Coming to a book near you?

Thanks to James, over at BookTwo, for heralding the imminent European arrival of this strange beast – the QR code.

QR codes are barcodes designed to be read by the camera in your mobile phone. Hover over the image, and the phone identifies the information within – perhaps a short text or an internet link, or even an instruction to your mobile to fetch a download or ring a phone number. In Japan, these codes are already cropping up in the most mundane places: on business cards; in ad campaigns; even on McDonald’s wrappers.

But could you use it in a book? A code like this might certainly offer easy access to all sorts of complimentary materials that can’t be put on paper. Watch video of the author; read the latest reviews or responses from other readers; listen to the calls of all the birds pictured in your spotter’s guide, as one example. All direct to your mobile – and all without the hassle of laboriously thumbing in a web address.

And for the cannier publishers, here perhaps is a new way to sell books: using a code printed on the inside cover, it’s not impossible to imagine readers ordering another title from their favourite author the moment they finish a book - all with a click of their camera phone.

In the Far East, many phones are now sold with a code reader built in: for now, adventurous readers in the West will have to download a free programme here. Try it out for yourself.

For several years all our Perennial paperbacks have contained additional articles about our authors, their books, and their passions – but if paper were no obstacle what else might you want to see? Video? Audio? Web links – or maybe something else entirely?