In partnership with Simon & Schuster, a company called Vook has begun producing hybrid video-books. The vooks include both text and short videos, and can be read on a computer or iPod. In some cases (like how-to vooks), the videos seem like a helpful inclusion; it’s less clear what role they play in a vook of fiction.

Motoko Rich writes in today’s Times:

Simon & Schuster is also releasing two digital novels combining text with videos a minute or 90 seconds long that supplement — and in some cases advance — the story line.

Because, y’know, sometimes plain ol’ books just aren’t stimulating enough!

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