Hurry! It’s the Book That Can’t Wait!

The books that can wait…
Photo: Judy Berna

Like many of my fellow GeekMom writers, I love to read. I see bookstores and libraries as my own personal theme parks. I can spend hours lost in the aisles, deciding which treasures I’ll dive into next.

Then the stack comes home and sits by my bed. And sits. And sits. Sometimes time restraints keep me from opening them. Sometimes being engaged in another book, that eats up the little bit of free time I have, keeps me from attacking the stack.

A publisher in Argentina decided to light a fire under those of us who sometimes procrastinate when it comes to actually cracking open a new book. They’ve printed a book that goes away if you don’t read it. No, the actual book is still in your hands, but as time passes, and the ink is exposed to air and light, the actual words go away. On average you have two months to read their publication, before it turns into a lovely blank page volume that you can then use as a journal. Their video explains it well.

The book itself is called El Libro que No Puede Esperar, which means “the book that can’t wait,” and it’s an anthology of new Latin American authors. Most of these authors would be lucky to have anyone read their work, since they’re not well known. With the help of their clever publisher, their words will now rise to the top of the priority list.

Of course there are issues of recycling and being able to share books for years and years with other readers, so every volume can’t use this tactic. But it’s a fun experiment in human nature, to see if having a deadline will actually motivate a distracted reader to finally dig into that new book on the bedside table.