. Readers are encouraged to watch a specially-timed video that provides commands such as “s.theBook.author()” and “s.whyIsItSoGood(),” with each function bringing up a new section of text. When the video nears its end, viewers can order the book — a personal account of the life of a software engineer — through local libraries, bookstores, or Amazon before sending a tweet to promote the review, all by typing customized JavaScript. It’s unlikely to take off as a review format for ordinary books, but for a title about “what it feels like to program computers,” Sloan’s interface feels eminently appropriate.
Coder uses JavaScript console to create interactive book review
Programmer Robin Sloan has used a web-based JavaScript console to produce an interactive review of Ellen Ullman’s book “Close to the Machine.”
Programmer Robin Sloan has used a web-based JavaScript console to produce an interactive review of Ellen Ullman’s book “Close to the Machine.”
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