Paper Towns and Virtual Books Reshaping the Reading Experience Through Online Community

ABSTRACT:The increasing presence of interactive Web 2.0 platforms online has helped to give rise to both participatory and convergence cultures. Separated by fuzzy lines at best, Web 2.0, participatory culture and convergence culture have all influenced the production and reception of reading materials, especially in the realm of adolescent literature. Today's teenagers have grown up in the internet age and are instinctually familiar with the possibilities offered by this technology. Using young adult author and vlogger John Green and his online fan community as a case study, it is possible to begin to understand what role such interactivity has in developing the future of the reading experience. The community, called "Nerdfighteria", embraces multiple Web 2.0 sites in order to house all of their conversations and creative endeavors. They also turn to each other when embarking upon informal educational pursuits, such as discussing classic novels in an online forum, and rely upon one another for the kinds of critical thinking and analysis that is usually encouraged in a classroom setting. Members of Nerdfighteria also turn to each other and work together to create a communal reading experience by sharing images, text, and music inspired by or related to a particular novel with one another through blogs. The result of all of this is a dramatic increase in the role of a community of readers in the development of the reading experience itself, placing Green's fans on the forefront of the technological transformation of novels. Today's teens are not waiting for a publication press to show them the future of reading, but are instead forging ahead and determining that future for themselves.