Have you ever wanted to listen along to the music of Beethoven as you finger-swipe through the pages of A Clockwork Orange on your iPad, or "enjoy" the novel's grisly action as audio sound effects? New York startup Booktrack is gunning for exactly this by adding musical scores and ambient noises to e-books.
Booktrack, which is partially funded by PayPal founder Peter Thiel of utopian island fame, adds synchronized soundtracks to ordinary e-books to "dramatically boost the reader's imagination and engagement," according to the Web site. Readers personalize their reading speeds on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (and later, the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab), and -- at least theoretically -- Booktrack's soundtrack keeps pace with story progression, adding ambient music and sound effects such as footsteps and ominously creaking doors.
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