The "chipped" book

I like some books very old-fashioned printed on paper. Reference books for example. But also, some novels that somehow stand out from the crowd.

For me, this currently includes the novel "Babel" by Kenah Cusanit (Hanser Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-446261-65-5; www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/buch/babel/978-3-446-26165-5).

The author and her debut novel were on the shortlist for the Leipzig Book Fair Book Prize. The studied ancient orientalist wrote a complex, very unusual novel, which not only deals with the work of the archaeologist Robert Koldewey in Babylon, but also takes a look at the difficult role of archaeology in the structure of colonial power structures with all its effects up to the present day. Looted art and the now relaxing discussion about its whereabouts in European museums are just some of the aspects to be mentioned.

These few words already suggest why I strongly recommend this novel.

I also "chipped" this book recently. What does it mean?

NFC in books

Cusanit's novel has already been reviewed several times. There is also a lot of exciting literature by and about Robert Koldewey. An overview of the work, conferences and publications of the Koldewey Society can be found on the website www.koldewey-gesellschaft.de. I no longer collect all of this digitally in the form of loose notes or handwritten notes in the book or as a collection of material detached from the book, but I have "chipped" my book with a onetouchlabel. (onetouchlabels are nfc-chips, which can easily be connected to digital content thanks to tuomi’s software). On the title page I glued a onetouchlabel in the lower right corner and deposited the collected information. So, they are now available to me (or to those to whom I will lend my book) anytime and anywhere. All I have to do is hold my smartphone against the chip and I can see what I have saved for the book. If further information should be added, I can adapt and extend this at any time. 

The possibilities to open here are numerous.

Literature plays with the reader's imagination and stimulates the proverbial "brain cinema". It has often happened to me that after reading a book I travelled to the place described and was then surprised. Either I imagined something exactly how it looked in reality, or I was downright disappointed because the reality did not meet my expectations. I would not mind having these unique experiences taken away by digital extensions of novels, after all, that is a big part of the pleasure. But capturing my own experiences and tying them to the book, that is quite appealing. Special places that you have discovered on your journey, that expand your own imagination, can be linked to the book in pictures and text.

But you can also create links to books, which are related to the book. I will certainly add the book "Queen of the Desert" by Janet Wallach about the life of Gertrude Bell here. This remarkable woman plays an important, albeit indirect, role in "Babel". I am sure I will come up with further details. And the "chipping" will not be limited to this book. Exhibition catalogues, travel guides, but also reference books will certainly be digitally extended.

Highly recommended for imitation!

You can find out more about tuomi's onetouchlabel here: www.onetouchlabel.com